Vacancy -- Senior Statistical Officer – No Welsh language skills required

Working for the Civil Service

The Welsh Government's recruitment processes are underpinned by the principle of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

Vacancy Details

Chief Operating Officer’s Group
Statistics Profession
SEO - £41,700 - £49,370
£40,100
Full time (applications are welcome from people who work part time, as part of a job share or who work full time)
Permanent
Pan Wales
'Pan Wales' means that the location in which the vacancy can be based is flexible, subject to the needs of the business. Please note it may not always be possible to accommodate a preference for a specific office location, but requests will be taken into consideration.
TBC

Purpose of Post:

 This advert is for Senior Statistical Officer posts.  We also have a separate advert (Vacancy ID 7705) for Higher Statistical Officer posts (the grade below). It is possible to apply for both the Higher and Senior Statistical Officer vacancies but it is recommended you tailor your personal statements to match the differing Person Specification for the two grades.

This advert is for posts where no Welsh language skills are required. We have a separate advert (Vacancy ID 7708) for Senior Statistical Officer posts where Welsh language skills are essential. If you speak Welsh, you are encouraged to apply to both adverts in order to be considered for all our available Senior Statistical Officer posts (you can submit the same application to both vacancies).

There are a number posts available. Candidates will be appointed on merit order and a reserve list will be held for 12 months in case further posts become available.

The role of Welsh Government statisticians is to support decision-making, resource allocation, research and debate within government and the wider community by providing reliable and efficient statistical services. A wide range of topics are covered by Welsh Government statisticians including education, health, housing, poverty, social justice, industry, the economy, local government, transport, the environment, agriculture, demography and the Welsh language. Most of our statisticians work together in a central hub of analysts known as Statistical Services Division; however there are also a small number of statistical teams “outbedded” within Welsh Government policy departments.

The general purpose of our Senior Statistical Officer posts is to manage the provision of analysis and advice through the collection, collation, analysis and presentation of data on specific topics.

Our Senior Statistical Officer posts are available on a permanent basis. If you are an existing civil servant, it is also possible to opt to undertake these posts as an inter-departmental loan for up to 2 years, if you would prefer this. Please note, however, that our loans are only available on a lateral basis.

Key tasks:

Typical key tasks a Senior Statistical Officer is required to carry out vary from post to post.  Examples include the following:

  • Responsibility for a discrete area of work, leading on provision of statistical analysis and advice to policy officials to inform policy development and monitoring.
  • Effective programme management and business planning, overseeing the work programme for the team, and planning and monitoring activity across the year.
  • Managing the production of statistical outputs, including consulting with users and ensuring compliance with Office for Statistics Regulation requirements.
  • Resource management, typically responsible for a team of 2-3 staff, ensuring individual performance objectives are aligned to the team’s work plan and divisional priorities, and quality management of the team’s work.
  • Management of relationships with stakeholders including policy customers, external data suppliers, other government departments and users of Welsh Government statistics.
  • Briefing Ministers and senior policy officials on statistical issues.
  • Overseeing the implementation of a strategic approach to the collection, storage and dissemination of data – this could include liaising with contractors for systems or surveys.
  • Work with analytical colleagues to fully exploit the potential of existing data sources e.g. through data linking.
  • Leading on the development and continual review and improvement of statistical outputs and processes, to meet the needs of internal and external users in an efficient and effective way, and assessing future demand. This includes considering best use of digital technology in analysis and presentation in line with the strategy for the UK statistical system (Statistics for the Public Good)
  • Promotion of statistical best practice, ensuring compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics and related legislation.
  • Building an understanding of the range and quality of data sources in relevant portfolio, evaluating and advising on appropriate use of data sources

Development opportunities:

  • The post-holder will work closely with and be mentored by experienced statistical staff.
  • Opportunity to develop knowledge and understanding of the Welsh Government’s policies in a range of diverse and often cross-cutting areas and to work with colleagues in formulating and monitoring such policies.
  • Access to focused learning and development opportunities, steered by the Government Statistician Continuous Professional Development (CPD) framework
  • Experience of briefing Ministers and senior officials, and partnership working both within the Welsh Government, UK Government and with external bodies such as Digital Health & Care Wales, Public Health Wales and Estyn.
  • Opportunity to develop leadership skills.

Closing Date:

18/07/2022, 16:00

Eligibility

Posts recruited to as part of this recruitment campaign are broadly open to UK nationals, those with right to remain and work in the UK and those that meet the Civil Service Nationality Rules only. Check your eligibility here:

Prior to appointment, all successful applicants will be required to produce original, acceptable documents as part of the pre-employment checks. If it becomes apparent at a later stage in the process that you aren’t eligible to apply, your application will be withdrawn, or offer retracted.

Equality and Diversity

The Welsh Government is committed to providing services which embrace diversity and which promote equality of opportunity. This is underpinned by the Equality Act 2010 and will be adhered to at each stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure that these commitments are also embedded in our day-to-day working practices with all our customers, colleagues and partners.

We are committed to being an anti-racist organisation and increasing diversity in the Welsh Government by removing barriers and supporting all our staff to reach their potential. We are committed to recruiting Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic people and disabled people who are currently under-represented in Welsh Government.

We welcome applications from everyone regardless of age, marriage and civil partnership (both same sex and opposite sex), impairment or health condition, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, gender identity or gender expression.

We are a Stonewall Diversity Champion and a Disability Confident Level 3 (Leader) organisation. Key to supporting this work and providing peer support are five Board sponsored Staff Networks (Disability Awareness and Support (DAAS); Minority Ethnic Support Network (MESN); Mind Matters (Mental health and well-being); PRISM (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex +) and Women Together.

Disability Confident

A Great Place to Work for Veterans

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

Welsh Language Requirements

The Welsh Government is a bilingual organisation and Welsh language skills are considered an asset to the organisation. We encourage and support staff to learn, develop and use their Welsh language skills in the workplace. 

The following list of language requirements represents an objective assessment by the line manager on behalf of the Welsh Government of the Welsh language skills required to undertake the duties of this particular post.

Not necessary to undertake the duties of this post

Social Partnership

In Welsh Government, the relationship between the employer and trade unions is based on social partnership. We believe our goals can best be achieved by management and trade unions working together.

Our 3 recognised trade unions are:
•         PCS
•         Prospect
•         FDA

This relationship is underpinned by a partnership agreement. This sets out how our unions work with Welsh Government on issues such as:
•         pay
•         terms and conditions
•         policies and procedures
•         organisational change.

Our Welsh Government trade union colleagues work together to give their members a real say in the workplace. They make sure that the interests of their members are promoted and protected. They also help reduce inequalities and improve terms and conditions.

The Welsh Government has an excellent track record of working in partnership with its trade unions. We encourage staff to get involved. We support you to join a recognised trade union, to ensure your voice is heard in the workplace. and to learn more about trade unions and partnership working.

Competencies / Job Specific Criteria

Candidates are asked to provide evidence against the following person specification in their personal statement;

Senior Statistical Officer Person Specification

  • Experience of managing a team and prioritising tasks in line with organisational objectives
  • Strong leadership skills with the capability and experience to overcome challenges in order to deliver quality business outcomes
  • Strong analytical experience, including a track record in the practical application of analysis or research with an in depth knowledge of data sources
  • A proven ability to manage the delivery of complex projects, delivering quality outcomes to deadline and identifying risks
  • Good communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to communicate complex analysis to non-specialists and contribute effectively to discussions with ministers, senior officials and external stakeholders
  • Ability to deliver high impact analysis to tight deadlines, using forward planning to identify risks and issues

Advice: When deciding which examples to use in your personal statement, keep referring back to the job advert, SStO level competencies in the 2021 GSG competency framework and Level 3 of the Civil Service Success Profile Behaviours for effective behaviour indicators.

Further information about the role of statisticians within Welsh Government, along with advice on application writing and preparing for interview, can be found in the attached candidate pack: Candidate Pack - Senior Statistical Officer - ENG (gov.wales)

Please note – this advert is for a grade where some previous experience of working in the field of statistics is required. If you are interested in a career as a statistician in Welsh Government but don’t yet have any statistics work experience (for example if you have recently graduated with a degree containing taught statistical content), then we encourage you to apply to us via the Government Statistical Service’s central Statistical Officer recruitment campaign.

Assessment Process

Eligibility criteria

You must have one of the following in order to apply:

• A first or second class honours degree in a subject containing formal statistical training (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography Data Science or similar); or

• A higher degree, e.g. an MSc or PhD, in a subject containing formal statistical training (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Data Science, Psychology, Geography or similar).

• Applications from candidates who do not have a degree are welcomed, but they must demonstrate that they have worked in a statistics/data science related field. Candidates without a relevant degree will be required to demonstrate their continuous professional development (via a CPD Log Book) in statistics/data science to demonstrate knowledge at the same level as a foundation degree/HND (Level 5).

Please note if you are invited to interview, you will need to provide evidence of your eligibility (e.g. by providing a copy of your degree certificate).

Application form and sift

Please apply by submitting a CV and personal statement via our online application system. You may apply in either Welsh or English. Your CV should cover details of education and professional qualifications, employment history and relevant skills and experience.

Your personal statement should reflect the person specification outlined above. It must include details of your technical and professional achievements and should be no more than 1250 words.

When looking at applications, the assessors will be looking for clear evidence of your statistical knowledge and experience and how you meet the Person Specification criteria; so you are advised to tailor it accordingly.

Once you have submitted your application, your CV and personal statement will be considered by the recruitment panel.

Multiple choice test

If your application demonstrates the skills and experience required for the role, you will be invited to undertake an online multiple choice test, designed to test your numeracy and statistical knowledge. You will be sent an email with a link to the test. You will have one week to complete the test. It is a timed test and must be completed and submitted by midday on the date specified in the email in order for you to be considered for the next stage of the process.  

If you are already a member of the Government Statistician Group, you are exempt from sitting the test. Please email Rebecca.Gillard@gov.wales with your GSG membership number who will confirm if you do not need to complete the test. You will then be moved onto the next stage (interview).

Online interview & dissemination test

If you pass the multiple choice test, you will be invited to an online interview. The online interview will take place over Microsoft Teams. The interview will be using various assessment techniques aligned to the Civil Service Success Profiles framework. Questioning styles include Situational and Past Experience types. This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job. In addition, you will also be asked competency style questions on the GSG Technical competencies. During which you will be expected to demonstrate understanding of two statistical techniques.  Before the interview you will be given 30 minutes to sit a short test, which will form a presentation to be delivered to the panel at the beginning of the interview. The presentation should last no more than 5 minutes and you will remain seated during the presentation. If you are already a member of the Government Statistician Group, you are exempt from sitting this test.

Technical Competencies:

  • Statisticians-Presenting and Disseminating Data Effectively
  • Statisticians-Data Analysis
  • Statisticians-Acquiring data/Understanding Customer Needs

Civil Service Behaviours:

  • Delivering at Pace
  • Seeing the Big Picture
  • Leadership

Want to find out more?

To help explain the application process and answer any questions about our Higher Statistical Officer and Senior Statistical Officer positions, we will be hosting two MS Teams Webinars.

Join on your computer or mobile app by clicking on one of the following links:

12:00-13:00 on 30 June 2022: Click here to join the meeting

16:00-17:00 on 4 July 2022: Click here to join the meeting

 

Other Information

  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘actual starting salary’, all candidates will start at the minimum of the pay scale being appointed to (this includes existing civil servants).This is not negotiable.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘type of opportunity’, this recruitment advert is not open on a Loan or Secondment basis.
  • For more information on the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions for Loan and Secondment positions in Welsh Government, please see external recruitment candidate guidance.
  • Unless stated otherwise in ‘Location of Post’ the role/s recruited to via this campaign can only be worked in the UK, not overseas.
Rebecca Gillard - rebecca.gillard@gov.wales or statscareers1@gov.wales

How to apply

All applications for this vacancy should be made online via the Welsh Government's online application system.  If you have an impairment which would prevent you from applying on-line, please e-mail SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales to request an application pack in an alternative format, or to request a reasonable adjustment related to an impairment in order to submit your application.

To apply, you'll need to have an account on our online application system.  Click the 'Apply' button below, and you'll be asked to 'Log in' if you already have an account, or 'Register' if you don't yet have an account.  Registration takes just a few minutes to complete.  You'll need an e-mail address to be able to register.  Once you've registered for an account and logged in, you'll be taken to the online application form, which you'll need to fully complete and submit before the deadline on the closing date.  

If you’d like to apply for this vacancy in Welsh, please use the ‘Newid Iaith / Change Language’ link at the top of this page, to take you to the Welsh version of this advert, from which you can apply in Welsh.

For further information regarding the Welsh Government recruitment process, please see the Recruitment Guidance for External Candidates (link).

When evidencing your suitability for the post, it is recommended that you refer to the Civil Service Competency Framework (link)

Grievance and Complaints

Anyone who believes they have been treated unfairly, or has a grievance or complaint, about how the process was conducted should either write to the Head of Resourcing, Welsh Government, Cathays Park 2, Cardiff CF10 3NQ or email SharedServiceHelpdesk@gov.wales.  If you are unhappy with the outcome of the complaint raised with the Welsh Government and feel that the principles of appointment on merit through fair and open competition have not been met you have the right to pursue your grievance with the Civil Service Commission.

This vacancy is closed to applications.