Dear Candidate, Thank you for your interest in the role of Director of People & Insights at Cairn Housing Association.
This is a particularly exciting time to be joining our organisation. As one of Scotland’s leading social housing providers, Cairn is proud to manage nearly 5,000 homes across the country, supported by a dedicated team of over 200 colleagues. We are committed to creating thriving communities and delivering high-quality, person-centred housing services – and this new role sits right at the heart of that mission.
The Director of People & Insights is a key appointment for us – one that reflects our ambition to evolve, innovate, and place people at the centre of everything we do. You’ll be joining our Executive Team at a pivotal moment, helping to shape organisational culture, strengthen community engagement, and ensure that our strategic direction is informed by insight, evidence, and lived experience.
It’s a broad and high-impact portfolio, covering people and culture, communications, public affairs, business planning, equality, diversity and inclusion, customer insight, and performance. We’re looking for a values-led leader who brings emotional intelligence, curiosity, and a collaborative approach – someone who can challenge, inspire and influence across the organisation and beyond.
If you share our passion for people, place, and purpose, I hope you’ll consider applying. This is a genuine opportunity to make a lasting difference – not just within Cairn, but across the communities we serve.
Thank you again for your interest, and I look forward to learning more about what you could bring to this important role.
Warm regards,
Audrey Simpson
Chief Executive – Cairn Housing Association
T&C’s
Position:
Director of People & Insights
Remuneration:
Pay is set at £96,407. All roles at Cairn start at 95%, therefore this role will commence at £91,587 for a period of 6 months in the probation period.
Pension:
Aviva Pension with a minimum 3% employee contribution. Cairn will double employee contributions up to 5%. There is no limit to employee contribution rates, the maximum employer contribution rate is 10%.
Employees can choose to salary sacrifice their pension.
Annual Leave/Public Holidays:
29 days holiday rising to 31 after 5 years’ services,
plus 10 days public holidays.
Relocation:
Relocation costs are set at £8K
Probation:
The probation period for the role is 6 months. The notice period after probationary is 3 months.
Location/Hybrid etc:
Hybrid working is available or full-time office working is available.
Office bases are Bellshill, Edinburgh, Irvine, Inverness or Thurso. Travel required across Scotland as and when required to meet the needs of the business.
Download the job description and declaration form to learn more about the requirements and opportunities this new role offers
KEY DATES
Closing Date: Tuesday 9th September 2025 (9AM)
The longlist will be agreed Friday 12th September 2025. All candidates will be informed of the outcome of their application that afternoon.
First Interviews: Friday 19th September 2025
Longlist candidates will be interviewed virtually using MS Teams by a Campbell Tickell panel.
Candidates will also have the opportunity to meet with Audrey Simpson – Cairn Chief Executive on the same day.
Note – Due to summer holidays, we will try to offer flexibility where possible.
Shortlisting: Wednesday 24th September 2025
The shortlist will be agreed on Wednesday 24th September 2025. All candidates will be informed of the outcome that afternoon.
Shortlisted candidates will be required to complete psychometric assessments and prepare a presentation, based on a pre-assigned topic, to be submitted ahead of the final interview.
Final Interviews will be held in person on Wednesday 8th October 2025 at Cairn’s Head Office, Bellevue House, 22 Hopetoun Street, Edinburgh, EH7 4GH.
This will include a presentation, panel interview and a range of stakeholder sessions.
The panel will include:
- Angus Lamont – Chair
- Lizzie Crawford – Vice Chair
- Andrew Latto – Board Member
- Audrey Simpson – Chief Executive
- Kelly Shaw from Campbell Tickell will also be in attendance
HOW TO APPLY
A CV. Make sure this confirms your current/most recent roles (you can sum up earlier roles, say before the last 15 years), tell us about your achievements so we get a picture of your skills and experience, and try to keep it to two pages or three at most;
A personal statement. We want to hear about your motivation, why this role/organisation, and you will also want to evidence how relevant your offer is to the role specification; again ideally in two to three pages; and
The declaration form, which you can access here and includes space to indicate if you cannot attend any of the interview dates.
Please submit your completed application documents by uploading via the ‘Apply for this role’ button. You will receive an email confirmation and see an on-screen confirmation message after submitting your application, but if you have any issues, you can call 020 3434 0990.
The closing date is Tuesday 9th September 2025 (9AM). Please ensure we receive your application in good time.
If you have any questions about the role or wish to have an informal discussion, please do not hesitate to contact me via email at kelly.shaw@campbelltickell.com to organise a prearranged time for a call.
LINKS