IT Coordinator (Ai & Automation), Carpenter House, Perth

Main Purpose of the Role

Working within Perth & Kinross Council is more than a job, it's about being part of an organisation that puts people at the heart of all we do and provides opportunities to make a real difference by enhancing every life we touch.

We currently have the following opportunity:

IT Coordinator (Ai & Automation) - PKC14377
£47,601 - £50,773
Carpenter House, Perth

Help Perth & Kinross Council reimagine how it delivers services by turning AI, automation and emerging digital innovation into measurable, sustainable improvements, with evidence that stands up to scrutiny.

Perth and Kinross Council is using AI and digital innovation to redesign service delivery and equip colleagues with tools that help them work effectively.

We have rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot licences, developed an in-house AI transcription platform within our own Azure environment, and established an AI literacy programme. The technical foundations are in place, and new tools are being introduced.

Our next challenge is to continue to increase our understanding of the difference they are making, demonstrate that value and help colleagues use these tools confidently and effectively. That is why this role exists.

In this post you will help turn activity into evidence. You will support how we baseline services before we deploy, how we capture what changes afterwards, and how we present that in a way that colleagues, elected members and citizens will understand. Getting this right helps sustain the programme. Without it, excellent progress and adoption of new ways of working go unreported and unnoticed.

This role is primarily focused on business change, user adoption and benefits realisation, but it sits within a multidisciplinary digital innovation team.

You will work closely with colleagues developing our products and services, using insight, evidence and user feedback to shape priorities and support their continued improvement.

A genuine curiosity about AI and wider digital innovation, together with the confidence to develop your technical understanding, will help you succeed in the role and contribute flexibly across the team.

You will:

• Deliver the business change, user adoption, communications and benefits realisation activity for the team’s portfolio, working as a peer to colleagues supporting technical delivery.
• Deliver our approach to benefits realisation end to end: baselining services before deployment, capturing workforce and productivity gains, internal and external user feedback, engagement activities and evidencing outcomes to governance
• Work directly with Strategic Leads, managers and operational teams to plan, implement and sustain the adoption of AI, automation and other digital innovations.
• Lead, support and develop two team members specialising in business change, user adoption and benefits realisation.
• Design and deliver digital innovation learning, including targeted AI learning for elected members and employees.
• Ensure change and adoption activity supports the Council’s governance standards, including responsible AI, data protection, accessibility and ethical use.
• Lead the Council’s digital innovation learning, engagement and communications activity, designing targeted plans that build awareness, confidence and sustained adoption across services.
• Design and facilitate workshops with services, managers and stakeholders to understand user needs, identify opportunities and support the successful adoption of digital innovation.
• Facilitate workshops with services, managers and stakeholders to identify opportunities, understand user needs and support the adoption of digital innovation.

Please note, we are currently unable to offer sponsorship for this post.

Skills & Experience Required

Essential: HND (SCQF Level 8) or above in a relevant discipline, or equivalent substantial professional experience in business change, organisational change, digital transformation or benefits management at a senior level.

Desirable: A recognised change, benefits or programme qualification such as APMG Change Management Practitioner, Prosci, Managing Benefits or MSP. A CIPD qualification is also relevant. These carry weight at shortlisting, but demonstrable experience matters more.

A note on AI and your application: We recognise that candidates may use AI tools to help draft applications, including to support clarity, accessibility or language needs. That is acceptable, and you do not need to tell us if you have used them. What matters to us is your own experience, judgement and way of working. Our process, including a possible practical exercise at interview, is designed to understand the person behind the application, not just the polish of the writing.

We are looking for someone who can demonstrate:

• Benefits realisation you can stand behind. Real experience baselining services, tracking benefits against forecast, and presenting evidence to governance forums. You understand the difference between a forecast and a measured actual.
• Change leadership that sticks. Experience leading organisational change in a complex environment, ideally public sector, with evidence of adoption that lasted beyond go-live. You understand that business change is a discipline, not a communications plan.
• Relationship building and influence. The ability to build trust and credibility with a wide range of stakeholders, from frontline teams and operational managers to Strategic Leads, executives and elected members. You can adapt your style to your audience, navigate competing priorities and influence decisions using evidence and insight.
• People leadership. Experience line managing and developing team members with a coaching and developmental approach. This matters to us and will be explored at interview.
• Digital innovation experience and curiosity, not technical specialism. You do not need to be a technical expert. You do need experience contributing to digital innovation or transformation, alongside genuine curiosity about AI, automation and emerging technologies. You understand the opportunities and challenges they present and can use sound judgement to separate real value from hype.
• Clarity under scrutiny. Strong analytical skills and the ability to communicate complex information plainly to very different audiences.

Working at Perth & Kinross Council

Our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of our key priorities. In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that support the criteria required in the role and which also demonstrate our values and behaviours. Find out more about Perth & Kinross Council and you could soon be joining our team!

Here's what we can offer you:

• A generous annual leave package
• 6 days public holiday and an additional discretionary day
• Eligibility to join our pension scheme
• Family friendly and positive work/life balance policies such as Flexible Working, Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave, time off for volunteering and our Wellbeing Framework
• Flexi time
• Access to a range of benefits

We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this. You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you. A healthy work life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.

For purposes of connection and collaboration with colleagues and with the community we serve, our full-time employees work on site for a minimum of 2 days per week with the arrangements for part time employees being agreed on a basis which will ensure that they benefit to an equivalent degree.

Our FAQs on hybrid working can be found here Hybrid working FAQs

We are committed to being a more inclusive employer - to ensure we can consider any reasonable adjustments, please either contact the recruiting manager to discuss any individual circumstances, discuss at interview or, if you prefer, after any conditional offer is made.

All new employees have a four-month probationary period. Further details are available in the FAQs at “How to apply for a job or apprenticeship with us”.

Next Steps

We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Chris Wright, IT Team Leader, AI and Automation, at CWright@pkc.gov.uk to find out more.

Click “APPLY NOW”

External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses.  One of these must be your current or most recent employer.

We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post. Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments. Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process.

Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements. That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists. Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.

To comply with Baseline Personnel Security Standard, you will be required to complete a Disclosure Scotland check.

If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 5 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check.

A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.