Post Title: Technical Author- Scottish Local Government Digital Office

Reports to: Chief Digital Officer Scottish Local Government Digital Office

Grade:SCP 23 £21,807 to SCP 30 £27,245,

Location: Home Based

Part 1 – Job Role

PURPOSE
The Scottish Local Government Digital Office is looking to recruita technical authorto support activities across various streams withinthe digital transformation portfolio. To help make an impact in the exciting new arena of developing digital services for Scottish Local Government. Better digital services in local government will change the face of public services and have the potential to dramatically transform the future formillions of people.Theprimary focus will be on the three key projects of work for Digital Transformation which are;
  • Digital Leadership – Looking at developing solutions in Leadership, Culture and Skills to create the environment for change
  • Digital Services – Looking at creating Co-Designed Services with Citizens and staff then executing the delivery of these new services using Digital Technology to support the outcome
  • Digital Foundation – The underlying digital (technology and data) platform from which we build new services upon
ThisTechnical Author post is fully funded for 1 year and will support project and programme managers with the delivery of written materials, such as best practice, case studies and framework guidance etc. for the Digital Partnership. As such, you will be expected to hit the ground running, working in agile multi-disciplinary team environmentsand supporting severalwork-streams of activityconcurrentlywithin the scope of theLocal Government Digital Programme.
You will have excellent written communication skills both aimed at a technical level and for a wider non-technical audience. You must also have strong analytical &research skills alongside a proven track record in technical authoring via publications on any media. Other skills required include good relationship management, collaboration and communications skills to name a few.
Within this exciting opportunity, you will be adept at analysing evidence from various (and potentially conflicting) sources, and have a flair for devising innovative and creative approaches tothe design and presentationof written materials on time. This is a challenging role and will form a key part of a passionate and driven team, engaging a diverse range of stakeholders.
The Technical Author will work within a wider and virtual team including leaders from Health & Social Care, Scottish Government, Housing, Procurement, Academic, Industry and Innovation Leads as well asAnalysts, Developers,and Technical Staff.
Key Accountabilities include;
  • writing, editing and proofreading text
  • collating and verifying information
  • researching
  • creating and editing pictures and diagrams
  • liaising with other staff for the production of materials online
  • producing indexes and catalogues
  • co-developing with the comms/marketing manager the “house style” for all outputs
Technical authors are responsible for writing specialist articles and user guides for a range of products – sometime these documents should be user-friendly and aimed at the consumer audience. Often the information may be of a very technical nature so a good understanding of current technologies is required.

Part 2 – Person Specification

REQUIREMENTS (E = Essential; D = Desirable) / E / D
Education/Training/Qualifications
  • Educated to degree level (in technical or scientific subject)
  • Postgraduate / professional qualification
/ X / X
Skills
  • Eye for detail
  • Technical knowledge
  • Sense of narrative
  • Ability to articulate meaning to both technical and non-technical audiences
  • Experience gained from published articles, freelance work or writing including on-line articles
  • Ability in demonstrating skills on multiple concurrent projects
  • Ability to work collaboratively on projects/ work packages
  • Excellent interpersonal, oral and written communication skills.
  • Proven record of ability in managing and delivering projects of work
  • Proven ability in managing and delivering research
  • Ability to demonstrate working in a cross-functional working environmentadopting a matrix management approach to accomplish a specific goal.
  • Creating Agile “user stories”
/ X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X / X
X
X
X
Knowledge
  • Demonstrableknowledge in at least 2 of the following areas:
  • Cloud
  • Internet of Things
  • Mobility
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data
  • Networks
  • Business Intelligence
  • Virtual & Augmented Reality
  • Digital Transformation Methodologies and practices
  • Co-Design service principles
  • Agile Methods and approaches
/ X / X
X
X
Previous Experience
  • Published articles of a technical nature
  • Experience of working in Scottish public sector/local government
/ X / X
Other Requirements
  • Full driving licence
/ X