Senior Research Officer

Job summary

Do you want to produce statistics to improve society?

The Office for National Statistics provides statistics to give insight into different areas of society and our economy. 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.

Census 2031 represents our most ambitious data collection project yet, a once-in-a-decade opportunity to capture a complete picture of everyone living in England and Wales. Building on the digital success of 2021, we're pioneering new ways to reach every household and community, ensuring no one is left uncounted. This vital work will provide the foundation for policy decisions, resource allocation, and community planning for the next decade.

This campaign is to fill current vacant posts, therefore apply only if you have already completed your degree or are due to complete and receive your degree by 30th September 2026.

As one of our Senior Research Officers you'll join the Government Social Research (GSR) profession. It is one of the seven professional groups in the Analysis Function.

Job description

What will you be doing?

High quality data and analysis are required to inform the UK, improve lives and build the future. You could be working on topics of interest and programmes of work that include Census 2031 (only available at our Titchfield (Fareham) office), responding to changing data needs, population and migration, health monitoring, crime or survey transformation and quality.

We have a variety of opportunities you can get involved with as a social researcher including questionnaire design, primary research, quantitative and some qualitative analysis. The majority of GSR roles in ONS are quantitative but a handful of qualitative roles are also available. In your online application you can select your preference for qualitative roles, but we are unable to make guarantees on placement for successful candidates.

Person specification

Responsibilities

Roles may include some of the following:

• Production and publication of high-quality regular statistical outputs including National Statistics

• Discrete pieces of analysis to provide context and understanding around analytical priorities including issues of significant public interest

• Development of new methods, production systems and dissemination to make sure we meet data users’ changing needs

• Leading on the designing, development, and management of questionnaires for social and economic surveys (suitable for paper, telephone, face-to-face and online self-completion)

• Management of researchers and building their capability

• Working and collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders (including government departments) and other customers to make the best use of our statistics through answering their questions on standard outputs or conducting additional analysis

• Assisting with research to understand administrative datasets and how they can be used in the production of official statistics

• Contributing to quality assurance and production of statistical publications and research reports

• Leading and conducting qualitative research (including focus groups, cognitive interviewing, pop-up research, usability testing and so on) with the public and analysis of findings

• 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 colleagues 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 these Senior Research Officer (SRO) roles in the Government Social Research (GSR) profession, you need to fulfil the criteria of one of the following three entry routes:

Qualification route

To be eligible for this route you must:

Already hold or expect to hold by 30th September 2026 an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:2 or a postgraduate degree in a relevant subject
AND
At the time of application, have at least two years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated.

Badged route

To be eligible for this route you must:

Already be a member of the Government Social Research profession
AND
At the time of application, have at least two years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated.

Use the SRO Eligibility form to tell us if you are already a badged member of the Government Social Research profession, 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

To be eligible for this route you must:

Already hold or expect to hold by 30th September 2026 an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:2 or a postgraduate degree in any subject
AND
At the time of application, have at least four years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated.

The SRO Eligibility form attached to this advert includes further information on what qualifies as relevant qualification and relevant work experience. Please read this form carefully to ensure that you meet the criteria for this route. You should complete this form to provide the evidence required for your route of application.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• GSR technical skills: * Knowledge of research methods, techniques & application of these in more complex projects * Identifying research needs, designing and specifying research * Analysis & interpretation.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,644, Office for National Statistics contributes £12,643 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 these posts

For these posts the requirement for SC level security clearance is to have been present in the UK for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying i.e. resident in the UK from at least August 2023. If you are unsure that you meet this requirement, please read the information available on Gov.uk in this link

OR if you have been outside the UK since August 2023 for more than 3 months in total please contact Social.Research.Recruitment@ons.gov.uk by email BEFORE applying to discuss as you may not meet the minimum residency requirements.

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

Visa Sponsorship

ONS are unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants are expected to hold a valid right to work in the UK when employment commences. If you are applying on a time-limited visa, this will need to be valid for at least 18 months at point of application.

Right to Work and Nationality Requirements

To work at ONS, applicants must meet the Civil Service nationality requirements, satisfy UK right to work requirements and meet the relevant security clearance requirements.

If you are unsure whether you meet the appropriate right to work or security clearance eligibility criteria, please refer to the guidance on Gov.uk or contact the recruitment email provided in the advert before applying. Failure to meet these requirements will result in your application being rejected and employment offers being withdrawn.

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

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There are two stages to this recruitment process – stage 1 is the Application Process and stage 2 is the Interview Process.

PLEASE ENSURE YOU READ AND FOLLOW ALL GUIDANCEto understand the requirements. There are 6 key steps to completing the application process followed by the interview assessment process, which has 2 elements.

APPLICATION PROCESS: This section advises of the steps on how to apply for this post.

1. Please establish if you are eligible to apply for this post through one of three entry routes.
2. Having decided you are eligible you must fill out the SRO Eligibility Form.
3. Complete the online Application Form.
4. Include your 750-word Research Example, as outlined below, in the Personal Statement section of the Application Form.
5. Attach your completed SRO Eligibility Form to your completed online Application Form and submit.
6. After submitting your online application you will be invited to complete an online GSR Skills Knowledge Test, if required.

Steps 1 & 2: ENTRY ROUTES for this vacancy - To be eligible to apply for this Senior Research Officer (SRO) role in the Government Social Research (GSR) profession, you need to fulfil the criteria of one of the following three entry routes: Qualification route; Badged route; Professional Experience route AND you must also demonstrate your experience of working in an applied social research setting.

See the 'Qualifications' section of the advert for the explanations of each of the entry routes. The Candidate Pack attached to the advert also includes information on the entry routes.

SENIOR RESEARCH OFFICER (SRO) ELIGIBILITY FORM - This form is attached to the advert. (i) Read the form carefully, (ii) Complete the relevant section, depending on your entry route of application, and (iii) Upload/attach your completed form when you submit your application.

You should use this form, where required, to record your: qualifications, the social research content of your qualifications, your existing membership of the Government Social Research (GSR) profession if applicable, AND your relevant work experience.

You should also use this form to evidence the experience gained for your current and/or previous role(s) and specifically to confirm the social research skills used in these roles.

Steps 3 & 4: APPLICATION FORM - Found via the 'Apply Now’ button in this advert. To apply for the Senior Research Officer role you must complete all parts of the online application form including the Research Example.

RESEARCH EXAMPLE - You are required to provide this information in the ‘Personal statement’section of the online application form. Please do not include a personal statement in this space as one is not required and will not count towards your application assessment.

There is a 750-word limiton this section and it recommended that you use the word limit to its fullest providing as much relevant information on your Research Example as possible. There is guidance text within the personal statement section of the online application form and the Candidate Pack that outlines the information you are required to include in your Research Example.

You must include an example of a time you have led a piece of social research. Your Research Example will be assessed against the Government Social Research technical skill - Knowledge of research methods, techniques and application of these in more complex projects and also against the Civil Service behaviour of Leadership.

If you provide a personal statement in this space in place of the required Research Example it will not count towards your application assessment and your application will not be progressed.

Step 5: Attach your completed SRO eligibility form - if you attach a CV instead of the eligibility form it will not count towards your application assessment and your application will not be progressed.

Step 6: GSR KNOWLEDGE TEST

Please read the candidate pack for full information on the knowledge test to confirm how it applies to you as it will vary depending on your eligibility route.

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Please Note:

Your application will be sifted out of the recruitment process if you:

• fail to complete all sections of the online Application Form as advised, this includes failing to provide a 750-word research example in the Personal Statement section of the form.
• forget to attach your completed Senior Research Officer (SRO) Eligibility Form.
• attach a CV instead of the eligibility form.
• do not pass the GSR Knowledge Test, where applicable.

Passing application stage does not guarantee being invited to interview.

In instances where 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 ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Candidates who successfully pass sift stage will be invited to the final stage which is an online interview assessment. The assessment has two elements - a short presentation and an interview - to further assess candidates general and technical competence for the Senior Research Officer role.

If you are successful at sift stage you will receive an invitation to book an interview slot. The invitation to interview will contain an attachment with all the information you will need about what to prepare for your presentation and interview.

At interview you will be assessed against the GSR technical skills, which are set out in the advert’s Technical Skills section, and align to the GSR Technical Framework. You will also be assessed against the Civil Service Behaviours, which are set out in the advert’s Behaviours section and align to the Civil Service Success Profiles.

Interviews will take place using video conference via the MS Teams platform.

IMPORTANT DATES

• Application closing date: Tuesday 18th August 2026

• GSR Knowledge Test from Monday 24th to Monday 31st August - via Tazio

• Application Sift from Thursday 3rd September

• Sift results issued by 15th September

• Interviews from Wednesday 23rd September to Friday 2nd October

All dates may be subject to change.

When there are more successful candidates than vacant positions, we will maintain a reserve list of remaining successful candidates from which further appointments will be made. A reserve list of successful applicants may be held for up to 12 monthsfrom which further appointments may be made. Candidates should note this is a multi-location campaign and therefore the reserve list is recorded by location in merit order.

Successful candidates are required to carry out all their duties from a UK location and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time, unless this has been specified as a part of their role. Presence at an ONS office location will vary and have flexibility built around the following: Needs of the role and business objectives. Successful collaboration and effective partnerships with teams/customers and stakeholders. Personal Preferences. Disability and well-being considerations.

For the full Terms and Conditions of the posts please see attachment.

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 : Social Research Recruitment Team
• Email : Social.Research.Recruitment@ons.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Social.Research.Recruitment@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

SRO Eligibility Form Opens in new window (docx, 76kB)SRO Candidate Pack 474539 Opens in new window (pdf, 594kB)Permanent - ONS National Opens in new window (pdf, 83kB)Role_Type_Information_SRO Opens in new window (docx, 29kB)