Portfolio Analyst

Job summary

Join the Office for National Statistics as a Portfolio Analyst and play a vital role in improving lives through data by ensuring our most important statistical programmes are delivered effectively and efficiently.

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.

Working within the Data Growth and Operations in Data Engineering Operations and Delivery division, you'll be at the heart of coordinating the projects and programmes that enable ONS to produce the official statistics that inform government policy and public understanding of our society and economy.

As a Portfolio Analyst, you'll oversee collections of programmes and projects that support our departmental objectives, from major statistical transformations to digital modernisation initiatives. You'll provide crucial insights and analysis that strengthen portfolio governance, enable prioritisation decisions, and ensure effective resource allocation across our diverse range of statistical outputs.

This role is suitable for individuals with strong analytical skills and experience in project or programme management offices, particularly in planning, resourcing, risk, and governance. Candidates from other professional backgrounds with proven analytical capabilities are also encouraged to apply.

Job description

The Portfolio Analyst role is essential to ONS's mission of improving lives through data, as it ensures our portfolio of projects and programmes are delivered efficiently and effectively to maintain our position as the UK's leading producer of official statistics.

Working at the intersection of strategic planning and operational delivery, you'll support the coordination of diverse programmes. The Portfolio Analyst is responsible for overseeing a collection of programmes or projects that support departmental or business area objectives. You will focus on providing insights, information, and support to strengthen portfolio governance, enable prioritisation decisions, and ensure the effective allocation of resources. By analysing various information sources and engaging with programme and project stakeholders, analysts convert data into informed insights using appropriate reporting and visualisation methods to help achieve strategic objectives in line with government priorities.

Responsibilities:

• Collaborates with business areas to identify and categorise new projects.
• Coordinates project reporting and analyses performance. Provides secretariat support for governance boards.
• Assists the Portfolio Manager in fostering commitment to a shared vision and purpose
• Maintains a portfolio delivery map and critical path to monitor project progress and track interdependencies across change projects.
• Identifies and monitors portfolio risks and opportunities, escalating issues when necessary.
• Engages with a wide range of stakeholders. Drafts and approves correspondence.
• Supports the development of mechanisms for measuring benefits.
• Uses digital tools to analyse project data across a portfolio to provide insights that inform resource allocation and decision making.

Any of the following qualifications would be beneficial but are not essential, as full training and development will be provided as part of the role:

• PRINCE2 Foundation / Practitioner
• Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) Foundation / Practitioner
• Management of Risk (MoR) Foundation / Practitioner
• Managing Portfolios (MoP) Foundation / Practitioner
• APM Project Fundamentals / APM Project Management
• PMI Certificate in Associate Project Management

Person specification

Essential Skills Criteria:

• Experience gained in project environments or in related areas such as planning, governance, risk management or analytics, including but not limited to work within a project or programme management office.
• Strong analytical capabilities with ability to convert complex data into actionable insights using appropriate reporting and visualisation methods
• Proven stakeholder engagement skills with ability to communicate effectively across different professional disciplines and organisational levels
• Demonstrated capability in using digital tools for project reporting and analysis, with good knowledge of Power BI.
• Understanding of project complexity factors and ability to adapt methodologies to suit different project requirements and stakeholder needs

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• Digital and Data - Practitioner : Project Delivery Capability Framework
• Assurance - Working : Project Delivery Capability Framework

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,587, Office for National Statistics contributes £10,019 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 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

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

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

Application Process

Number of Stages: 3 stage process

Stage 1: Civil Service online test

Stage 2 : Application

Stage 2: Interview

Stage 1 - Civil service online test

Civil Service Online Tests

Upon submission of Part 1 your application form you will be sent an invitation to complete Numerical reasoning online tests.

There will be full instructions on how to complete the test including an opportunity to practice before undertaking the actual test. These tests are not time limited.

If you pass tests for this vacancy, you will be invited to complete the final stage of your application, this is where you will provide information such as your work history. Skills and experience and Personal Statement / Statement of Suitability. If you fail a test your application will not proceed to the next stage.

Stage 2 – Application and Sift

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

If a personal statement is required at application state, it will state the maximum wordcount allowed, 1250 words, 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).

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

In instances where a high number of applications are received, the sift pass mark may be adjusted, and candidates will be invited to interview based on merit order, i.e., those with the highest scores.

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 3 – Interview

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

Interviews may be in person or via Microsoft Teams.

Our main locations are Newport (South Wales) and Titchfield.

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

Important Dates:

The closing date for the role is 04/12/2025 at 23:55. Please note, both the Situational Judgement test and written application (work history, qualifications and personal statement) will need to be completed by this deadline.

The Sift will be conducted: fromw/c 09/02/2026

Interviews will be conducted: from 23/02/2026

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

Explore the ONS People Portal - a first port of call for all information on Strategic Resourcing.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a 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 : Viv Hamilton
• Email : Viv.Hamilton@ons.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : RecruitmentOperations@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

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