Senior Regulation and Campaigning Officer Scotland

Job summary

Role: Senior Regulation & Campaigning Officer (Scotland)

Basis: Permanent, Full time 36 hours per week

A £312 tax-free working from home allowance is also payable annually.

Location: Edinburgh (Hybrid – min. 2 days in office)

Benefits: Outstanding benefits including Civil Service Pension Scheme, flexible working, 28+ days holiday, and more.

About the Electoral Commission

The Electoral Commission is the UK’s independent body overseeing elections and regulating political finance. Everything we do is about ensuring trust, participation, and integrity in the democratic process.

As we continue to deliver our five-year UK Corporate Plan and develop our Corporate Plan for Scotland, the Commission is building on a period of growth and change, expanding our workforce and modernising how we deliver our services to better support the needs of a changing democracy. As our organisation develops and adapts to meet future challenges, this post will play a vital part in supporting that progress and helping ensure we remain responsive to the democratic needs of voters, campaigners, parties and electoral administrators across the UK.

We believe people do their best work when they have the flexibility, support and recognition they need to thrive. That's why we offer flexible and hybrid working arrangements that help colleagues balance work and personal commitments, supported by a flexi-time scheme that gives greater autonomy over the working day. With generous leave allowances, a highly competitive Civil Service pension and performance-related pay, our benefits package is designed to support your wellbeing, reward your contribution and provide security for the future

Job description

About the role

As a Senior Regulation & Campaigning Officer, you'll provide advice, guidance and support to a diverse range of political stakeholders across Scotland. You'll help interpret and explain complex regulatory requirements, support compliance with electoral law, and contribute to the Electoral Commission's wider work in Scotland.

No two days are the same. You might be responding to enquiries from campaigners, delivering guidance to political stakeholders, representing the Commission at meetings and events, or supporting work on emerging electoral and political finance issues.

This role offers exposure to high-profile and politically sensitive matters, making it an ideal opportunity for someone who enjoys stakeholder engagement, problem-solving, and is interested in developing specialist expertise in electoral law.

The Office

Our Edinburgh office is based in the Quay building in Fountainbridge, offering a modern and welcoming place to work. Colleagues here will have access to an on-site gym, and the office benefits from impressive views across the city, including Edinburgh Castle. The building sits alongside the Union Canal, providing a pleasant setting for lunchtime walks or time outdoors, with a range of shops, cafés and amenities close by.

The office is conveniently located around a 12‑minute walk from Haymarket station, with excellent rail connections as well as frequent bus and tram services, making it easy to commute from across the city and beyond. Combined with our flexible and hybrid ways of working, the Quay building offers an attractive, well-connected and comfortable working environment.

About the team

You'll join a supportive and collaborative team of six colleagues within our Devolution and Law Directorate.

The Scotland team plays a key role in ensuring the views and needs of stakeholders across Scotland are understood and reflected in the Commission's work. We provide expert insight into Scotland's political and electoral environment, helping to support effective regulation, stakeholder engagement and well-run elections.

We're committed to creating an environment where colleagues can grow, learn from one another, and make a visible impact through meaningful work.

Person specification

Who we’re looking for

We're interested in people who can bring strong transferable skills and a genuine enthusiasm for learning.

You may have worked in regulation, compliance, governance, public affairs, policy, customer engagement, stakeholder relations, public sector organisations, or another environment where you've had to build relationships, influence others, and communicate complex information clearly.

To be successful, you'll be able to demonstrate:

• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to build effective working relationships.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• The ability to manage competing priorities and deliver high-quality outcomes.
• Confidence engaging and influencing stakeholders at all levels.
• A proactive approach to learning and developing new knowledge and expertise.
• Strong attention to detail and sound judgement.
• Political impartiality

Knowledge of Scotland's political and electoral landscape would be advantageous, but it is not essential. We will provide training and support to help you develop the specialist knowledge needed to succeed in the role.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,031, The Electoral Commission contributes

£11,596 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Why work for us?

This is a unique opportunity to:

• Build specialist expertise in electoral law and political finance.
• Develop relationships with key stakeholders across Scotland's democratic and political landscape.
• Work on interesting, varied and high-profile issues.
• Be part of a supportive and inclusive team environment.
• Make a genuine contribution to strengthening confidence in democracy.

If you're looking for a role where you can apply your transferable skills, continue learning, and make a meaningful impact, we'd love to hear from you.

We offer a strong total reward package, including:

• Flexible working and hybrid model for office-based staff, with a minimum of 40% of working time spent in the office
• Flexi-time scheme, allowing flexible hours with the option to accrue and take flexi leave
• 28 rising to 30 days annual leave + bank holidays.
• Civil Service pension scheme (28.97% employer contribution)
• Performance-related pay

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

How to apply

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. To help reduce unconscious bias and ensure all applicants are assessed solely on their skills, knowledge and experience, we use an anonymous recruitment process.

When applying, please provide an anonymised CV which omits your protected characteristics and any personally identifiable information:

Do not include:

• Your name, address, phone number, email or other contact details
• Your date of birth or age
• Gender, ethnicity, nationality or other personal identifiers
• A photo of yourself
• Remove educational dates as these are a clear indication of your age
• There is no requirement to include your primary education details.

Do include:

• Your employment history including employers and dates of employment
• Explanation for gaps in your history
• Your duties, responsibilities and achievements

If your CV contains personal details (such as your name or contact information), we will be unable to consider your application. Please double-check your documents before submitting, including the file name you use to save and upload your CV.

Supporting disabled applicants

The Electoral Commission is proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. As part of this commitment, we aim to prioritise interviews for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria listed in the job description.

There may, however, be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. For example, during periods of exceptionally high application volumes or seasonal recruitment activity, the Commission may need to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both disabled and non-disabled applicants.

If you have a disability and would like to be considered under this commitment, please indicate this when you apply. We also welcome requests for reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process or within the workplace.

Key dates

• Application deadline: 10th September 2026 (23:59)
• Interviews (1st stage): Week commencing 28th September 2026
• Interviews (2nd stage): Week commencing TBC
• Anticipated start date: November 2026

Interviews are expected to take place in-person

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the

Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window)

and the

Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

Apply and further information

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.

You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Talent Acquisition Team
• Email : recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@electoralcommission.org.uk

Further information

Raising a Concern About the Recruitment Process

At the Electoral Commission, we are committed to delivering fair, inclusive, and transparent recruitment. Our recruitment practices are guided by Civil Service values and comply with the Equality Act 2010 and other relevant legislation.

If you have concerns about the way a recruitment process has been conducted, we encourage you to raise them with us.

How to Make a Complaint

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