Chief Statistician (Band 1/Grade 6)

Job summary

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. We are dedicated to protecting people and places and helping everyone lead safer and healthier lives.

We are seeking a Chief Statistician and Head of Profession for Statistics to lead HSE’s statistical system, ensuring our official statistics and wider published figures are trusted, transparent, and support better decisions. You will provide authoritative advice to senior leaders and Ministers, and represent HSE across the Government Statistical Service and the wider analytical community.

This is a high-profile leadership role requiring strong judgement, credibility with senior stakeholders, and effective partnerships with organisations including the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR).

Due to the nature of the work involved this role is only suitable for full time working.

Job description

As HSE’s Chief Statistician and Head of Profession for Statistics, you will provide strategic leadership for statistics and official statistics across HSE, ensuring robust governance, high professional standards, and maximum public value. You will be accountable for compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics and relevant cross-government analytical standards, applying proportionate assurance and risk management to deliver trustworthy, high-quality outputs.

You will have direct oversight of a team of around 12 staff who produce approximately 80% of HSE’s official statistics, setting clear priorities, assuring quality, and improving methods, presentation, and transparency. You will also ensure that official statistics produced elsewhere in HSE meet required standards, and that wider analytical outputs (including management information, press, and related releases) align as far as possible with statistical principles on quality, trustworthiness and transparency.

As Head of Profession, you will provide professional leadership for around 35 badged statisticians across HSE, building a connected community, promoting consistent standards, and ensuring colleagues are linked into relevant guidance, developments, and networks across the Government Statistical Service and the Analysis Function. You will champion capability building through training, professional development and CPD, and create an inclusive environment that supports high-quality delivery and continuous improvement.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Leading a small team of statisticians producing around 80% of HSE’s official statistics outputs, ensuring timely, comprehensive, relevant and high-quality releases, with appropriate planning, governance and performance management.
• Developing and enhancing occupational health and safety statistical outputs in line with the needs of HSE and wider HSE statistics users.
• Leading and supporting, alongside other HSE analytical Heads of Profession, the required assessments against the Analysis Functional Standard and associated internal assurance activity on analytical quality.
• Contributing to divisional and wider HSE analytical leadership through meetings, presentations, and active participation in relevant forums and events, both internal and external.
• Challenging and influencing, as needed, to promote the appropriate use of statistics within HSE and in external use of HSE statistics, escalating issues internally and externally where appropriate.
• Ensuring that HSE complies with the Code of Practice for Statistics, Pre-Release Access Orders, relevant data-related legislation, the National Statistician’s guidance on Management Information
• Being an advocate for strategic leadership across the Government Statistical Service, working with senior partners to ensure statistics are coherent, joined‑up and adaptable to a changing data and policy environment. Championing data sharing and linking, promoting collaboration and peer support across government, and ensure statistics are produced with a strong focus on user needs and informing key policy issues.
• Building statistical capability and capacity within HSE, establishing and promoting a learning culture for GSS staff and for those working in statistics-related areas in their organisation

Person specification

Essential skills and criteria:

• Proven leadership and operational management of analysts, delivering analytical projects with clear scope, plans, governance, dependencies, risks and stakeholder engagement
• Analytical breadth (statistics, modelling, evaluation, forecasting, linkage, visualisation), with understanding of data storage and access, analytical systems and pipelines, statistical programming, and quality assurance requirements.
• A track record of line and resource management, developing high-performing analytical teams, and managing budgets and risks to support delivery.
• Management and delivery of timely, high-quality analytical outputs under pressure, prioritising effectively, removing blockers (data, systems, stakeholders), and communicating findings clearly to inform decisions.

We support flexible hybrid working in this role, however there is the expectation that you will attend the Bootle office 3 days per week. As part of this role there will also be some occasional UK travel required; this may include travelling for meetings and events.

Qualifications

You should have one of the following:

An honours degree (2:2 minimum) or equivalent 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 of PhD, in a subject containing formal statistical training (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography, Data Science or similar)

Memberships

Must be an accredited badged member of government statistical service (GSS). Or willing to be badged into the profession while in the role.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

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

• GSG Competency Framework. Statistical Strand 1 - Acquiring Data/Understanding Customer Needs
• GSG Competency Framework. Statistical Strand 2 - Data Analysis
• GSG Competency Framework. Statistical Strand 3 - Presenting and Disseminating Data Effectively

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £77,051, Health and Safety Executive contributes £22,321 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity

We invest in our people with:

• Competitive rates of pay
• Access to the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme to which HSE contribute 28.97% far more than in the private sector.
• Family friendly policies and working hours to help balance your home life and career.
• Carer friendly policies to help create a supportive working culture.
• 25 days annual holiday increasing to 30 days after 5 years' service, plus bank holidays and 1-day Civil Service privilege leave
• Parental leave benefits
• As a member of HSE you will gain access to a wide range of fantastic benefits that you can take advantage of such as the Cycle to Work Scheme, E-Gift Cards, and Vouchers via our partner EdenRed.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Information

As part of your application, you will be invited to complete an anonymised CV which should include your career history, experience, and qualifications.

You will also be asked to complete an anonymised Personal Statement, of no more than 1000 words which demonstrates how you meet the Essential Skills and Criteria listed within the person specification section of the job advert

Application Guidance

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply and how to complete a Personal Statement https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/how-to-apply/

Sift Information

The sift will take place during week commencing 16th February 2026 where you will be assessed on your CV and Personal Statement.

Please note in the event of a high number of applicants we will sift on the personal statement only and you will not receive a score for your CV.

Interview Information

Interviews will take place from the 3rd March 2026 where you will be assessed against the behaviours and technical skills detailed within the job advert.

You will be asked to provide a five minute presentation which will be used to help assess the above technical skills. Further details will provided if you are successful at sift.

For further details on the technical skills listed see Competency framework for the Government Statistician Group (GSG) – Government Analysis Function

Interviews will be held in-person at HSE's headquarters in Bootle, Liverpool, Redgrave Court, L20 7HS.

Sponsorship

This role is not open to application from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and require sponsorship your application will be rejected, and any provisional offers of employment will be withdrawn.

Further Information

Please note that a Reserve List will be held for the period of up to 12 months. There is no guarantee you will be offered a role from our reserve lists, so if you see a vacancy on Civil Service Jobs that you are interested in, we recommend you apply.

HSE reserve the right to conduct additional checks, including Google and social media checks, when recruiting candidates into a role within HSE. These checks will be carried out in line with the Civil Service Commission Principles and, if used all candidates will be subject to these additional checks.

From 23rd June 2025, if you are successful at interview, as part of your pre-employment checks, HSE’s Recruitment Team are required to check your details against the Internal Fraud Hub (IFH), using your personal details – name, NINO, and date of birth. If you are included on the database, you will be refused employment. If you believe that there has been an error in the inclusion of your data and wish to make an appeal, please contact the CO email box internal.fraud@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

Details of the types of internal fraud/dishonesty covered by this process are defined by the Cabinet Office and can be found here Internal Fraud Register privacy notice - GOV.UK

It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure they are aware of the terms and conditions they will adopt should they be successful in their application. For a summary of HSE terms and conditions as part of Civil Service Reform, please see the attached HSE Terms and Conditions document.

Progression through pay ranges is subject to annual pay awards as permitted within annual Civil Service pay remit guidance and negotiations with Trade Unions.

HSE is proud to be a part of the Disability Confidence Scheme (DCS). As a Disability Confident employer, we positively welcome applications from disabled people. We are committed to making workplace adjustments to ensure anyone can participate in the recruitment and selection process.

If, during the application or interview process, you require any assistance due to a disability or a medical condition, please contact us at the email address below to discuss how we can support you. For example, if you have a disability, and you need an application form in an alternative format or you would like to know more about our recruitment process, please contact: HR.Resourcing-Team@hse.gov.uk.

If successful in securing your role, HSE can provide suitable workplace adjustments to support you throughout your career with HSE.

Any move to HSE from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility here.

Please note, if you are a current civil servant and you are currently undergoing any of the following formal actions your application will not be progressed any further; Formal discipline action, any formal action regarding attendance, poor performance or any restriction of duties as a result of disciplinary action.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.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 theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Mat Ivings
• Email : matthew.ivings@hse.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hr.resourcing-team@hse.gov.uk

Further information

If you believe that Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition have not been met, you can raise a complaint by emailing: HR.Resourcing-Team@hse.gov.uk or by writing to HSE at the following address: HR Resourcing Team, 2.3 Redgrave Court, Merton Road, Bootle, Merseyside, L20 7HS. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact Civil Service commissioners: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/code/civilservicecode…

Attachments

HSE Terms and Conditions - CSJ Advert Annex Opens in new window (pdf, 116kB)