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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.

This role sits within the Data Quality Hub, part of the Quality and Improvement Division in the Methodology and Quality Directorate. The Division plays a critical role in ensuring that ONS data, statistics and analysis meet the standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics and wider government quality frameworks.

The Data Quality Hub leads work to embed strong, proportionate data‑quality management across ONS, with a particular focus on surveys and input data. The Hub provides expert advice, assurance, guidance and practical support across the data lifecycle, working closely with survey teams, methodologists, governance teams and senior leaders.

Job description

Are you interested in providing senior technical leadership on survey methodology and input data quality across ONS, while also being accountable for delivering priority data quality services.

In this role you will act as an expert in survey quality and data quality management, leading technical thinking, setting direction, and providing authoritative advice on complex quality issues that affect surveys and input data.

Alongside this technical leadership, the role holds clear accountability for owning and leading defined quality improvement workstreams, ensuring high-quality delivery, clear impact, and assurance to senior leaders that risks to quality are being identified and managed effectively.

This role plays a critical part in strengthening ONS’s quality culture by ensuring that quality policy, guidance, assurance activity and support for survey teams are coherent, credible and genuinely usable in practice.

As a G7 Data Quality Technical Lead, you will:

• Act as a senior technical authority on survey methodology and data quality, trusted to lead on complex, sensitive or high impact quality issues.
• Set and shape the technical direction for how survey quality and input data quality are assessed, understood and managed across ONS.
• Own and lead a portfolio of data quality workstreams, ensuring work is both technically sound and delivered effectively.
• Provide expert challenge and advice into survey design, transformation and improvement activity, influencing decisions early in the lifecycle.
• Lead and mentor SEO Data Quality Specialists as a technical role model, building capability and confidence across the team.
• Represent the Data Quality Hub as a credible technical leader in senior governance forums and cross office discussions.
• Balance hands on technical leadership with oversight of delivery through others, stepping in directly where expert input is required.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Proven experience as a technical expert in survey or data quality.
• Experience leading and influencing technical work beyond their immediate team.
• Confidence providing constructive challenge and advice at senior levels.
• Experience developing others.
• Strong professional judgement and a proportionate approach to managing quality risks.

Behaviours

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

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

Technical skills

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

• Deep understanding of survey methodology, including how design, collection, processing and analysis affect data quality.
• Excellent communication skills, including explaining complex technical issues clearly to non‑technical audiences.

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.

ONS are committed to flexible ways of working that support a healthy work-life balance. ONS has already considered how this job could be right sized for applicants working flexibly and we are happy to explore options with you about working part time, in a job share or flexibly, in line with our hybrid working policies.

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.

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.

To work at the ONS, candidates must meet both UK right to work and security clearance requirements (where applicable).

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.

Number of Stages: 3 stage process

Stage 1: Eligibility pre-sift
Stage 2: Application
Stage 3: Interview

Stage 1

A pre-sift will be conducted on location and eligibility criteria set out in the advert. Ineligible candidates will be removed from the selection process and will not proceed to the application stage.

Stage 2 – Application

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

A personal statement is required at application stage, the maximum wordcount allowed is 1250, which should not be exceeded. 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.

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 and any required technical skills.

You will be required to provide a 5 minute 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 elements.

Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams.

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

Important Dates:

The Sift will be conducted from w/c 10/08/2026

Interviews will be conducted from w/c 17/08/2026

Dates are 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 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 :

• Name : MQD Resource
• Email : MQD.Resource@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

2721 Advert 1B Permanent - ONS National v1-00 (3) Opens in new window (pdf, 83kB)Role1_Standard_Requirements Opens in new window (pdf, 76kB)