Sam Anson Email & Phone Number

Edinburgh, Scotland, Gb

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

Our purpose is to ensure that a well-designed, regulated and digitally connected school estate encourages continuous engagement with learning, and that the workforce and educational leadership has the skills and capacities to deliver our ambitions for excellence and equity.My specific responsibilities include:• Teacher employment, wellbeing and pay - ensuring that Scotland's school workforce and educational leadership has the skills and capacities to deliver our ambitions for improved learning and societal outcomes for all children and young people.• The £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme - delivering new or improved school buildings for 50,000 children.• Digital connectivity and inclusion - including ensuring access to a digital device and connectivity for all pupils by the end of this Parliamentary term.• Equalities in education - sponsorship of: i) the Gender Equality Taskforce on Education, and Learning, and ii) the Race Equality and Anti-Racism in Education Programme.

Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom

As Deputy Director for IAW I managed over 50 people, including a range of education specialists and professional advisors, in order to deliver many of the Government’s key policies to improve outcomes for children and young people. Responsibilities included:• Senior Responsible Officer for both the Scottish Attainment Challenge, including a £750m budget over five years, and the National Improvement Framework for Scottish education.• Provision of policy advice covering a range of school education issues (including performance, inclusivity and wellbeing, and the attainment gap) – to the Deputy First Minister (DFM). As part of my oversight of Covid-19 recovery and strategy, my responsibilities and achievements included: • Leading the education response to Covid-19, including planning for school closures and subsequent returns to in-person learning. Oversight of £400m of associated education recovery funding. • Management of the Covid-19 Education Recovery Group (co-Chaired by the DFM / Cabinet Secretary and CoSLA spokesperson for children and young people), ensuring a collaborative approach to education recovery planning across all key partners. • Management of the Advisory Subgroup on Education and Children’s Issues, providing multi-disciplinary expert advice on appropriate mitigations.• Production of the Education Recovery Plan, setting out key actions taken as part of the response and next steps.

As Head of the Scottish Government's Economic Policy & Capability Division I led a small but highly-skilled team that focussed on: i) issues of strategic importance to the economy, ii) policy interventions tailored to the needs of Scotland’s business base and labour market, and iii) how best to promote and operationalize Inclusive Growth. This included the development of key interventions in priority sectors, building on Scotland’s world class assets and competitive advantage to stimulate productivity growth.Responsibilities included:• Coordinating a coherent and consistent approach to economic policy development across the Scottish Government, including leading on the economic element of the Programme for Government• Working with internal and external partners to identify and develop new and creative mechanisms to promote inclusive economic growth• Building and nurturing a new, high-profile team from scratch that commands credibility and influence with SpAds, ministers and senior officials across the Scottish Government• Policy lead for the programme to establish a new Scottish National Investment Bank - working with partners to ensure the Bank becomes a cornerstone institution in Scotland's economic landscape.• Programme Director of the Enterprise and Skills Review – reforming the enterprise and skills support system in Scotland and spanning the direct remit of eight ministers• Oversight of the development of economic resilience and recovery planning in the face of EU Exit

• Manage the delivery of changes to early learning and childcare provision introduced through the Children and Young People Act 2014• Programme Director of the early learning and childcare expansion programme• Manage the delivery of parenting, family support and play priorities, including high-profile amendments to the Criminal Justice Bill and the Education Bill.• Work with ministers, SPADS and senior officials to support the development of future early years policy• Allocation and oversight of a £4m programme of third-sector funding

• Management of a multi-disciplinary team ensuring the delivery of economic and statistical analysis to inform, influence and support policy development (e.g. Common Fisheries Policy Reform and SG’s offshore energy regulatory and licensing functions).• Delegated financial authority, including the procurement and delivery of a commissioned research programme (approximate value of £1 million) to enhance the strategic evidence base• Weekly written briefs to the Cabinet Secretary, including a synthesis of latest evidence • Member of the Senior Management Team, accountable for the strategic management of Marine Scotland Science (approximately 280 employees)• Lead a divisional improvement project to drive cultural change and strengthen engagement• Lead the Offshore Wind module of the OECD project ‘The Future of the Ocean Economy’, including management of an expert working group• Chair of the UK’s Productive Seas Evidence Group - a cross sector body responsible for improving the UK’s marine economy

Master'S Degree, Economic, Management & Policy, Distinction

Ma, Economics, 2:1