At RoS, we are looking for new people to join our advisory Board.

Find out from two of our outgoing Non-Executive Directors, Mhairi Kennedy and Asim Muhammad, what they’ve learned from their time at RoS and what they think makes the role equally challenging and rewarding.

An organisation with purpose

Both Mhairi and Asim joined us with limited prior knowledge of RoS beyond our role as Scotland’s land registry. Their impressions quickly evolved as they learned more about the breadth of our work and ambition.

For Mhairi, the appeal to join RoS came from our commitment to modernisation and transformation.

“I applied for the role because my skills in transformation were very aligned to where the organisation was going strategically. I felt that I could add some of my skill set as a Non-Exec to that mix and that intention.”

For Asim - having been born and raised in Scotland - the role was a meaningful way to give back. And with a career background in technology and digital, the transformation underway at RoS resonated strongly with him:

“I wanted a role to help improve people’s well-being and ways of working…the RoS role was the absolute perfect fit for me to give something back.”

The importance of external experience

Mhairi and Asim both believe that being an effective Non-Executive Director means stepping back and bringing broad, strategic perspective to an organisation.

Asim said:

“You need to try and take your head away from delivery…it’s more about advising and consulting.

“I think what makes a really good Non-Executive Director is somebody that not only uses their expertise to provide that consultation but also looks at it by taking a step back and looking at it end to end.”

Mhairi thought important qualities for Non-Executive Directors were:

“…the ability to bring wider experience from other industries into an organisation...the ability to listen to the Executive team who know - and obviously understand the detail much more - but [also] the ability to question and to think strategically across RoS and externally…to help with that thought process.”

Both expressed that RoS is very supportive of its Non-Executive Directors and that their expertise is highly valued. They find it rewarding when their advice is reflected in corporate plans and long-term decision making - especially as those plans turn into tangible outcomes.

Working with excellent people

Despite their different backgrounds, both Mhairi and Asim say that it is the people and their commitment that has impressed them most from their time at RoS.

They spoke of the passion, expertise and enthusiasm they’ve seen across the organisation.

Mhairi said:

“Their absolute commitment to the outcomes of the organisation and particularly to helping customers within the land and other registries – and that enthusiasm for getting things right for the people of Scotland.”

Asim said:

“The people at RoS are absolutely fantastic - from top down or down up…Everyone you meet has a real passion to do what’s right for the organisation.”

Looking ahead

Since being on our advisory Board, Mhairi and Asim have seen RoS move from using manual processes to adopting more efficient, technology enabled operations.

Going forward, they believe that it is an exciting time for new Non-Executive Directors to join as automation, AI, and digitisation will continue to create opportunities which will further reshape how RoS works.

But they also acknowledge that these changes will come with challenges – meaning any new Non-Executive Directors should be prepared to offer advice in these areas.

Mhairi said:

“The biggest challenges that RoS faces are clearing their backlog of outstanding items that need to be processed – and bringing the really great work that’s already been done on AI into the organisation in a way that enables the organisation to still function well across the next 5 to 10 years.”

Asim said:

“To me, there’s one very common challenge every organisation [currently] faces - cybersecurity. So, making sure we have the protocols, systems, processes and training in place to make sure RoS remains secure from any future attacks [is vital].

“Number two - the biggest challenge - is the adoption of digitisation to make sure that the people of Scotland…are able to implement all the changes that we’re making and to make that user-friendly.”

Applications have now closed

When asked to summarise their experience at RoS in one word, Mhairi said “fantastic,” and Asim said “phenomenal.”

Both would encourage anyone considering the role to apply and emphasised the supportive environment, the strategic challenge, and the opportunity to contribute to a significant public sector organisation.

Mhairi said:

“It’s a great organisation to work with. They are very supportive of Non-Execs being successful and I have had a really excellent Non-Executive journey.”

Asim said:

“If you are really interested in change in technology and digitisation, RoS right now is going through a massive transformation and change program…It’s not a public service in the dark ages, it’s in the new ages - the new front - so someone considering applying to RoS would be coming into a really challenging, exciting time.”

You can watch our videos to find out more about the Non-Executive Director roles and what we're looking for from candidates.