SRUC - Chair

Application, Interview and Election Process

The appointment process, which conforms to the requirements of the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016, comprises three distinct stages: application, interview and election.

AspenPeople Ltd. have a longstanding relationship with SRUC, and they have been appointed to support SRUC with the recruitment of the Chair of the SRUC Board. To apply, please upload your application (CV and covering letter as one combined document) by clicking here. Please send your equal opportunities form separately to gblackadder@aspenpeople.co.uk.

All applications must include the following:

• A full CV with your education and professional qualifications and full employment history, where possible giving details of budgets and numbers of people managed, relevant achievements in recent posts.
  
• A short covering letter of no more than two A4 sized pages explaining why this appointment interests you and how you meet the appointment criteria and key competencies as detailed in the candidate brief.
• Names of at least three Please note, referees will not be contacted without your prior consent.
• Please provide daytime, evening and mobile telephone numbers, together with an appropriate, confidential and acceptable e-mail address for all correspondence relating to your
  

You should receive an automatic acknowledgment of your application – if you do not, please contact Gillian Blackadder on 0141 212 7555.

Contact Information:

Should you wish to have an informal, confidential discussion about the post, please contact Donogh O’Brien at Aspen People Ltd on 07795812574, or Katharine Price on 07899 791 508 or Gillian Blackadder on 0141 212 7555. 

Recruitment Dates:

Closing date: Monday 19^th January 2026 at noon

1st stage interviews (in person): over 3 weeks from 2nd – 20th February 2026 – exact dates TBC

Interviews (in person) : Thursday 26^th and Friday 27th February 2026

Interview:

The Selection Committee will review all applications and determine which of them meet the criteria for appointment as set out above. Candidates selected for interview will be individually informed in writing. Interviews will be conducted during Thursday 26 and Friday 27 February 2026. Those who in the judgement of the Selection Committee meet the criteria will be declared candidates in an election.

Candidates who are invited to interview will be requested to submit a short video (no more than 2 minutes) outlining their motivation for applying for this position and participate in The Keil Centre psychometric analysis. If you’re selected to be interviewed, please send your video separately to gblackadder@aspenpeople.co.uk.

If you are aware that you are unable to attend for interview on the above date, please inform us at the earliest possible opportunity.

Election:

The final stage of the process is an online election amongst those individuals declared as candidates following interview. The electorate comprises students, staff and Board members of SRUC. Voting in the election will take place over a two week period in March 2026. Candidates will have the opportunity to set out an election message which will be distributed electronically by SRUC to the electorate, and to participate in an online hustings on Thursday 19^th March. Full details are set out in the Rules for the Chair Election, which are available on the Application & Process section of the microsite.

The election will be held in a first-past-the-post format, therefore the candidate who receives the highest number of votes will be declared the winner and will be appointed as Chair under the terms set out above.

If you have and doubts around Hustings or the Election please contact our partners at Aspen People.

Equal Opportunities Policy Statement:

It is the policy of SRUC to provide equality of opportunity for all applicants for employment and for all its employees.

This policy of equal opportunity will apply regardless of a person’s gender, age, marital status, parental status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, religious beliefs, HIV status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender reassignment, transexualism or physical or mental disability, or any other inappropriate distinction.

SRUC is committed to the development and use of employment procedures and practices, which do not discriminate and which will provide genuine equality of opportunity for all employees.