Higher Statistical Officer
| Posting date: | 15 May 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £36,728 to £43,834 per year |
| Additional salary information: | £36,728 - £40,670 National £39,684 - £43,834 London |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 05 June 2025 |
| Location: | BS2 0EL |
| Company: | Government Recruitment Service |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 405738/1 |
Summary
Sitting in the Cabinet Office, the Government People Group (GPG) exists to work with departments, professions, and functions to build a modern, effective Civil Service. We support the government workforce with the right skills and capability. We are working with leaders to get the right people in the right jobs, with the right skills and continuous learning to excel in their roles.
Within the GPG, Government Skills was set up in 2020 to drive up capability across Government in an evidence-based and impact-led way. Government Skills ensures all civil servants, from entry to most senior leadership, have the core and specialist knowledge, skills and networks they need to deliver great public services and address complex systemic challenges, now and in the future. This work is central to the Public Sector Reform and Efficiency policy area, and supports Mission Delivery by ensuring the workforce has the capability and learning culture to deliver against the Government’s missions.
The Evidence and Impact team within Government Skills is responsible for ensuring that hundreds of millions of pounds of annual spend on developing the skills, knowledge and relationships of the Government workforce is evidence-based and impact-led. We use a combination of analytical methods covering monitoring/data analytics, social research, evaluation, statistics, behavioural and user research, and economic analysis to provide robust, purposeful insights to inform business decisions. Our evidence supports the creation of effective policy and strategy on the future skills needs of the government and wider public sector workforce, and supports effective design, commissioning and delivery of the interventions required to achieve this. The team has a reputation as a centre of expertise supporting the whole of government on these issues, and is expanding as part of plans for the next spending review period 2025-26.
You can find more information about Government Skills on our GOV.UK page: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/government-skills-and-curriculum-unit including about our team: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/evidence-based-learning-and-development and our current Evaluation Strategy: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-campus-evaluation-strategy.
As a Higher Statistical Officer you will support statistical analysis for Government Skills to understand the relationship between workforce skills, capability-building investments and critical outcomes including Civil Service and people performance, and mission delivery across government and the wider public sector. Due to the implementation of Mission Delivery, and the current Spending Review, this is an exciting time to ensure that Government Skills is informed by a strong foundation of evidence and evaluation.
Key responsibilities include supporting the development of data sharing agreements with Government departments and facilitating the integration and linkage of complex data sets to allow you and others to conduct effective analysis and statistically robust research/evaluation. You will also support reporting on KPIs and responding to ad hoc requests from senior stakeholders such as the Director of Government Skills and the Permanent Secretary for Cabinet Office.
Additionally, you will be instrumental in embedding best practices for data quality and management across the directorate as we shape and refine our data strategy on sound statistical principles.
There are a wide range of analytical projects you may become involved with, being responsive to the priorities of the directorate and our wider stakeholders. We will support you to develop your analytical skills and interests.
You will work closely with the surrounding team of statisticians, social researchers and economists within the Evidence and Impact (E&I) team, and will contribute to the development, maturity and positive culture of the E&I team and build relationships with the wider Government Skills Directorate and selected stakeholders across government.
Responsibilities will include:
- Support the implementation of a directorate-wide data strategy, including supporting the transition to a new model of data collection, analysis, reporting, insight, research and evaluation of skills, learning and development activities across Government. You will take responsibility for defined tasks and processes within this wider strategy and transformation programme, and will contribute your ideas to the programme as a whole. You will carry out work to improve data availability and data quality, for example writing data sharing agreements, carrying out root cause analysis for data quality issues, or producing metric development plans.
- Carry out statistical analysis to support work across the directorate, supporting an evidence-based, impact-led approach to developing the capability of the government and public sector workforce. This will include contributing to statistical analysis across the whole lifecycle, from contributing ideas on the policy issues statistical analysis can help with; contributing to design decisions; ensuring quality (including alignment to key policies and frameworks like the Aqua, Green and Magenta Books), ethics and compliance (including producing DPIAs); sourcing or supporting the collection of data; carrying out analysis; and reporting the findings.
- Project manage statistical analysis and statistical strategy and transformation projects, for example by producing and maintaining time plans, project documentation, risk registers, managing stakeholder engagement, and arranging meetings.
- Support the team in meeting stakeholders’ data and analysis needs, using and developing your own knowledge of the policy area and statistical methods, and by drawing on appropriate external resources and expertise. For example, you may read journal articles, review literature or speak to academic experts.
- Promote innovation in statistical methods through applying your existing knowledge and skills, and proactively upskilling yourself, for example, on ethical and robust use of AI within statistical analysis.
- Contribute to the effective development of the Evidence and Impact Team by supporting at least one cross-cutting work area, for example, building capacity in statistical analysis across the team.
Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme