Research Officer

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

ONS operates a flexible hybrid working model across the UK, with colleagues linked to one of our contractual locations in Newport (South Wales), Titchfield (Fareham), Manchester 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

Do you want to be part of an organisation that produces statistics for the public good? 

There has never been a more interesting or important time to work with data and statistics across Government. 

Here at the Office for National Statistics we have unrivalled access to a breadth and depth of data that we use daily to provide statistics, analysis and insight for the public and policy makers. We are at the forefront when it comes to the production of reliable data, giving trusted and unique insights into health, well-being, work, household finances, local economies, high streets and more. 

By joining ONS as a Research Officer you will become a member of Government Social Research (GSR), which is the analytical profession for civil servants who generate and provide social and behavioural research and advice.

At ONS we are creative about the way we work to deliver brilliant and sustainable outcomes and as we collaborate, we approach working together with positivity and trust, investing in building excellent and inclusive working relationships across the organisation.

Please note we are running a Candidate Support Webinar via Teams for this vacancy on Thursday 23rd January at 12 noon.

Click the following link to register: Research Officer Candidate Support Webinar

Job description

What can we offer you? 

• Job satisfaction knowing that you are producing information that really does help the public and make a difference to their daily lives. 
• Exposure to a range of other teams and topics across ONS and outside of the organisation to get a broader understanding of the great work that goes on across the office. 
• Being responsible for a range of projects and seeing your team’s work being picked up in the media. 
• Using the latest programming software to manipulate and visualise data in an innovative way. 
• Learning from topic experts and becoming an expert yourself. 
• Flexible working with a work life balance and the autonomy to work to your strengths whilst developing additional skills as you build a career with us.
• Membership of the Government Social Research profession, providing you with the opportunity to develop your analytical career.

What will the successful candidate be doing? 

High quality data and analysis are required to inform the UK, improve lives and build the future. We currently have a range of vacancies open now that offer the opportunity to work on some of the most important public policy issues that the UK will need to address in future years. Some of these roles include work looking at:

Responsive analysis: The ONS responds to emerging and priority topics that the public and government face. To name some examples, results from our Ukrainian Humanitarian Survey provided data to inform government work in a range of areas including jobs and careers support. We supported investigations for those over 50 years old who are leaving the labour force and we continue to produce insights into the impact of the cost of living in the UK.

Population and migration: Our data provides insights on the main drivers for migration to the UK and we are working to transform the population and migration statistical system. Some of this work involves refining and improving methods to produce population estimates using administrative data sources.

Health monitoring: ONS is recognised as world leading when it comes to mortality and morbidity analysis. We were at the heart of the analytical response to the coronavirus pandemic in the UK and our mortality statistics are regarded as among the very best by our international counterparts. 

Crime: Our data is key to delivering the ambitions of the Government Safer Streets Mission. Using data from the Crime Survey for England and Wales and Police Recorded Crime, we publish crime levels and trends and provide important insights including violent crime, sexual offences, drug misuse, and bullying and online experiences among children. 

Survey transformation and quality: We are working to enhance core data collection and improve the quality of our surveys including the Transformed Labour Force Survey. 

We also have other divisions including Integrated Data Platform and Economic Statistics each with limited social research positions. 

Person specification

Responsibilities 

Roles may include some of the following: 

• Production and publication of high-quality National Statistics on a range of social and subject matters 
• Discrete pieces of analysis to provide context and understanding around statistical outputs 
• Development of new methods, production systems and reporting/dissemination to make sure we meet data users’ changing needs 
• Answering queries from customers and departments on ad-hoc analyses or standard outputs; helping customers make best use of our statistics 
• Assisting with research to understand administrative datasets and how they can be used in the production of official statistics 
• Producing supporting documentation including metadata, operational or quality and methodology documentation 
• Contributing to quality assurance and production of statistical or research publications 
• Conducting qualitative research (including focus groups, cognitive interviewing, pop-up research, usability testing and so on) with the public and analysis of findings 
• Designing and developing questionnaires for social and economic surveys (suitable for paper, telephone, face-to-face and online self-completion) using qualitative research methods 
• 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 staff across ONS to share knowledge and develop expertise 
• Using specialist statistical software such as R, Python or equivalent to support this research 

Qualifications

Entry Routes for this vacancy

To be eligible to apply for this Research Officer (RO) role in the Government Social Research (GSR) profession, you need to fulfil the criteria of one of the following three entry routes:

Qualification route

• 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 where at least 30% of the modules or credits, excluding dissertation modules, included social research content.

The RO Eligibility form attached to this advert includes detail on what qualifies as a social science subject. Please read this form carefully to ensure that you meet the criteria for this route.

Badged route

• Already be a member of the Government Social Research profession

You must use the RO Eligibility 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.

Professional Experience route

• 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 RO 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
• Working Together

Technical skills

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• GSR Technical Skill: Identifying research needs, designing & specifying research
• GSR Technical Skill: Analysis & interpretation
• GSR Using and promoting social research skill: Communication of research evidence & analysis and Championing social research

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,624, Office for National Statistics contributes £10,030 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

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 (see bottom of the advert) 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.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Social Research Recruitment
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact [email protected]. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission

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