Public sector jobs in Inverness

Inverness is the administrative centre of the Highlands, and the public sector employs a large share of the people who work there. NHS Highland, which runs Raigmore Hospital, and the Highland Council are the two largest employers. NatureScot and Highlands and Islands Enterprise both have their headquarters in the city. Pay is on Scottish scales, and many jobs based in Inverness cover a very large and mostly rural area.

NHS Highland and Raigmore Hospital

NHS Highland is the health board for the Highland Council area and for Argyll and Bute. Raigmore Hospital in Inverness is the main acute hospital for the Highlands, and New Craigs Hospital in the city provides inpatient mental health care. The board also runs community hospitals, district nursing and other services spread across a wide area, so community posts can involve long drives.

Highland organises health and social care differently from most of Scotland. Under the lead agency model, NHS Highland is responsible for adult social care and the council is responsible for children’s services. That means many adult care workers and adult social workers in Highland are NHS employees, and their jobs appear on the NHS Scotland jobs site, not only on myjobscotland.

Agenda for Change pay in Scotland rose 3.75 per cent from 1 April 2026 under a two-year deal. Scottish bands have fewer pay points than England’s and higher values:

Band	Pay from 1 April 2026
Band 2	£26,658 to £28,947
Band 3	£29,061 to £31,364
Band 4	£31,492 to £34,254
Band 5	£34,494, £36,857, £42,977
Band 6	£43,169, £45,070, £52,603
Band 7	£52,769, £54,784, £61,377

The deal includes an inflation guarantee. If average CPI for January to December 2026 is above 2.75 per cent, a top-up will be paid in March 2027.

The Highland Council

The Highland Council is a unitary authority and covers the largest land area of any council in the UK. Its headquarters are in Inverness, but its schools, depots and offices are spread from Caithness to Lochaber and Skye. It runs schools, children’s services, housing, roads, waste collection and planning. Vacancies go on myjobscotland, and the advert shows the work base, which may be a long way from Inverness.

Scottish councils do not use the English NJC pay spine, so take the salary from the advert. Leisure centres and libraries in the area are run by High Life Highland, a charity set up by the council, which recruits for its own staff.

Teachers are on the SNCT scales. From 1 August 2026 a probationer earns £36,159 and the main grade runs from £43,383 to £54,453. Teaching posts need registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. Small rural primaries often have a teaching head who also takes a class.

National bodies with headquarters in Inverness

NatureScot, the Scottish Government’s nature agency (formerly Scottish Natural Heritage), is based at Great Glen House in Inverness. It recruits ecologists, planning advisers and area officers, along with data, mapping and corporate staff. Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the economic development agency for the north and west of Scotland, is also based in the city. Both set their own grades and pay and advertise on their own websites, so read the advert for the salary and pension scheme.

The University of the Highlands and Islands has its executive office in Inverness, and Inverness College UHI is one of its partner colleges. Staff there are employed by the university or the college, not by the Scottish Government.

Police, fire and ambulance

Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service all have bases in Inverness. Across the Highlands most fire stations are crewed by on-call firefighters, who live or work near the station and respond to calls alongside another job. Wholetime firefighters are on UK-wide NJC rates of £31,539 in development and £40,358 once competent, from 1 July 2026. Firefighter pay explains how on-call pay works. Police officer pay in Scotland is set separately from England and Wales.

PVG checks and Scottish tax

Criminal record checks in Scotland come from Disclosure Scotland. Jobs in regulated work with children or protected adults need PVG scheme membership, which costs £59 to join and £18 to renew, and is free for volunteers. A basic (level 1) or standard and enhanced (level 2) disclosure costs £25. Since 1 April 2026 PVG membership lasts five years and then needs renewing.

Living in Scotland means paying Scottish income tax, with an S prefix on your tax code. In 2026/27 you pay 19 per cent from £12,571, 20 per cent from £16,538, 21 per cent from £29,527 and 42 per cent from £43,663. Say you start on band 5 at £34,494: the part of your pay above £29,526 is taxed at 21 per cent. Scottish S tax codes and rates sets out every band, and the take-home pay calculator works out the monthly figure. Public sector jobs in Scotland covers pensions and other differences from England. If you are weighing Inverness against another city in the north, public sector jobs in Aberdeen covers NHS Grampian and Aberdeen City Council.