Head of Census Location Services

Job summary

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution, and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime, and migration. We are transforming how we use data to better understand and measure the UK’s economy and society, to drive better decision making, and to improve the lives of citizens. A core part of this work is the development of our Geospatial Strategy and capability - driving the effective use of geospatial methods across the organisation to add maximum value to ONS statistics.

In July 2025, HM Government commissioned ONS to conduct a mandatory, questionnaire-based, whole-population census of England and Wales in 2031. We have started to prepare for Census 2031, with a Census Taskforce scoping plans and building on the experience of Census 2021. We are preparing for an inclusive, digital-first census, working with devolved governments to support coherent UK outputs and maximising the benefits from our work with administrative data to date. ONS’ Data Products, Services and Governance (DPSG) Directorate provides many of the data products and services that are a vital part of the infrastructure of Census and wider ONS. Team specialisms include data architecture, various engineering functions, acquisition and governance, and data linkage. DPSG also includes a small but dynamic team of geospatial specialists, providing essential geospatial data products, infrastructure, expertise and guidance to ONS business areas and across wider government.

We are seeking an accomplished geospatial professional to lead a small team of geospatial analysts to support Census. As Head of Census Location Services, you will have the opportunity to lead the design and delivery of addressing and geospatial products to support collection and outputs. This is a key leadership role, driving innovation and shaping how geospatial data is leveraged to support high-impact data collection and decision-making across government. You will set direction, champion new approaches, and foster a culture of excellence, bringing both technical expertise and strong leadership to a multidisciplinary team. We are committed to building a high-performing team with complementary strengths and diverse skillsets.

If you bring deep geospatial expertise, coupled with the ability to influence, collaborate, and translate complex data into meaningful insights that inform policy and operations, we would welcome your application.

Job description

The Head of Census Location Services provides strategic leadership in the application of geography and spatial data, combining technical expertise, stakeholder management and leadership to deliver high‑quality, impactful outputs. The role leads specialised geospatial and geography teams, ensuring delivery against key organisational priorities while fostering a high‑performing, collaborative environment.

The postholder sets the vision and direction for their specialist area, overseeing a broad portfolio of geospatial activity and providing leadership across multiple topic areas delivered by the team. They ensure quality, consistency and innovation in outputs, while driving the adoption of new technologies and analytical approaches to enhance efficiency and impact.

Working closely with senior stakeholders across government, the role translates complex spatial data into meaningful insights that inform policy and operational decision‑making. They provide oversight, challenge and support to team members, embedding best practice and continuous improvement.

Through strong leadership, technical authority and effective stakeholder engagement, the role shapes how geospatial data is leveraged, ensuring the organisation maximises the value of location-based insights.

The role leads a team of geospatial analysts, providing strategic oversight across multiple topic areas and setting the vision and direction for a specialised function. The postholder represents the team at external forums and deputises for the Grade 6 lead as required.

Key Responsibilities

Leadership and Strategy

• Provide clear leadership to a team of geospatial analysts, fostering a high‑performing and collaborative culture
• Set the strategic direction and delivery roadmap, aligning outputs with wider geospatial and Data Products Services & Governance (DPSG) objectives
• Promote innovation by identifying and implementing new technologies, methodologies and ways of working to improve efficiency and impact

Delivery and Programme Oversight

• Lead cross‑disciplinary project teams across the full project lifecycle, from scoping through to delivery of impactful products and services
• Oversee a portfolio of geospatial products and services, ensuring quality, consistency and alignment with organisational priorities
• Monitor performance and regularly report on progress against strategic objectives

Stakeholder Engagement and Influence

• Lead engagement with internal and external stakeholders to understand business needs and shape product development
• Build and maintain strong relationships to support successful delivery and maximise the impact of geospatial outputs
• Represent ONS and the UK at national and international forums, influencing the wider geospatial community

Community and Capability Building

• Support and engage the geography profession across ONS and wider government (e.g. Government Geography Profession)
• Provide oversight, challenge and development to team members, ensuring continuous improvement and strengthening organisational capability

Person specification

Essential Skill Criteria:

Candidates should demonstrate experience for the following skills at the Expert Level – Applies knowledge and experience of the skill, including tools and techniques, adopting those most appropriate for the environment.

• (Government Geography Profession) Geospatial analysis & problem solving: The use of appropriate techniques to analyse spatial and non-spatial data in order to solve data problems, including based on spatial relationships. Able to manipulate, integrate and aggregate data based on its spatial reference.
• (Government Geography Profession) Geographic compliance:Understand and comply with relevant national and international geospatial frameworks and best practice (e.g. statutory requirements, standards, etc.) impacting and related to the specific discipline. Legal and ethical issues related to geospatial data including rights, liability, privacy and access.
• (Government Geography Profession) Geographic strategy: The ability to understand the capability and the art of the possible relating to the application of geographic information, in the aim of developing strategies, plans
  and road maps for geographic policy, research or delivery of products.
• (Government Geography Profession) Quality Assurance and Control: The ability to review and assessment of own and others’ quality of work through the maintenance of a desired level of quality in outputs and ensuring precision and accuracy of datasets and methods used

Candidates should demonstrate experience for the following skills at the Practitioner Level (applies and shares knowledge and experience of the skill, including tools and techniques, adopting those most appropriate for the environment)

• (DDAT) Data Preparation and Linkage: The ability to conduct data preparation and linkage which involved cleansing, modelling, transforming and assuring the quality of data so that it is usable and reproducible as well as aiding the creation of a more informative product.

Qualifications

At least either a master’s degree, or equivalent, with relevance to the job description AND at least 2 years’ experience in a role/study relevant to the job description.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

• (Government Geography Profession) Geospatial Software and Systems (Expert Level)Demonstrable use of desktop and online tools for managing, analysing and displaying geospatial data, interactively or in workflows
• (Government Geography Profession) Geospatial Coding (Expert Level)Demonstrable Use of coding libraries in the analysis of geospatial data or the automation of geospatial processes and application of relevant optimisation techniques.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £56,861, Office for National Statistics contributes £16,472 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

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 valued colleagues across the organisation.

Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that our careers site 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 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

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.

Security Clearance

For ONS the requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying and the department will 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

Application Process

Number of Stages: 2 stage process

• Stage 1: Application
• Stage 2: Interview

Stage 1 – Application

The assessment process at the application stage will be based on your CV, personal statement and Technical Skills. It is important that your application is tailored to highlight the skills, knowledge, and experience relevant to the role.

A 1250 word personal statement is required at application stage, which should not be exceeded. Where it is a requirement to make a personal statement, you should provide evidence for each essential skill criterion listed in the person specification. As these criteria are scored, it is advisable to give clear examples for each one, including the impact of your actions, ideally utilising the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result).

Specific Technical Skills will be assessed at sift , where you will have an additional 250 words to evidence each of the technical skills

• (Government Geography Profession) Geospatial Software and Systems (Expert)
• (Government Geography Profession) Geospatial Coding (Expert)

Please note that Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage of the application process.

When a high volume of applications are received, the sift pass mark may be adjusted. Candidates will be invited to interview based on their merit order, with those achieving the highest scores being prioritised. Applicants who score below the adjusted pass mark but still pass will be placed on hold and may be invited to interview at a later date.

Stage 2 – Interview

If invited to interview, you will be assessed using techniques aligned with the Civil Service Success Profiles framework, covering all behaviours and technical skills listed in the job advert.

You will be required to provide a presentation at interview. The presentation topic will be emailed to candidates who have passed the initial online application stage, 1 week prior to interview. This presentation will assess candidates against the technical skills

• (Government Geography Profession) Geospatial Software and Systems (Expert)
• (Government Geography Profession) Geospatial Coding (Expert)

Interviews will be via Microsoft Teams.

A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.

Our main locations are Newport (South Wales) & Fareham (England).

Important dates

• The Sift will be conducted from 12th October
• Interviews are expected to be conducted from 2nd November

Dates maybe subject to change.

For the full terms and conditions of the post, please see attachment.

Please note that all campaigns may be subject to withdrawal at any stage if the internal resource position changes.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (or equivalent) criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).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 : Jen Hampton
• Email : jen.hampton@ons.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : ons.analytical.resourcing@ons.gov.uk

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 recruitment.complaints@ons.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission

Attachments

Role1_Standard_Requirements Opens in new window (pdf, 76kB)2721 Advert 1B Permanent - ONS National v1-00 Opens in new window (pdf, 83kB)