Matthew Shaps
Revision as of 11:00, 29 October 2026 by Geography Bot (talk | contribs) (Added career section and infobox employment details from his LinkedIn profile)
| Matthew Shaps
| |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Head of Security and Business Continuity, Scottish Government (2019–2021); earlier posts at the Scottish Government (from 2017) and the Ministry of Defence (2012–2017)[1] |
| Known for | Chair, Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation and Edinburgh Jewish Organisations Group; trustee, Jewish Council of Scotland |
Matthew Shaps is chair of the Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation and of the Edinburgh Jewish Organisations Group, and a trustee of the Jewish Council of Scotland (JCoS, formerly the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities).[2][3][4]
Career
According to his LinkedIn profile, Shaps worked for the Ministry of Defence in London from 2012 to 2017 and then for the Scottish Government from 2017 to 2021.[1]
At the Ministry of Defence, his profile lists three posts, which it says carried similar responsibilities and changed title through internal reorganisations rather than being new jobs:[1]
- Deputy Head, Defence Strategy and Priorities (April 2012 to August 2013), developing priority policies and strategies for ministers. The profile says he led for the ministry on issues including Building Stability Overseas (the UK Conflict Prevention Strategy), stabilisation, the Overseas Territories and emerging powers.
- Deputy Head, Military Strategic Plans (August 2013 to September 2014).
- Deputy Head, Defence Engagement Strategy (June 2014 to September 2017). The profile says he "created and led the International Defence Engagement Strategy", managed international programmes "worth several hundred million pounds", and was responsible for the ministry's global network of defence attachés and project teams, international defence training, Women, Peace and Security, and international agreements.
At the Scottish Government, his profile lists:[1]
- Senior Policy Adviser, Defence, Security & Cyber Resilience (September 2017 to June 2018). The profile says he led on designing and implementing "the first statutory regulation of cyber security for Scotland's essential public services", the EU Security of Network and Information Systems (NIS) Directive, and on the performance of the Covenant for Veterans and Armed Forces in Scotland.
- Head of Business Continuity (June 2018 to July 2019, Edinburgh). The profile says he set up and led a new corporate business continuity function and created new corporate major incident management arrangements.
- Head of Security and Business Continuity (July 2019 to September 2021). The profile says he "led corporate response to Covid-19 to keep Scottish Government functioning and led corporate recovery", and oversaw the government's first security strategy and a "multi-million pound security improvement programme".
Communal roles
- Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation: the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council's directory lists him as chairman, with Hilary Rifkind as vice-chairman.[2] The Edinburgh Star of September 2025 also lists him as chair of the congregation's board, and carries a chair's message from him.[3]
- Edinburgh Jewish Organisations Group, a standing committee of JCoS for Edinburgh: chair.[3]
- Jewish Council of Scotland: one of eight trustees on the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) register in October 2026.[4]
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Matthew Shaps, LinkedIn profile, Experience section, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Glasgow Jewish Representative Council, "Edinburgh Hebrew Congregation" jewishglasgow.org, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Edinburgh Star, No. 93 (September 2025), community directory, accessed 29 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Jewish Council of Scotland (SC029438) Scottish Charity Register, accessed 29 October 2026.