Senior Analyst for the South West Of England

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution, and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime, and migration.
This is a senior analyst role within the ONS Local Division which is part of the Economic, Social and Environmental statistics Group (ESEG) within the Office for National Statistics (ONS). As part of the Governments Levelling Up white paper, ONS is expanding its subnational, regional, and local focus in line with government priorities.
ONS Local is a service that has been established by the Office for National Statistics in response to the Levelling Up white paper in Spring 2022 and the increased focus on the need for timely, granular, and harmonised subnational statistics. ONS Local is a rapidly evolving service being rolled out across the UK, to provide more statistical support to local leaders to maximise opportunities for using data and evidence to support decisions and progress against high profile and cross-Government policies such as levelling-up and net zero agendas.
Regional Leads within ONS Local will support stakeholders to access the data they need, make connections within networks that build their skills and capabilities and provide support on analysis to maximise the effectiveness of insight and intelligence for policy making.
This vacancy is based in the South West of England and requires you to be able to work ‘in the field’ to support local stakeholders, and as such travel is likely to involve meeting our stakeholders within the South West of England including Local Government (e.g. Cornwall County Council, West of England Combined Authority and Devon & Torbay Council) in place of the mandated regular travel to the contracted site. Please note, some travel to other ONS sites may occasionally be required. It should be noted that these are specific requirements relevant to this role that are unlikely to be replicated in other ONS roles., We are looking for a senior analyst who will be responsible for the South West geographic area. The role will provide an excellent opportunity to work across a range of cross-cutting themes including the economy, the labour market and society, as well as an opportunity to work directly with external stakeholders.
The role will involve working directly with local leaders to strengthen two-way understanding and use of the evidence landscape. You will be a key part of your local data and analytical networks with the aim of interpreting the key issues for regional stakeholders.
You will be vital in the delivery of ONS Local services in your dedicated region and support the work of the wider division. You will work closely with others within ONS Local and Subnational Statistics and Analysis, local partners, and teams across ONS to design and deliver analytical advice, support, and projects that contribute to regional and national priorities.
As the main contact for local partners in your region, you will act as an ONS representative, engaging with senior stakeholders from a range of local and subnational bodies. You will develop a deep expert understanding of the policy issues within your region (and more widely across the UK), the subnational data landscape across government, and locally, to support these priorities, and knowledge of key data gaps. You will contribute to regional analytical networks and represent ONS Local in these meetings.
You will have excellent analytical skills and a record of delivering high quality outputs, alongside an understanding of the main quantitative, qualitative and evaluation research methods. You will need to show initiative when co-designing analytical projects with stakeholders and leading their delivery, while also working creatively to resolve data gaps at the local level.
You will be confident in interpreting and translating project aims and user needs into researchable questions with well-defined project specifications. You will contribute to improve decision-making and inform debate through excellent communication of high quality, easy-to-use analysis. You may also have some opportunities to line manage and matrix manage other staff., The successful candidates will undertake the following:
+ Establish effective relationships with regional partners, including local government stakeholders, academics, and other organisations, in addition to engaging with teams across the ONS and wider civil service.
+ Lead the gathering of user needs for analytical projects by engaging with local partners and looking to align priorities across the wider ONS Local teams.
+ Select suitable analytical techniques and where appropriate, combining alternative data sources with existing data sets, or looking to collect new data, to produce impactful analysis, contributing to high-profile policy areas such as levelling up and net zero.
+ Promote the use of innovative methodologies by engaging with the wider analytical network to understand new developments in research techniques.
+ Champion best practice when producing analytical outputs, embedding appropriate quality assurance processes to ensure analysis is delivered to a high-quality, and producing comprehensive documentation to ensure reproducibility.
+ Consider the audience when communicating analytical findings, adapting presentation style where necessary to cater for both technical and non-technical users., At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.
As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance.
If you would like an accessible version of any of the attachments or recruitment documents below or linked to in this advert, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist.

Things you need to know

Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
Security Clearance
Individuals appointed to the Office for National Statistics or UK Statistics Authority will be subject to National Security Vetting at “SC Cleared” level for this post. To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out applicants will normally need to have lived in the UK for the 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying.
A lack of UK residency in itself is not always a bar to security clearance.
If you are unsure that you meet the eligibility above, please contact the recruitment email on the advert before applying to discuss.
Applicants may utilise AI resources in their submissions; ensuring all information provided is factually accurate, truthful, and original, avoiding any form of plagiarism to maintain the authenticity and credibility of the application process.
Sift
Assessment at application stage will be based on your work history, skill and experience and personal statement. Your application should be tailored to demonstrate any skills, knowledge and experience that are relevant to the content of the role.
Your personal statement should be no longer than 1000 words. You should use this space fully to provide evidence for each essential criterion within the person specification. As the criteria are scored, we would recommend that you give clear examples for each including the impact of your actions and set them out using the STAR acronym (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage.
Interview
Should you be invited to interview you will be assessed against all the behaviours (and technical skills if applicable) as outlined in the advert.
A presentation may be required at interview. Further information will be provided to shortlisted candidates prior to interview.
A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.
Sift will take place from - 3rd December
Interviews - 11th &12th December
Dates may be subject to change.
For the full terms and conditions of the post, please see attachment below.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
+ UK nationals
+ nationals of the Republic of Ireland
+ nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
+ nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
+ individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
+ Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

+ Strong leadership skills to manage the delivery of analytical projects, ensuring they are completed in a timely manner and meet user needs.
+ A proven track record of working closely and collaboratively with others to ensure that customer requirements are met, analytical expertise is shared, and work is fully aligned with the wider organisational and/or Government strategies and practices, improving data capability in local areas.
+ Excellent analytical skills, a sound understanding and application of analytical techniques. Able to translate user requirements into a programme of analytical projects and a self-starter, able to deliver analytical projects independently with minimal guidance.
+ Proven ability to organise a complex workload, to prioritise, and manage rapidly changing demands and priorities whilst maintaining professionalism.
Desirable criteria:
+ Experience of producing code in R or Python., + Communicating and Influencing
+ Working Together
+ Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
+ Proven quantitative analytical skills including the ability to explain complex issues to technical peers and nontechnical audiences.

The Office for National Statistics is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our 5400 valued colleagues across the business.

Alongside your salary of £41,364, Office for National Statistics contributes £11,983 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.