Director of Statistics and Analysis
Medr
Apply before 11:55 pm on Tuesday 3rd December 2024
Details
Reference number
Salary
Job grade
Contract type
Business area
Type of role
Statistics
Working pattern
Number of jobs available
Contents
Location
About the job
Job summary
About us
We are a new arm’s length body of the Welsh Government, responsible for the strategy, funding and oversight of:
- further education including colleges and school sixth-forms;
- higher education including research and innovation;
- adult education and adult community learning; and
- apprenticeships and training.
Operational since 1 August 2024, we work in close collaboration with our partners to enable a tertiary education and research system which is centred around the needs of learners; society; and economy with excellence, equality and engagement at its heart.
Location
Our headquarters is a newly refurbished office in Capital Quarter, Cardiff, specifically designed to meet our needs. We expect this to be the place that most colleagues will use to collaborate, both with each other and with stakeholders.
As we operate across Wales, we also have collaboration and limited office space in Welsh Government offices in Llandudno Junction, Aberystwyth, Swansea and Merthyr Tydfil.
Main purpose of the job
You will be responsible for leading the delivery and development of the statistics and analysis that play a key role in supporting Medr’s strategic duties and functions. You will be Medr’s Lead Official for Statistics, with responsibility for its compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
You will be a key member of our leadership team, embracing and leading change; living our values and developing others to be their best selves, contributing to our establishment and operation as a high-performing organisation.
Job description
What you'll be doing
You will be leading a change programme to integrate and develop Medr’s information and analysis across the tertiary education sector. Key responsibilities of the role are:
- Providing oversight and strategic leadership of the directorate to develop coherent and collaborative ways of working, to ensure the team’s budget and people resource are aligned to the Medr strategic plan, and to support the well-being of all people within the Directorate.
- As Medr’s Lead Official for Statistics, ensuring Medr’s compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics and for overseeing statistical publications.
- Working with the Office for Statistics Regulation and seeking guidance from the Head of Profession for Wales (Chief Statistician, Welsh Government) on professional matters.
- Developing a statistics and analysis strategy for Medr, aligned to the strategic plan, ensuring that the directorate has the expertise and capability required to fulfil the strategy.
- Shaping the directorate and identifying common areas within the directorate that can be integrated where appropriate. You will lead a programme of change, bringing together functions of the organisation that are closely linked and would benefit from close working.
- Work with and contribute to other functions across Medr, including regulatory, funding and assurance activities to meet and develop their data and analysis needs.
- Contribute to the management and governance of Medr and ensure the work of the Directorate contributes to our effectiveness as an organisation, including as a member of our Senior Leadership Team.
- Build and maintain constructive relationships with external stakeholders including Welsh and UK Government, tertiary education providers and wider stakeholders, and other funding and regulatory bodies.
- Engaging and consulting with users of Medr’s statistics and analysis, both internal and external, to understand their needs and ensure that they are met.
- Develop and maintain own knowledge of tertiary education and statistical approaches and requirements and use this to ensure Medr’s work is informed by UK-wide and other relevant developments.
Key challenges
You will need to:
- Oversee and develop the effective deployment of the resource within the Directorate (staffing, budgets and expertise) to meet the analysis and information needs of Medr and its Board, working with the leadership team to prioritise those needs.
- Challenge and support providers across the tertiary education system to secure appropriately resourced data teams and systems, in the context of a difficult financial climate, to ensure Medr receives data returns that meet its needs and that providers analyse and respond to their own data effectively.
- Ensure that Medr’s policy development and regulation is well informed by the information available and oversee evaluation and social research to develop further information needs to implement Medr’s strategic plan.
- Develop relationships with key stakeholders to ensure a coherent approach to regulating, funding and supporting the tertiary education system.
- Build the reputation of Medr as the primary source of information about tertiary education in Wales.
About your team
You will lead a directorate consisting of approximately 20 people. There are currently two statistics teams in the directorate, one covering further education, apprenticeships and adult learning, and one covering higher education with a broad range of responsibilities including funding calculations and monitoring, publishing statistical reports, data collection, quality assurance of data and providing Medr and external stakeholders with bespoke analysis. You will also lead our social research function. The structure of the teams will evolve with a programme of change under your leadership to reflect the remit of the whole organisation.
You will be expected to work closely with colleagues across the organisation to ensure the effective running of the organisation. This is likely to include chairing internal and external groups such as data and information forums.
Person specification
What you will bring
Attributes
- Agile - you can pre-empt issues and respond swiftly to changing circumstances, by leveraging data and insights to inform decision-making.
- Motivating - you inspire and empower others to achieve their full potential. Cultivating a culture of collaboration and excellence through effective communication, recognition of achievements, and providing opportunities for development.
- Role model our values - you align strategic decisions and initiatives with the organisation's values, championing a culture where values are lived and upheld by all.
- Giving and receiving constructive feedback - you create an environment where diverse perspectives are valued, and constructive dialogue leads to meaningful change.
- Curiosity – you challenge the status quo and encourage others to think critically and creatively.
Experience
- Experience of working at senior level, ideally within tertiary education or the public sector, taking lead role in strategic development and presentation and interpretation of statistics and analysis. Knowledge of Official Statistics processes and requirements, the Code of Practice for Statistics and the role of the Lead Official for Statistics.
- Significant level of experience of strategic leadership, managing and motivating employees and teams with professional specialisms such as statisticians and social researchers, across a range of functions and contributing to wider organisational management and governance.
Qualifications, memberships and licenses
You should either be a member of the Government Statistician Group or meet the eligibility requirements for membership of the Government Statistical Group and agree to become a member in the role.
A Master’s degree in mathematics or statistics or with a high numeric content is highly desirable.
Welsh language requirements
Desirable
Welsh desirable means that whilst having Welsh language skills is useful for the role, it is not an assessment criterion, so it won’t disadvantage you during recruitment if you don’t currently possess these skills.
Benefits
We recognise the importance of looking after ourselves in work and in life. Your wellbeing is fundamental to you being your best self so in recognition of this we provide:
- 33 days annual leave a year (pro rata) to give you time to reboot; top up your energy banks and spend time doing the activities you love.
- An environment that embraces work life balance.
- A culture that celebrates diversity and welcomes everyone.
- Dedicated wellbeing time to all our people each week.
- A Cycle to Work Scheme to make owning a bicycle more affordable.
Additional Support when you need it
We know that sometimes you may face challenges or life events that mean you need additional support.
- We provide a comprehensive employee assistance programme with remote access to resources and in person support whenever required.
- We have a special leave policy ensuring everyone in the organisation receives the support they need during difficult times.
More than just a workplace
- We have an active sport, social and wellbeing committee who offer a range of activities for our people to come together outside the work setting. You can participate as much or as little as you want.
- You will be entitled to take 5 days paid leave per year to undertake voluntary work to support the communities we serve.
- We know that the bonds we make in work sometimes go beyond the working day and lead to networks that last for life. We will encourage you to grow your networks across Wales, the UK and internationally.
Personal and professional development
- Once you’re offered a post, we will get to know you and work with you to develop a personalised onboarding plan which considers your experience, skills, learning style and knowledge.
- We’ll help you shape your development plans with personalised career conversations and objectives, taking account of delivery goals alongside your career aspirations and helping you own your career.
- We support all our staff to learn or improve their Welsh language skills.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
We are really interested in you as an individual and what you will bring to our organisation.
Our blended assessment process is designed to help us get to know you better enabling us to appoint someone who will thrive in the role and who shares our organisational values.
If you are interested in working with us, please send us your application through Civil Service Jobs.
You will need to include a personal statement demonstrating how you meet the essential requirements for the post.
To be fair to everyone who applies, we won’t accept:
- Late applications
- Applications with missing or incomplete information
- Personal statements over 1,250 words
The deadline for application submission is 3 December 2024.
There will be two assessment stages for this recruitment campaign. A sift and an interview, which will include a presentation.
The following will be assessed at sift and interview stage:
Attributes:
- Agile - you can pre-empt issues and respond swiftly to changing circumstances, by leveraging data and insights to inform decision-making.
- Motivating - you inspire and empower others to achieve their full potential. Cultivating a culture of collaboration and excellence through effective communication, recognition of achievements, and providing opportunities for development.
- Curiosity – you challenge the status quo and encourage others to think critically and creatively.
Experience:
- Experience of working at senior level, ideally within tertiary education or the public sector, taking lead role in strategic development and presentation and interpretation of statistics and analysis. Knowledge of Official Statistics processes and requirements, the Code of Practice for Statistics and the role of the Lead Official for Statistics.
- Significant level of experience of strategic leadership, managing and motivating employees and teams with professional specialisms such as statisticians and social researchers, across a range of functions and contributing to wider organisational management and governance.
The initial sift will take place on 10 December 2024.
Candidates who successfully navigate the sift stage will be required to complete an online exercise to enable us to determine their behavioural and personality preferences. Immediately on completion you will be given a report which highlights your strengths plus some development tips to help you prepare for interview. Candidates should note that the online exercise is not intended to eliminate anyone from consideration. Instead, it serves as a tool to aid in the decision-making process.
Following this, you will be required to participate in an interview and a presentation, both of which will take place week commencing 16 December 2024.
The following attributes will also be assessed at interview:
- Role model our values - you align strategic decisions and initiatives with the organisation's values, championing a culture where values are lived and upheld by all.
- Giving and receiving constructive feedback - you create an environment where diverse perspectives are valued, and constructive dialogue leads to meaningful change.
We strive for a diverse and inclusive workplace and we want to help you demonstrate your full potential whatever type of assessment is used. We are happy to discuss any person-centred adjustments required to the recruitment process. Please contact pobl@medr.cymru.
We're looking forward to meeting everyone invited to interview at our new headquarters in Capital Quarter, Cardiff. We don’t usually pay travel expenses, but if this presents a real barrier to your attendance in person or if you require a reasonable adjustment, please let us know in advance by emailing pobl@medr.cymru so we can discuss and agree arrangements prior to your interview.
Next steps
Interested…? Want to find out more?
We know how important it is for you to find out more about us so we will be holding a virtual information session for candidates on Thursday 21 November at 2pm on Microsoft Teams.
This will be an opportunity for you to hear more about our organisation; the role and how we invest in our people.
If you would like to attend, register by emailing pobl@medr.cymru
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 : People and Culture team
- Email : pobl@medr.cymru
Recruitment team
- Email : pobl@medr.cymru
Further information
