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Civil service executive officer

Manage the directorates and agencies that apply government policies and provide a wide range of important public services.

About skills Getting in

About the job

Salary

Source: National Careers Service

Weekly

£538

Entry level

£942

Experienced

Monthly

£2,333

Entry level

£4,083

Experienced

Yearly

£28,000

Entry level

£49,000

Experienced

14,900

people are currently employed

Low growth

500 fewer jobs in 5 years

These figures refer to this job and similar ones with comparable skills and qualifications. They only apply to Scotland. Source: Oxford Economics

What it's like

You would help to provide important services to the public. Make fair and informed decisions and explain government policies to the public.

You could work in any of the Scottish Government directorates and agencies that develop and implement government policies, for example:

  • Communities Directorate

  • Enterprise, Environment and Innovation Directorate

  • Finance Directorate

  • Creative Scotland

  • Education Scotland

  • Forestry Commission Scotland

Depending on the directorate or the agency you worked for you would:

  • Manage, motivate train a team of administrative officers

  • Review the team performance

  • Review individuals’ situations and assess what services a person is entitled to

  • Handle a lot of cases at once

  • Apply complex policies and procedures to deal with enquiries and complaints

  • Make decisions on individual cases

  • Update records on computer systems and databases

  • Prepare and present reports

You might train in a specific area of work such as tax or immigration control.

Hours

You would normally work around 37 hours a week, Monday to Friday. Most departments work standard office hours, although some may use a flexitime system. In some departments you may be required to work on a shift basis which would include evenings, weekends and public holidays. Part-time work and job sharing are common.

Environment

You would be office-based.

Travel

There may be some travel to attend meetings, training courses and visiting other organisations.

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Top skills

Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!

It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.

Here are some of the skills you'll need to do this job:

  • motivating others
  • making decisions
  • reliable
  • time management
  • developing a plan
  • sorting
  • attention to detail
  • observation
  • verbal communication
  • cooperating

Your skills are important

Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.

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Getting in

Explore the sections shown for more information about getting into this career.

You might have qualifications which are not shown here but will allow you access to a course. You can compare your qualifications by looking at their SCQF Level. For more information about this, check out the SCQF website.

Always contact the college, university or training provider to check exactly what you'll need.

Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:

  • Business

  • Modern Studies

  • People and Society

  • Politics

  • Sociology

  • Foundation Apprenticeship: Business Skills

You can get a head start in this career by doing a Foundation Apprenticeship in S5 and S6.

You'll get an SCQF level 6 qualification which is the same level as a Higher. You'll also learn new skills and gain valuable experience in a work environment.

Discover what's on offer at your school on  Apprenticeships.scot.

Each Civil Service department or agency sets its own entry requirements.Depending on the role, you may be asked for qualifications at:

  • SCQF levels 4 to 6

  • a Higher National Certificate (SCQF level 7)

  • a Higher National Diploma (SCQF level 8)

  • a degree (SCQF level 9/10).

If you have at least a second-class degree in any subject (SCQF level 10), you could apply to the Graduate Fast Stream programme. This is a training scheme that leads to senior management posts. Your degree can be in any subject, although some departments may prefer degrees in subjects that are relevant to their work, for example, science and engineering departments.

All jobs are open to British nationals and many are also open to Commonwealth citizens or nationals of the member states of the European Economic Area. See the Civil Service website for more information. 

You would be expected to have relevant experience, such as experience managing people.

As part of the Civil Service reform you would also be assessed on skills, knowledge and behaviours or ‘competencies’ that fit in with the values of the Civil Service. The competencies that are required for each job role are shown on the job advert. 

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