Principal Private Office Analyst

Job summary

The Department for Work and Pensions is recruiting for the role of the Principal Private Office Analyst (PPOA) to the Secretary of State (SoS) for Work and Pensions. The PPOA is responsible for advising the SoS on some of the most critical policy areas of this Government’s priorities.

DWP is the UK’s biggest public service department, and administers the state pension, a range of working age, disability, and ill health benefits to around 22 million claimants and customers. What we do matters to millions of people every day.

This is an analyst job and so candidates must meet the eligibility requirements set out in the ‘Essential Qualifications’ sections of the candidate pack; which is either to be a member of one of the following professional bodies Government Economic Service (GES), Government Operational Research Service (GORS), Government Social Research (GSR) or Government Statistician Group (GSG) or have the required qualifications to become a member of one of these professions. Knowledge will be tested at interview.

If you are not already a badged member of GES, GORS, GSR or GSG, you must apply through one of these professions and meet its eligibility and professional assessment requirements. Successful candidates will be badged into their chosen profession as a condition of appointment.

Please check you are eligible and follow the instructions on the Essential Qualifications section of the candidate pack when completing your application form. When completing the additional questions at the end of the application form, ensure that you only state one of the professions that you wish to align with. If multiple professions are stated or it is not clear which profession you are applying under then your application will be withdrawn.

If you meet the eligibility requirements you should then provide evidence against the Essential Experience Criteria listed in the Person Specification section of this job advert.

The analyst community in DWP operates a Managed Moves system. Given the nature of this role, the successful candidate will not be able to opt in to the Managed Moves until a) they have been in this post at least two years and b) there are surplus Managed Moves roles available.

Job description

This is a unique role where the post holder will directly support the SoS to progress their priorities and regularly interact with Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials. This is a fast-moving, dynamic and, at times, challenging environment in which to navigate complex issues at the highest level. The post-holder will be an excellent leader; demonstrate a high degree of political acumen, curiosity to identify and produce helpful work; and an outstanding communicator.

The post-holder will also be a key part of the Private Office senior management team, and will manage one junior analyst.

In this role, the Principal Private Office Analyst is responsible for:

• Being the main analytical point of contact in Private Office for all analysts within DWP. This requires regular engagement with senior analysts and subject experts across the Department.
• Leading analytical support to the Secretary of State and Ministers on a range of analytical questions to support their decision making and parliamentary activity. This includes co-ordinating cross-cutting analytical commissions which span across DWP.
• Leading analytical support to prepare analytical and statistical briefings for the Secretary of State, Ministers and senior officials for appearances in Parliament (DWP Orals, debates, speeches) and Select Committees.
• Oversight and quality assurance of all analytical work, including briefing for Ministers, and any ad-hoc analysis the team produces.
• Supporting briefing to Ministers and press office on Official Statistics.
• Leading, managing and developing a team within the Private Office structure to ensure the Ministerial team receive the highest level of service

Person specification

The successful applicant will need to demonstrate sound and sensitive political awareness; robust analytical skills and a strong understanding of the policy-making process.

Excellent analytical, communication and stakeholder engagement skills are required for this role, as well as an ability to thrive and remain resilient in a high-pressure environment.

Essential Criteria

If you meet the eligibility requirements, then you will be asked to provide a 750-word personal statement. This statement should highlight your experience in line with the criteria below:

• Strong analytical leadership, including the ability to engage others, lead and quality assure analytical work, and maximise the value and impact of analysis in supporting senior decision-making. (Lead Criterion)

• Political awareness and experience of working with Ministers or in a Private Office style environment;

• An ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with others, building strong networks to deliver, often to short deadlines and to achieve common goals;

• Excellent analytical skills to lead, quality assure and effectively disseminate high quality, complex analysis;
• Strong communication skills to influence a wide range of stakeholders to inform decision making;
• Excellent organisational, time management and planning skills, being able to prioritise and multi-task.

If there are a high number of applications, the lead Experience Essential Criterion may be used to conduct an initial sift and applications that do not meet the minimum requirement for this criterion will not progress to a full sift.

It may be necessary to work long hours, especially when Parliament is sitting.

The successful candidate will be based in the office (Caxton House, London) and is full time only. You will be expected to be in the office Monday-Thursday as a minimum.

Please note this role will initially be based at Caxton House and then move to Sanctuary House by early 2027.

In the event of a large number of candidates meeting the pass standard at sift, then only the strongest candidates will proceed to interview.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications

In order to be eligible to apply for these posts you must either be:

A current, permanent, badged member of one of the following four Government analytical professions: Government Economic Service, Government Operational Research Service, Government Statistician Group or Government Social Research Service.

OR

Hold the qualifications to become a badged member of the Government Economic Service, Government Operational Research Service, Government Statistician Group or Government Social Research Service.

Full details of the qualifications required for candidates who are not already badged members of one of the analytical professions listed are provided in the candidate pack. The qualification requirements are different for each of the four professions and you will be asked which profession you wish to align with as part of the application process. If successful in the recruitment exercise you will be badged into that profession. You must provide sufficient detail on the qualifications required and already hold the required qualifications, otherwise your application will not be sifted.

If you are applying as a current, permanent, badged member then you must say yes to having the qualifications required and state this in the additional questions section of the application form. You may be asked to provide proof of membership and we will verify this in the recruitment process with the relevant Government professional body. If membership is not verified then you will be withdrawn immediately from the recruitment round.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £67,928, Department for Work and Pensions contributes £19,678 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).

DWP have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Working patterns to support work/life balance such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.
• Generous annual leave – at least 23 days on entry, increasing up to 30 days over time (pro–rata for part time employees), plus 9 days public and privilege leave.
• Support for financial wellbeing, including interest-free season ticket loans for travel, a cycle to work scheme and an employee discount scheme.
• Health and wellbeing support including our Employee Assistance Programme for specialist advice and counselling and the opportunity to join HASSRA a first-class programme of competitions, activities and benefits for its members (subscription payable monthly).
• Family friendly policies including enhanced maternity and shared parental leave pay after 1 year’s continuous service.
• Funded learning and development to support progress in your role and career. This includes industry recognised qualifications and accreditations, coaching, mentoring and talent development programmes.
• An inclusive and diverse environment with opportunities to join professional and interpersonal networks including Women’s Network, National Race Network, National Disability Network (THRIVE) and many more.

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 and Experience.

If you are already a member of Government Economic Service (GES), Government Operational Research Service (GORS), Government Social Research Service (GSR) or Government Statistician Group (GSG) please follow the instructions on the Essential Qualifications section and answer ‘yes’ on the membership question when you complete your application form.

If you are not already a badged member, you will be expected to align with one of the analytical professions: Government Economic Service (GES), Government Operational Research Service (GORS), Government Social Research Service (GSR) or Government Statistician Group (GSG).

Please check you are eligible and follow the instructions on the Essential Qualifications section of the candidate pack when completing your application form. When completing the additional questions at the end of the application form, ensure that you only state one of the professions that you wish to align with. If multiple professions are stated or it is not clear which profession you are applying under then your application will be withdrawn.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV and Personal Statement (750-word max) to demonstrate how you meet the person specification and the essential criteria.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Selection will be by a written sift, followed by an interview for candidates who pass the sift stage.

Candidates that are not badged members of the Government Statistician Group (GSG) and want to align to this profession will also need to complete an online test at the application stage.

After sift, if you are not currently a badged member of one of the analytical professions, you may also be required to complete further testing prior to, or at, interview. Specific details will apply to each profession and full details will be provided to candidates where applicable

Selection will be by a written sift and shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend a face-to-face interview (Caxton House, London).

Written Sift

The written sift will be conducted in two parts – one to check qualifications (on your employment history and qualifications - CV) and one to check Essential Experience Criteria evidence (on your personal statement ). If you do not meet the eligibility requirements (the first stage of the sift), then your personal statement will not be sifted and your application will be withdrawn prior to sift stage. Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

CV

The CV is an on-line tool accessed through the Civil Service Jobsite and there is no requirement to upload your personal CV. Our CV element is short and allows an initial check of eligibility and will not be individually scored, so please put the main content of your evidence and skills in your Personal Statement. Your CV will be used to check eligibility on qualifications and to outline your employment history.

Please make sure that you fully complete the qualifications and employment history section in the application form. Applications submitted without key details like: degree studied, grades and credits or without sufficient detail of relevant modules will be discounted.

Failure to provide this information clearly will result in your application being sifted out of the process.

The CV (qualifications and employment history sections) should be used to detail the information required on qualifications and relevant experience if applicable and the main content of your evidence against the Essential Criteria should be put in your personal statement.

Personal Statement

When completing your personal statement, please read and understand the Essential Criteria thoroughly as this is what your written evidence will be assessed against.

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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the lead criteria:

• Strong analytical leadership, including the ability to engage others, lead and quality assure analytical work, and maximise the value and impact of analysis in supporting senior decision-making. (Lead Criterion)

The benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.

The sift will be carried out in November 2026.

Badging Exercises

If you are not currently a badged member of the profession to which you align, then you may be required to complete additional testing prior to, or at, the main interview.

Full details of this testing will be provided to candidates who reach this stage.

For Statisticians and Operational Researchers this will be additional testing as part of the main panel interview stage; and for Statisticians, this additional testing at the interview stage is in addition to the multiple-choice test at application stage.

Economist candidates will be required to pass a GES written exercise prior to, and separate from, the main panel interview. If candidates do not meet the required standard for this exercise, then they will not proceed to the blended panel interview.

Social Researcher candidates will be required to pass a Social Research knowledge test prior to, and separate from, the main panel interview. If candidates do not pass this test, then they will not proceed to the blended panel interview.

Candidates will be asked if they require any reasonable adjustments for any additional testing.

GSS online multiple-choice test

For those candidates wishing to align to the Government Statistical Service and become a member of the Government Statistician Group, a GSS test is also required as part of the sifting process.

All applicants will be asked if they are a member of the Government Statistician Group (GSG) as part of the application process. If you answer no to the membership question and are not a member of the GSG then you will be required to undertake and pass a GSS online multiple-choice test in order for your application to progress to sift stage.

If you are not a badged permanent member of the GSG, once your application has been submitted and the job advert has closed, you will be sent an email to invite you to undertake the GSS online multiple-choice test. This is a timed test and must be completed promptly within office hours (Monday to Friday).

You will have 24 hours to complete the test after being sent the details. You must pass this test in order for your application to progress to the sift stage. If you do not pass this test your application will be rejected and not sifted.

If you have already indicated you are applying to this vacancy under the Disability Confident Scheme you will have had the opportunity to tell us if you need reasonable adjustments to be made.

If you have previously passed the GSS online test as part of another campaign in the last 6 months but are not a badged member of the GSG we will not require you to repeat the test for this campaign.

If you are already a badged permanent member of GSG and therefore answer yes to the membership question, then you will be exempt from sitting the GSS online test. Membership will be verified during the recruitment process and if applicants are found not to be members then their application will be immediately withdrawn.

Interview Stage

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to attend an interview at Caxton House, London which should take approximately an hour. More information on the interview process will be provided to candidates who reach that stage of recruitment.

Interviews dates will be confirmed in due course.

Important

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

Further Information​

At the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce.

Find out more about working for DWP on the DWP Careers Hub.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

If you are placed on a reserve list but we cannot immediately offer you a post, please note:

• If you are later offered the role you applied for, in a location you have expressed a preference for, and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe you will be withdrawn from the campaign and removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances (e.g. a contractual Part Time Working Pattern cannot be accommodated in the initial role offered or in cases of serious ill health).
• If DWP makes an offer of an alternative role or location to that which you originally applied for, and you decline that offer, you will be able to remain on the reserve list.

Disability Confident Scheme

If high application volumes are received, the benchmark for candidates to proceed to the next stage may be raised. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to advance all candidates applying under the DCS who meet the minimum standard. However, we may only progress those candidates who best meet the required standards.

Reasonable Adjustments

We consider visible and non-visible disabilities, neurodiversity or learning differences, chronic medical conditions, or mental ill health. Examples include dyslexia, epilepsy, autism, chronic fatigue, or schizophrenia.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should contact the Government Recruitment Service via DWPRecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Reasonable Adjustments” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

Integrity, plagiarism and Civil Service Principles

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles.

Please ensure that all examples provided in your application are taken directly from your own experience and that you describe the examples in your own words.

Examples of plagiarism can include:

- Presenting the work, ideas and experience of others as your own

- Copying content or answers from an online or published source that is not your own

Disclosure and Barring Service and Internal Fraud Database Checks

To process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department, a criminal record check will be carried out.

Important

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Before applying for this vacancy, current employees of DWP should check whether a successful application would result in changes to their terms & conditions of employment, e.g. mobility, pay, allowances. If you are a current employee and are successful you must be able to be released from your current post within four weeks.

Those on protected TUPE/ COSoP terms and conditions applying on promotion or voluntary permanent level move will adopt DWP’s Terms and Conditions and this may have a different impact on pay and allowances. Please review this prior to acceptance of a role.

Civil Servants that would transfer into DWP from other government organisations, following successful application, will assume DWP's terms & conditions of employment current on the day they are posted, unless DWP has stated otherwise in writing. Accepting a post will be taken to mean acceptance of revised terms & conditions.

Civil Servants applying on promotion will usually be appointed to the salary minimum or within 10% of existing salary.

Any move to DWP 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 at the Childcare Choices Website.

Feedback

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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

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 : Chris Sutton
• Email : CHRIS.SUTTON3@DWP.GOV.UK

Recruitment team

• Email : dwprecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact DWP by email: HR.BUSINESSASSURANCE@DWP.GOV.UK.
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. Click here to visit the Civil Service mmission.

Attachments

DWP Candidate Pack Grade 7 Principal Private Office Analyst PDF1 Opens in new window (docx, 340kB)