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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.

ONS is growing its exciting new Digital Strategy and Evaluation team within Digital Services, and we are looking for a Lead Digital Evaluator to take on a new role helping to shape how we understand, evidence and improve the impact of digital products, services and programmes. This is a new and influential role, offering the opportunity to build digital evaluation capability from the ground up and help ensure our digital work delivers measurable value for the public and for ONS.

Are you experienced in digital evaluation, Theory of Change, logic models or benefits-led approaches? Are you excited by the opportunity to lead change, set up new ways of working and bring your expertise into a growing team?

Digital Services is an exciting place to work, supporting the delivery of modern digital products, services and platforms at a time when technology, data and AI are rapidly changing how organisations operate. This role offers the chance to help shape how ONS evaluates digital impact, builds evidence of what works, and makes better decisions about future digital investment.

Job description

As a Lead Digital Evaluator assesses the design, implementation and outcomes of a digital product or service and whether it delivers value for the public and society. They may also be a member of a government analytical profession where evaluation is a core skill.

In this role you will:

• Work closely with delivery and policy teams.
• Develop ‘theories of change’ for products and services that explain links between activities, outputs, intended outcomes and unintended effects.
• Follow established monitoring and evaluation methods and government guidance.
• Produce evaluation plans.
• Design quantitative and qualitative research.
• Collect and analyse data.
• Communicate findings, including by publishing reports.

Responsibilities

• Evaluation: Define an evaluation framework for quality assurance within evaluation and establish and evaluate the success and effectiveness of digital initiatives and report on progress to senior management.
• Ethics: Ensure data ethics is applied appropriately when formulating, implementing and evaluating digital products, programmes and services.
• Delivery: Evaluate digital services using appropriate techniques including process evaluation, impact evaluation, ‘theory of change’, experimentation and economic evaluation.
• Data analysis: Collect both quantitative and qualitative data and analyse that data using a wide range of analytical approaches.
• Stakeholder engagement: collaborate with stakeholders, external partners and other government departments to drive engagement of digital evaluation across the Digital Services Directorate and the wider ONS.
• Teamwork: Work with other Agile delivery disciplines throughout the product life cycle.

This campaign is for external candidates who wish to be based at either our Newport or Titchfield site. If you are an internal candidate to ONS please apply via the internal campaign. Therefore this campaign has been linked with the internal advert 469866 .The selection and interview process will be combined, so you do not need to apply for both campaigns.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Quality assurance of data and analysis (Expert) - Set up tools and systems for effectively assuring data and analysis across multiple teams. Use appropriate approaches for verifying and validating data and analysis. Influence senior stakeholders over data and analysis approaches. Coach and mentor others in assuring data and analysis.
• Monitoring and evaluation across the product life cycle (Practitioner) - Apply monitoring and evaluation techniques in multiple parts of the product life cycle. Recommend when to move forward and when to stop. Work with other Agile delivery disciplines throughout the product life cycle. Plan and proactively engage with stakeholders at the appropriate stage of the project.
• Evaluation planning and strategy (Practitioner) - Influence stakeholders to secure resources for an evaluation project. Identify evaluation and evidence needs. Ensure plans for monitoring and evaluation of products and services are appropriate and proportionate. Consider wider policy and practical constraints that affect evaluation strategy. Agree the evaluation approach with diverse stakeholders
• Communicating analysis and insight (Expert) - Communicate relevant, compelling stories using the most appropriate medium. Make complex recommendations at a tactical and strategic level.
• Evaluation delivery (Practitioner) - Evaluate digital services using some appropriate techniques including process evaluation, impact evaluation, ‘theory of change’, experimentation and economic evaluation. Collect quantitative and qualitative data. Analyse and interpret data you have collected and data from other sources. Use a wide range of analytical approaches, including descriptive and inferential analysis.

Qualifications

Candidate to have an undergraduate or post graduate degree with substantial social research methods, including quantitative research methods (e.g. Economics, Psychology, Statistics). You will be rejected from the campaign if you do not have these degrees.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions

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 and Experience.

Security Clearance

For ONS 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.

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: We will reach out to you once the advert has closed to confirm eligibility for this role, this will be via an e-mail. Please check you e-mails.

Visa Sponsorship

ONS can offer visa sponsorship as part of this recruitment campaign. However, applicants must still hold valid right to work in the UK at the point employment commences.

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.

Application Process

Number of Stages: 2 stage process

Stage 1: Application

Stage 2: Interview

Stage 1 – 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 word count allowed is 1250 words, 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.

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.

We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours, and essential skills.

Stage 2 – 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 Success Profiles Behaviour Communicating and influencing.

Interviews will be 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

• Eligibility checks from 31/07 - 07/08. Please be aware we will be sending all candidates an e-mail to complete a eligibility form.
• Sift will be conducted from 12/08/2026
• Interviews will be conducted from 31/08

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.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 : Government Digital and Data Recruitment
• Email : Government-Digital-and-Data-Recruitment@ons.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : Government-Digital-and-Data-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

2721 Advert 1B Permanent - ONS National Opens in new window (pdf, 83kB)Flexibilities_Advert Opens in new window (pdf, 47kB)