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Policy officer, Scottish Government: Mary

This Case Study belongs to Civil service fast streamer.

Mary studied theology and religion at Durham, graduating with a Masters in 2007, and joined the Civil Service fast stream in 2008. She had been keen to find a job that offered the chance to make a difference, and was particularly attracted by the breadth of opportunities offered by the Fast Stream.

She says that the subject of her degree was probably not relevant for getting a place on the Fast Stream. However, the transferable skills she gained have proved invaluable, particularly in handling highly contested issues of great significance to different groups, and in being able to analyse large amounts of complex information and present them in a concise format. She thinks her non-academic activities at university, such as being treasurer for the student volunteering organisation and captain of a sports team, were also important for helping her get a place on the Fast Stream.

Mary only started working for the Scottish Government recently, and is currently working as a policy officer in the EU policy team. The learning curve has been very steep, but she has had access to excellent training and support from colleagues. She has found that her job has developed significantly as she is given more responsibilities, for example, organising meetings with external stakeholders and developing and delivering training within the Scottish Government.

She particularly enjoys the variety of work in her current job. As desk officer for France she provides briefings for ministers and senior officials on issues to do with France. But she has also found herself working with the French Consulate to sort out problems with the French Consul General’s landline. Every day is different.

Mary really enjoys her job, and also enjoys some of the benefits such as good training opportunities, flexible working hours and working in a building with a swimming pool and gym!

She is looking forward to her future placements in the Scottish Government, and is also hoping to have one placement in another department or in the private sector. The wide range of policy areas dealt with by the Scottish Government mean that she will get a very diverse range of policy expertise while she works there.

Mary would advise anyone considering applying for the programme to speak to some Fast Streamers, to try and gain some relevant experience and to think about how their experiences fit with the competencies set out on the Fast Stream website.

Case Study sourced by Katja Linssen of Newcastle University, 30 December 2008.