NHS Ayrshire & Arran
Education Lead (Optometry) – NHS Ayrshire & Arran
We are looking for a highly experienced
optometrist
to lead nationwide education initiatives for general ophthalmic services within Scotland. The role involves delivering a national programme, liaising with senior professionals and NHS Boards, and managing budgets and training programmes.
Flexible Location:
Based throughout Scotland. NES is a remote‑friendly employer supporting office and hybrid working. We’re happy to discuss your preferred working arrangement.
Work Pattern:
Permanent, Part Time – 29.6 hours per week.
You must have eligibility and entitlement to work in the UK and maintain it throughout your employment.
Who We Are NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the national health board with statutory responsibilities to effect sustainable change through workforce development, education and training across the health and social care system in Scotland.
NES Optometry primarily supports the provision of General Ophthalmic Services in Scotland.
The Opportunity The Education Lead – Optometry is part of a high‑calibre team delivering world‑leading education to support general ophthalmic services. This post requires ambitious, hard‑working and very experienced optometrists who have the drive to support the NES Optometry programme across the country.
Do you want to deliver an optometric education programme based on national and local priority needs, ensuring liaison with other senior professionals within the healthcare team and relevant stakeholders?
Do you want to contribute specialist expertise to national and regional NES initiatives?
Do you want to liaise with other groups and individuals employed in NHS Boards engaged in supporting postgraduate education to develop local opportunities for inter‑professional learning?
Do you want to provide professional leadership, advice, education and support to colleagues, devising key activities in a specialist area? This may be at local, national or UK‑wide level.
Working within the delegated management of regional budgets, ensuring that NES Optometry meet annual and longer‑term agreed targets.
What We Love To See
A registered healthcare practitioner with a postgraduate qualification e.g. MSc, independent prescribing optometrist.
Extensive experience in a community or hospital setting.
Experience of planning, delivering and managing training programmes including undergraduate.
Highly developed professional communication skills and experience of facilitation, consultation and negotiation with a wide range of stakeholders including at a high level of seniority.
A positive and enthusiastic approach to the development of community optometry in Scotland.
Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary.
Ability to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlines.
Benefits Which Matter
Life‑work balance – opportunities for flexible working and hybrid working.
Generous NHS pension scheme.
Annual incremental salary progression (up to the maximum of the salary band) plus annual NHS salary scale review.
Annual leave – 27 days increasing in line with service plus 8 days public holiday.
NHS discounts and more.
Diversity and Inclusion Developing a successful national service for Scotland is impossible without ensuring we consider the diverse needs, perspectives and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland in our work. We are focused on hiring the very best talent available for NES and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and aim to ensure everyone is treated fairly, with respect and has a positive recruitment experience – regardless of the outcome.
It’s not essential to be in an Educational Lead role right now. You may be returning from a career break (e.g. maternity, paternity, caring for others) or returning after working in another field. Your experiences elsewhere can bring a fresh perspective to our work.
Next Steps Our recruitment process is currently 100% remote and, if successful, you would initially work remotely, working from our offices as operationally required.
All shortlisted applicants will be contacted by e‑mail.
Online interviews (including a presentation) will take place on 19th November 2025.
The presentation topic will be sent to candidates selected for interview.
Unless otherwise stated, the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date.
Please note, CVs will not be accepted.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigration Service.
As part of the pre‑employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre‑settled status. For more information on these routes, please refer to the
GOV.UK
website.
For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licensed sponsor, and if the post would not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found
here .
It is
essential
that you have checked that you already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.
For queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please contact our recruitment partners at: EoS.ERRS@nhs.scot
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Part‑time
Job function
Education and Training
Hospitals and Health Care
#J-18808-Ljbffr
optometrist
to lead nationwide education initiatives for general ophthalmic services within Scotland. The role involves delivering a national programme, liaising with senior professionals and NHS Boards, and managing budgets and training programmes.
Flexible Location:
Based throughout Scotland. NES is a remote‑friendly employer supporting office and hybrid working. We’re happy to discuss your preferred working arrangement.
Work Pattern:
Permanent, Part Time – 29.6 hours per week.
You must have eligibility and entitlement to work in the UK and maintain it throughout your employment.
Who We Are NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is the national health board with statutory responsibilities to effect sustainable change through workforce development, education and training across the health and social care system in Scotland.
NES Optometry primarily supports the provision of General Ophthalmic Services in Scotland.
The Opportunity The Education Lead – Optometry is part of a high‑calibre team delivering world‑leading education to support general ophthalmic services. This post requires ambitious, hard‑working and very experienced optometrists who have the drive to support the NES Optometry programme across the country.
Do you want to deliver an optometric education programme based on national and local priority needs, ensuring liaison with other senior professionals within the healthcare team and relevant stakeholders?
Do you want to contribute specialist expertise to national and regional NES initiatives?
Do you want to liaise with other groups and individuals employed in NHS Boards engaged in supporting postgraduate education to develop local opportunities for inter‑professional learning?
Do you want to provide professional leadership, advice, education and support to colleagues, devising key activities in a specialist area? This may be at local, national or UK‑wide level.
Working within the delegated management of regional budgets, ensuring that NES Optometry meet annual and longer‑term agreed targets.
What We Love To See
A registered healthcare practitioner with a postgraduate qualification e.g. MSc, independent prescribing optometrist.
Extensive experience in a community or hospital setting.
Experience of planning, delivering and managing training programmes including undergraduate.
Highly developed professional communication skills and experience of facilitation, consultation and negotiation with a wide range of stakeholders including at a high level of seniority.
A positive and enthusiastic approach to the development of community optometry in Scotland.
Demonstrate honesty, integrity, care and compassion when dealing with others, utilising tact and persuasion skills when necessary.
Ability to work on own initiative, to organise and prioritise own workloads, to meet strict deadlines.
Benefits Which Matter
Life‑work balance – opportunities for flexible working and hybrid working.
Generous NHS pension scheme.
Annual incremental salary progression (up to the maximum of the salary band) plus annual NHS salary scale review.
Annual leave – 27 days increasing in line with service plus 8 days public holiday.
NHS discounts and more.
Diversity and Inclusion Developing a successful national service for Scotland is impossible without ensuring we consider the diverse needs, perspectives and backgrounds of everyone in Scotland in our work. We are focused on hiring the very best talent available for NES and actively encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and aim to ensure everyone is treated fairly, with respect and has a positive recruitment experience – regardless of the outcome.
It’s not essential to be in an Educational Lead role right now. You may be returning from a career break (e.g. maternity, paternity, caring for others) or returning after working in another field. Your experiences elsewhere can bring a fresh perspective to our work.
Next Steps Our recruitment process is currently 100% remote and, if successful, you would initially work remotely, working from our offices as operationally required.
All shortlisted applicants will be contacted by e‑mail.
Online interviews (including a presentation) will take place on 19th November 2025.
The presentation topic will be sent to candidates selected for interview.
Unless otherwise stated, the deadline for applications is 23:59 hours on the closing date.
Please note, CVs will not be accepted.
To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigration Service.
As part of the pre‑employment checks for a preferred candidate, NHS Scotland Boards will check your entitlement to work in the UK. It can be evidenced through a number of routes including specific types of visa as well as EU settled and pre‑settled status. For more information on these routes, please refer to the
GOV.UK
website.
For specific types of post, if you do not have the necessary eligibility to work in the UK, it might be possible (though not guaranteed) to secure sponsorship via a UK Skilled Worker/Health & Care Worker Visa. However, this is only possible if the employer is a licensed sponsor, and if the post would not fall below the current minimum salary threshold or ‘going rate’. Further information on these criteria can be found
here .
It is
essential
that you have checked that you already have an appropriate right to work in the UK or that the post would be eligible to be sponsored BEFORE submitting your application form.
For queries regarding the NHS Scotland National Recruitment Portal or the recruitment process, please contact our recruitment partners at: EoS.ERRS@nhs.scot
Seniority level
Mid‑Senior level
Employment type
Part‑time
Job function
Education and Training
Hospitals and Health Care
#J-18808-Ljbffr