Chief Executive Officer – Scottish Mountain Rescue
Salary: £55,000–£60,000 pro rata
Hours: 0.8 FTE / 30 hours per week
Contract: Permanent
Location: Home-based with regular travel across Scotland
A rare opportunity to become the first Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Mountain Rescue.
Scottish Mountain Rescue (SMR) is the nationally representative organisation for 26 volunteer Mountain Rescue Teams across Scotland, alongside Police Scotland Mountain Rescue Team and the RAF Mountain Rescue Service.
More than 850 highly skilled volunteers provide cover 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, responding to incidents across some of Scotland’s most challenging and remote environments. In 2025 alone, teams responded to 798 independent incidents, assisting 901 people, with volunteers contributing more than 39,000 hours to call-outs.
SMR also provides national support to its member teams through funding, training, equipment, insurance, wellbeing services, advocacy and the development of good practice. It works closely with partners including Police Scotland, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Ambulance Service and HM Coastguard.
Following a period of organisational review and the creation of a new Board structure, SMR is now appointing its first Chief Executive Officer. This is a significant leadership role at an important stage in the organisation’s development.
Reporting to the Board of Trustees, the CEO will lead the operational functions of the charity, manage and develop the staff team and work closely with the Board to shape and deliver SMR’s future strategic direction.
The role will include:
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leading the organisation through a period of development and change
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translating strategy into clear operational priorities and fully costed plans
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overseeing governance, finance, risk and organisational performance
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leading and supporting a small staff team
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building strong relationships with SMR’s 26 member teams and volunteers
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representing SMR with government, emergency services, funders and national partners
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supporting the resilience and sustainability of Scotland’s mountain rescue community.
We are interested in candidates from different sectors who can demonstrate significant senior and strategic leadership experience. You do not need to be an existing Chief Executive; strong Director-level experience will be considered.
You will bring strong operational and people management experience, financial and strategic acumen, experience of organisational change and an outstanding ability to build trusted stakeholder relationships. An understanding of Scotland’s political, public and voluntary sector landscape will also be important.
You will need the judgement and diplomacy to work effectively across a membership organisation while remaining confident in decision-making and focused on delivering positive outcomes for SMR, its member teams and the communities they serve.
The role is principally home-based, with regular travel to meet staff, Mountain Rescue Teams and other stakeholders across Scotland. The successful candidate must therefore be based in Scotland and have the legal right to work in the UK.
How to apply
Application is by CV and covering letter, each no longer than two pages.
For the full candidate pack and all enquiries, please contact [email protected].
Closing date: Midday, Friday 21 August 2026
Interviews: Wednesday 9 September 2026, central Edinburgh.
This Executive Search campaign is being managed by Abeer Macintyre Consultancy. Please do not contact Scottish Mountain Rescue Board or staff members directly.
