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Skills England – Skills Needs Assessments Analyst

Skills England – Skills Needs Assessments Analyst

Department for Education
remoteHybrid
ExpiresExpires: Expiring in 6 days
Education
Flexible
£48,999 - £52,999 per year

Job summary

Skills England is an executive agency of the Department for Education. We help businesses to boost their workforce and get more people into skilled jobs faster, enabling our nation to prosper. Skills England identifies skills gaps in the economy and uses this insight to improve provision so that people and businesses can access the right training to connect people to jobs. Working across government, Skills England ensures both young people and adults have clear education and training pathways. Skills England supports employers to equip their domestic workforce with the skills they need.

You can find out further information on our responsibilities, priorities, who we

are and corporate information on GOV.UK About us - Department for

Education - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and About us - Skills England - GOV.UK

This role is for an SEO Analyst within the Research and Analysis team in Skills England’s Analysis and Insight Division. The Analysis and Insight division aims to support Skills England to be the authoritative voice on the country’s current and future skills needs. It will provide expert analytical and data skills to identify the jobs roles currently in-demand and emerging over the next few years, and the training and skills required to fill those jobs. We will also work with colleagues in Skills England and stakeholders to gather intelligence and provide insights into how the skills offer can change to better match the needs of the economy and business. There are around 30 people in the team spread over the country. Most are analysts with some policy colleagues to provide strategy and project expertise.

Job description

We are looking for an experienced analyst to contribute to the delivery of our Skills Needs Assessments (SNAs) programme.

The SNAs programme aims to synthesise existing evidence and conduct new analysis in order to provide an overarching evidence base for skills mismatches in priority sectors in the economy, both nationally and by place. We are aiming to publish outputs from Spring 2026 onwards. The SNAs programme will then move to an annual cycle of delivery, with the analytical scope continuing to be developed and improved.

The postholder will co-lead the Sectoral SNAs, which build on Skills England’s previous Assessment of Priority Skills to 2030 publication to analyse the supply and demand for occupations and skills across priority sectors in the economy[1]. This will involve both producing new analysis – such as supply and demand modelling for occupations – and synthesising existing sources to produce an analytical summary of the available evidence on skills mismatches. There will be leadership opportunities to own or co-own analytical strands of the programme.

Responsibilities of the roles are:

We are recruiting an SEO analyst to work on the Skills Needs Assessments (SNAs). Roles and responsibilities will include:

  • Co-leading the delivery of the Sectoral SNAs, supporting the publication of the first iteration of outputs in Spring 2026, and then contributing to the long term development of the SNAs as the programme becomes an annual cycle of delivery.
  • The postholder will be joining the team at a crucial time in the lead up to publication and will need to be adapt quickly and be comfortable with delivering at pace on a high-profile, strategic programme of work for Skills England. The postholder will be supported closely by the Grade 7 team lead, who provides oversight for the Sectoral SNAs.
  • The role is varied and will involve a mixture of technical analytical work (such as coding, modelling, producing analytical outputs) and broader activities (such as drafting narrative for published outputs, engagement, conducting strategic thinking). Therefore, this role would be best suited for individuals who enjoy a mixed portfolio of work and are keen to develop a broad range of analytical and non-analytical skills.
  • The postholder will need to be highly proactive, comfortable taking the lead on strands of work, and be able to communicate effectively with a range of senior and non-technical customers.
  • This role is open to all badged analytical professions (GES, GORS, GSR, GSS) but would be most suited to a GES or GORS analyst.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

The successful applicant will be required to demonstrate the following:

  • Ability to make effective decisions using a wide range of evidence and careful consideration of options.
  • Strong analytical experience conducting analysis in R and Excel, with experience in modelling and/or making projections.
  • Strong leadership skills with the capability and experience to see the bigger picture and overcome challenges.
  • Ability to communicate analysis effectively to a variety of stakeholders with impact and establish and maintain strong, trusting and collaborative relationships with stakeholders.
  • A proven ability to project manage the delivery of multiple or complex projects and high impact analysis to tight deadlines, including application of appropriate Quality Assurance standards.

Desirable Criteria

  • Economics proficiency and/or knowledge, including in the practical application of economic theory.
  • Knowledge of skills, labour and employment policy or practice.

Desirable criteria will only be assessed at interview in the event of a tie break situation to make an informed decision.

Memberships

Membership of at least one of the following analytical badged professions: GES, GSS, GSR or GORS

Technical skills

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

  • A Technical Statement outlining your technical suitability for the role.
  • Analysis of Data
  • Application of knowledge and understanding of the analytical needs.

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

  • A Technical Statement outlining your technical suitability for the role.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £48,999, Department for Education contributes £14,195 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

If you are new to the Civil Service or are a civil servant who is not currently a member of GSR or GES, your starting salary will be £42,806 (national) or £46,971 (London). Upon joining GSR or GES, your salary will rise to £48,999 (national) or £52,799 (London).

If you are a civil servant who is already a member of an analytical profession, your minimum salary will be £48,999 (national) or £52,799 (London).

Applicants currently holding a permanent post in the Civil Service should note that, if successful, their salary on appointment would be determined by the Department’s transfer / promotion policies.

As a member of the DfE, you will be entitled to join the highly competitive Civil Service Pension scheme with an employer contribution of 28.97%, which many experts agree is one of the most generous in the UK. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

You will have 25 days leave, increasing by 1 day every year to a maximum of 30 days after five years’ service. In addition, all staff receive the King’s Birthday privilege holiday and 8 days’ bank and public holidays.

We offer flexible working arrangements, such as job sharing, term-time working, flexi-time and compressed hours.

Most DfE employees will be working a hybrid pattern, spending at least 60% of their time in an office or work setting. Changes to these working arrangements are available in exceptional circumstances but must be agreed with the line manager and in line with the requirements of the role.

Travel to your primary office location will not be paid for by DfE, but costs for travel to an office which is not your main location will be covered.

As an organisation, which exists to support education and lifelong learning, we offer our staff excellent professional development opportunities.

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 Experience and Technical skills.

If you would like to apply for this position, please complete the Civil Service Jobs application form by clicking the "apply now" button at the top or bottom of this advert.

Stage 1: Application

At sift stage, you will be assessed on your Behaviours, Experience & Technical Ability in line with the essential and technical skills listed in the person specification section of the job advert.

To apply for this role, please provide:

1) Your CV: Set out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role.

2) Your Statement of Suitability: In no more than 1000 words, provide examples of how your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria. This is not intended to be a cover letter, instead work through each essential criteria in turn. You may wish to follow the STAR technique to help focus your examples. The key things we are looking for are what you did, how you did it and what the outcome was.

To confirm, the maximum word count for the statement of suitability is 1000 words. Please adhere to this limit as anything over 1000 words will not be taken into account.

3) A Technical Statement outlining your technical suitability for the role. You may use an example to support your statement (maximum 250 words).

The CV, Statement of Suitability and Technical Skills Statement will be assessed against the essential criteria detailed in the advert. These should be anonymised (all personal information removed, such as your name, date of birth, gender, contact information, nationality etc.).

If we receive a high number of applications, we will sift on the first criterion: Ability to make effective decisions using a wide range of evidence and careful consideration of options. Sifting is expected to take place in the week from 16th January. Please note these dates are subject to change.

Please note, CV details must be contained within the template on the application form. Any CV or Statement of Suitability that has been emailed to our team will not be considered.

Stage 2: Assessment/Interview

Prior to the interview, you will also be required to complete a technical test where we will provide you with data and ask you to conduct some analysis. The purpose of this exercise is to give us an insight into how you would approach a piece of analysis. This is to assess your technical skills in analysis of data.

Further details will be provided closer to the time of the interview.

The interview will last approximately 1 hour. It will cover two parts:

Part 1: You will also be asked to prepare and deliver a short presentation (approx. 10 minutes) to the panel on the following topic:

“Gaps/mismatches in the supply and demand for occupations exist in the labour market. How would you approach trying to assess the scale of these gaps/mismatches?”.

This presentation will assess a different set of technical skills from the Technical Framework for your analytical profession. These skills will be based on your application of knowledge and understanding of the analytical needs.

Part 2: You will be asked questions on the essential criteria set out in the advert to determine your level of experience and competency in these areas. You will also be asked a scenario-based question to test your technical knowledge (according to your profession – see below for links to profession frameworks).

For more information, please refer to the relevant technical frameworks below:

Other Information

In September 2025, responsibility for apprenticeships, adult further education, skills, training, careers, and Skills England moved from the Department for Education (DfE) to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). This change brings together adult employment and training under one department, aligning skills development more closely with employment support. As a result, this role within Skills Group is expected to transfer to DWP. The transfer date is currently anticipated to be Spring 2026. If you join before the transfer takes place, you will initially be employed by DfE (on DfE terms and conditions) and then move to DWP as part of the transition (in accordance with COSOP policy). There will be consultation with employees in scope to transfer. If recruitment processes are still ongoing at the point of transfer, they will continue under DWP’s lead. If recruited post-transfer, you would be recruited by DWP (on DWP terms and conditions).

Interviews may be via Microsoft teams or face to face; the vacancy manager will confirm prior to the Interview.

In your application, please don’t include personal information that identifies you.

This means we can recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - it's called name blind recruitment (opens in a new window).

Please ensure that you remove from your application, all references to your:

  • name/title
  • educational institutions
  • age
  • gender
  • email address
  • postal address
  • phone number
  • nationality/immigration status

We reserve the right to raise the minimum pass mark in the event of a high volume or strong field of candidates.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK from the location options provided and not from overseas.

The government is committed to supporting apprenticeships, enabling people to learn and progress in a role whilst earning. We want to monitor the number of people who have completed apprenticeships who are now applying to progress further in their career and are asking this question to all candidates, on all vacancies. You will be asked a question as part of the application process about any previous apprenticeships you have completed. Your response to this question will not affect your application and it is not a requirement of the role to have completed a previous apprenticeship.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check maybe carried out.

In order 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 circumstance some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Department of Education of your intention by emailing Pre-Employment.Checks.DFE@education.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Department for Education do not cover the cost of travel to your interview/assessment unless otherwise stated.

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

Candidates will be posted in merit order based upon location preference. Where more than one location is advertised you will be asked to state your preferred location.

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

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.

Terms and conditions of candidates transferring from ALBs and NDPBs

Bodies that are not accredited by the Civil Service Commission and are not able to advertise at Across Government on Civil Service jobs will be treated as external new starters and will come into DfE on modernised terms and conditions with a salary at the band minimum.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission but do not have civil service status will be offered modernised terms and will not have continuous service recognised for leave or sickness benefits. Salaries should be offered at band minimum, but there is some flexibility where this would cause a detriment to the individual.

Bodies that are accredited by the Civil Service Commission and do have Civil Service status will be treated as OGD transfers. Staff appointed on lateral transfer will move on to pre-modernised DfE terms (unless they were on modernised terms in their previous organisation). Staff appointed on promotion will move on to modernised DfE terms. Staff will transfer over on their existing salary (on lateral transfer) and any pay above the DfE pay band maximum will be paid as a mark time allowance. Staff moving on promotion will have their salaries calculated using the principles set out in the attached OGD transfer supplementary information.

Reasonable adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Department of Education via centralrecruitment.operations@education.gov.uk soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Complete the “Assistance required” 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.

Please refer to the attached ‘Reasonable Adjustments Guide 05_2025 – accessible version’ at the bottom of the advert, for further information.

Childcare Vouchers

Any move to Department for Education (DfE) will mean you will no longer be able to carry on claiming 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 https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/



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 :

Recruitment team

Further information

The Department for Education’s recruitment processes are underpinned by the Civil Service Commissioners Recruitment Principles, which outlines that selection for appointment is made on merit based on fair and open competition. You have the right to complain if you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly with the department concerned via CentralRecruitment.Operations@education.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages

Attachments

DFE Terms & Conditions - accessible version Opens in new window (pdf, 215kB)OGD Transfer Supplementary information - accessible version Opens in new window (pdf, 327kB)Reasonable Adjustments guide 05_2025 - accessible version Opens in new window (pdf, 723kB)

Salary range

  • £48,999 - £52,999 per year