3,995 Jobs

Job summary

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.

Operating within a programme delivery environment and understanding the ingredients for successful project delivery, you will have an awareness of the production and monitoring of business cases, budgeting and cost management skills as well as effective stakeholder engagement. Reporting through to the G7 lead and SEO support as well as Project Managers, project support teams and some liaison with Senior Managers across the Programme and the wider Directorate including corporate Finance colleagues.

In this role, the post holder should be self-confident, highly organised and able to work alongside a broad range of stakeholders; working at pace with flexibility and discretion to effectively support the smooth running of the programme.

The post holder will also be a forward thinker, who proactively intervenes when necessary to ensure that projects remain on track; building relationships with stakeholders to get the job done.

The successful applicant will be expected to undertake an Accountancy Apprenticeship at either Level 2 or Level 3 depending on previous experience.

Job description

This post operates in complex Programme and Project environments. You will rely on your previously gained financial experience of working with complex programmes to provide comprehensive financial knowledge around complex policies and applications to deliver the best solution for ONS and the taxpayer.

To do this you will look towards your network of peers both within the department and across wider government in order to maximise effectiveness.

Key Responsibilities

• Support financial administration for the programme, including budgets, audits, training, and project coordination.
• Support directorates to track purchase orders and proposed spend on a day-to-day basis.
• Support with the coordination of the wider budget setting activity. While monitoring the programme budget and collating information from across the vertical integration.
• Work within the team that works closely with the programme Director and others as required to ensure appropriate sources of funding are in place to meet requirements.
• Monitor and track programme contingency.
• Maintain a full schedule of all financial RFCs for all projects within the programme.
• Support SEO programme financial support with advice to project managers and other programme specialists on the Financial Management Process.
• Support Commercial colleagues with operational queries as required.
• Support the SEO programme financial support to collect and utilise advise on areas specific to the running of the programme including cost modelling, budgeting and forecasting, cost control, reporting and analysis.
• Build and maintain trusted working relationships with colleagues across Finance, HR, Commercial and other delivery/business partners representing the programme as required.
• Support the monitoring and reporting on FTE levels to ensure that Directorate forecast is accurate, working in collaboration with business management teams.

The successful applicant will be expected to undertake an Accountancy Apprenticeship at either Level 2 or Level 3 depending on previous experience.

• You must not already hold a similar qualification at the same level or above.
• You must be living in Wales.
• You must be at least 16 years old by 31st August 2024 and no longer be in full time education or plan to return to full time education in the next 12 months.
• You must have the legal right to live and work in the UK.
• You must not be taking part in any other employment or enterprise programmes funded directly by the UK Government or the Welsh Government.
• You must not be taking part in any other EU funded employment or enterprise programme or vocational learning programme
• You must not be supported by the UK Government’s Work programme with a contract of employment for less than 16 hours per week.
• You must not be in receipt of an Assembly Learning Grant or Education Maintenance Allowance.
• Is not an ineligible overseas national.
• Is not in custody or on remand in custody.

* Please note the training provider makes the final decision on whether funding can be provided per person and the job offer will be made on the condition that funding is available.

Accountancy Apprenticeship Level 2

Accountancy Apprenticeship Level 3

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Awareness of Accounting with a talent for making sense of complex accounting concepts and solving technical accounting problems.
• Experienced in ensuring that the accuracy of outputs produced by you and your team is delivered successfully to time and of the highest quality.
• Interrogation of technical systems alongside explaining technical financial information and effectively communicate to all stakeholders who have varying levels of financial knowledge, in an appropriate understandable manner.
• Experience of effectively managing relationships with a range of stakeholders, producing clear advice and guidance.
• An ability to adapt and vary your workload, taking a flexible approach where your effectiveness isn’t impacted by change.
• Experience in using Microsoft Excel to support financial analysis and reporting activities.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £34,587, Office for National Statistics contributes £10,019 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 and Experience.

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

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.

Application Process

Number of Stages: 2 stage process

Stage 1: Application

Stage 2: Interview

The successful applicant will be expected to undertake an Accountancy Apprenticeship at either Level 2 or Level 3 depending on previous experience.

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, 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.

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.

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.

Interviews will be held online 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 5th August

Interviews will be conducted from 20th August

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.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 : Ceri Pollard
• Email : scs.recruitment@ons.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scs.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 v1-00 Opens in new window (pdf, 83kB)Role1_Standard_Requirements Opens in new window (pdf, 76kB)