Senior Research Officer
Office for National Statistics
Apply before Midday on Tuesday 29th October 2024
Details
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Salary
Job grade
Other
Contract type
Type of role
Social Research
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
ONS operates a flexible hybrid working model across the UK, with colleagues linked to one of our contractual locations in Newport, Titchfield (Fareham), Manchester, London or Darlington and working between office and remote throughout the week.
As part of the hybrid working arrangement there is a 40% minimum office attendance requirement. Attendance is typically at your contractual office, with occasional travel to alternative locations. Due to estates constraints, there are currently temporary exceptions to this for colleagues based at Manchester and Darlington who are required to attend the office for a minimum of 20% of their work time.
About the job
Job summary
The Office for National Statistics provides statistics to give insight into different areas of society and our economy such as health and expenditure.
The ONS undertakes some of the largest UK social and business surveys such as the Labour Force Survey and the Crime Survey for England and Wales, to understand many different aspects of society and we need your help with our work.
Our statistics are focused around the core principles in the UK’s Code of Practice for Statistics:
• Trustworthiness: to produce statistics which are well managed, impartial and open
• Quality: to produce independent statistics using appropriate data and methods which meet the needs of the people who want to use them
• Value: to produce statistics which are useful, easy to access, relevant and support the understanding of important issues
At ONS we are committed to delivering Statistics for the Public Good by ensuring we are radical, ambitious, inclusive and sustainable.
Job description
Our outputs range from estimating the size, distribution and characteristics of the population including migration, as well as analysis of health, inequalities, crime and much more to paint a picture of the UK on which to base decisions for the future.
We’ve never been so busy and if you want to play your part in shaping the future then now is a fantastic time to join us.
As one of our Senior Research Officers you'll join the Government Social Research (GSR) profession. It is one of the seven professional groups in the Analysis Function.
Person specification
Responsibilities
Roles may include some of the following:
• Production and publication of high-quality regular statistical outputs including National Statistics
• Discrete pieces of analysis to provide context and understanding around analytical priorities including issues of significant public interest
• Development of new methods, production systems and dissemination to make sure we meet data users’ changing needs
• Leading on the designing, development, and management of questionnaires for social and economic surveys (suitable for paper, telephone, face-to-face and online self-completion)
• Management of researchers and building their capability
• Working and collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders (including government departments) and other customers to make the best use of our statistics through answering their questions on standard outputs or conducting additional analysis
• Assisting with research to understand administrative datasets and how they can be used in the production of official statistics
• Contributing to quality assurance and production of statistical publications and research reports
• Leading and conducting qualitative research (including focus groups, cognitive interviewing, pop-up research, usability testing and so on) with the public and analysis of findings
• Reporting findings through presentations, at ‘show and tell’ meetings, and through papers to a variety of audiences, both in the UK and internationally
• Liaising closely with other colleagues across ONS to share knowledge and develop expertise
• Using specialist statistical software (such as R, Python or equivalent) to support this research
Qualifications
1. Qualification route
To be eligible for this route you must:
• Hold, or expect to get during this academic year, an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:1 (or postgraduate degree in addition to an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:2) in a social science-related subject with sufficient social research content,
AND
• Have at least two years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated.
The SRO Eligibility form attached to this advert includes further detail on what qualifies as a social science subject in addition to what qualifies as successful work experience. Please read this form carefully to ensure that you meet the criteria for this route.
2. Badged route
To be eligible for this route you must:
• Already be a member of the Government Social Research profession,
AND
• Have at least two years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated.
The SRO Eligibility form attached to this advert includes further information on what qualifies as successful work experience. Furthermore, you must use this form to tell us if you are already a badged member of GSR, which will be checked when we process your application. Please read this form carefully to ensure that you meet the criteria for this route.
3. Professional experience route
To be eligible for this route you must:
• Hold, or expect to get during this academic year, an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:1 (or postgraduate degree in addition to an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:2) in any subject or hold a degree equivalent (for example, an advanced Certificate or Diploma from MRS),
AND
• Have at least four years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated.
The SRO Eligibility form attached to this advert includes further information on what qualifies as successful work experience. Please read this form carefully to ensure that you meet the criteria for this route.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Leadership
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- GSR Skill: Technical (Identifying research needs, designing & specifying research)
- GSR Skill: Technical (Analysis & interpretation)
- GSR Skill: Using and promoting social research
Benefits
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.
We are committed to supporting our people’s wellbeing by offering flexible ways of working that support a healthy work life balance. We are happy to explore opportunities with you about working flexibly in line with our hybrid working policies.
Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that the benefits pack attached (bottom of page) will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues and our fantastic working culture.
Inclusion & Accessibility
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 member of the Business Disability Forum and 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
Security Clearance
The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying.
A lack of UK residency in itself is not always a bar to security clearance but the Department will need to consider eligibility by exception on a case-by-case basis. You will be asked to provide information regarding your UK residency during your application, and failure to provide this will result in your application being rejected.
If you are unsure that you meet the eligibility above, please read the information available on Gov.uk on this link, or contact the recruitment email on the advert before applying to discuss, as failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected and any offer of employment being withdrawn.
At the point of SC application you will need to provide or give access to the following evidence:
- Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
- UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
- Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
- Security Services records
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.
Please note that all campaigns may be subject to withdrawal at any stage if the internal resource position changes.
Application Process
This section outlines how to apply and the selection process. Please ensure you read all guidance to understand the requirements. The attached Candidate Pack will help you complete your application (see link at the bottom of this job advert).
Completing the Application
To apply for the Senior Research Officer role you must complete the following parts of the application:
- Online application: found via the ‘Apply Now’ button in this advert. Please complete all sections of your online application form.
- SRO Eligibility form: This is attached to the advert – you must read this carefully, complete the relevant section (depending on your route of application), and upload when you submit your application. You should use this form to record your: qualifications (where required), the social research content of your qualifications (where required), and your existing membership of the Government Social Research profession (where required). Furthermore, you should use this form to evidence the experience gained from your current and/or previous role(s). Specifically, use the SRO Eligibility form to select the social research skills used in these roles.
- Complete your research example (see below), to be included in the ‘personal statement’ section of the online application form.
Failure to complete any of the above will result in your application being sifted out of the recruitment process.
Research Example (personal statement)
You must include an example of a time you have led a piece of social research in the Personal Statement section on the application form.
There is a 750-word limit on this section. More information on the research example can be found in the Candidate Pack attached to the advert.
The Research Example will be assessed against the Government Social Research technical skills outlined below. You will also be assessed against one Civil Service behaviour - Leadership.
Behaviours
This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills. Technical Skills are assessed against the GSR Technical Framework
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Delivering at Pace
- Leadership
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Government Social Research (GSR) Skill: Technical (Identifying research needs, designing & specifying research)
- GSR Skill: Technical (Analysis & interpretation)
- GSR Skill: Using and promoting social research
Knowledge Test
Candidates who successfully pass the application sift (including an evaluation of the online application, the SRO Eligibility form, and the research example) will be invited to complete an Online GSR Skills Knowledge Test. Note, candidates do not need to complete the knowledge test if they are already GSR badged or if they have successfully passed the knowledge test within the last 12 months. Further information on how to complete the test will be sent to you when you pass the sift. Only candidates who have passed the knowledge test will be invited to interview.
Interview Assessment Process
Candidates who successfully pass the online knowledge test will be invited to an online interview assessment, where they will be asked to conduct a presentation and be interviewed to further assess their general and technical competence. The invitation to the presentation and interview will be emailed seven days before the interview is due to take place and will contain information about what to prepare for the presentation.
At the interview stage you will be assessed against the three GSR technical skills outlined in the Technical Skills section in this advert. You will also be assessed against the two Civil Service behaviours outlined in the Behaviours section in this advert.
In cases where there is a high number of applications the application pass mark required may be adjusted and candidates will be invited to interview based on the highest scoring applications.
If there are more successful applicants than vacant positions, we will maintain a reserve list of remaining successful applicants from which further appointments will be made. A reserve list of successful applicants may be held for up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.
The reserve list will be held for up to 12 months.
If you already work in ONS, note that by applying for this role you may be moved to a priority role in a different team or directorate to that in which you are currently working.
Important dates
- Application closing date: 29/10/2024
- Online GSR Knowledge Test: From 31/10/2024
- Application Sift dates: From 12/11/2024
- Candidate Interview dates: From 27/11/2024
Interviews will take place using video conference via the MS Teams platform
We aim to provide feedback to all candidates no later than 5 working days after the interviews are completed.
Please note: Dates may be subject to change.
The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time, unless this has been specified as a part of the role. This presence will vary and have flexibility built around the following: Needs of the role and business objectives. Personal Preferences. Successful collaboration and effective partnerships with teams/customers and stakeholders. Disability and wellbeing considerations.
For the full Terms and Conditions of the posts please see attachment.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Nationality requirements
Working for the Civil Service
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).
Diversity and Inclusion
Apply and further information
Contact point for applicants
Job contact :
- Name : Social Research Recruitment Team
- Email : Social.Research.Recruitment@ons.gov.uk
Recruitment team
- Email : Social.Research.Recruitment@ons.gov.uk
Further information
