Office for National Statistics
Data Scientist
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The locations for this role are Newport, Titchfield (Fareham), Manchester, Edinburgh, London, and Darlington.
This role is aligned to ONS hybrid working principles, which are based on attending the office with purpose. The postholder will be expected to contribute to the organisation’s overall 40% office attendance, in line with business and role requirements.
The induction process for the role will be conducted in person.
Due to workforce controls, you can only select Manchester, London, Darlington, or Edinburgh if you are an existing ONS employee contracted to that location. If you are not contracted at one of these sites, these options are not available to you.
Only existing ONS contractual homeworkers can select Homeworking.
Applicants who select a location they are not eligible for will be removed from the recruitment process and will not be considered for alternative locations.
Please refer to attachments for further terms and flexibilities.
Job Summary
Are you an experienced Data Scientist eager to make a real difference in the UK?
We're looking for Data Scientists to join us at the forefront of transforming the statistical landscape. This is your chance to apply your skills to solve complex challenges, leverage diverse data sources, and deliver insights that shape policy, enhance statistics, and drive innovation.
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.
Job Description
What we're looking for:
- A self-motivated learner who's eager to constantly improve your data science skills and learn from colleagues and external sources.
- A team player who thrives in a collaborative environment, working alongside analysts, digital experts, and stakeholders across the public sector.
Data science is a broad and fast-moving field spanning maths, statistics, software engineering, and communications. Data scientists will often work as part of a multidisciplinary team, using data and analytics to inform and achieve organisational goals.
In These Roles, You Will Lead Teams That Will:
- Be inquisitive
- Explore and visualise data
- Make recommendations to address complex problems and to inform strategic and operational decision making
- Use data ethically and appropriately
- Be innovative and adaptable
- Explore existing and new data using a range of statistical tools and techniques, such as machine learning, AI, and predictive analytics
- Find patterns in data and transform them into organisational insight
- Deliver analysis that is fit for purpose and appropriately assured
Responsibilities
- Write clean, reusable code that adheres to best standards (Python, R, cloud platforms, and distributed computing environments).
- Deliver innovative data science solutions, from modernising legacy systems to applying cutting-edge techniques to economic and social science problems.
- Develop working software and data products for stakeholders, utilising cloud environments, APIs, and user interfaces (e.g. Flask).
- Manage stakeholder relationships, keeping them updated on progress and identifying risks.
- Provide time/resource estimates for proposed work and assist in the development of colleagues' data science skills.
- Work within a cross-disciplinary team to deliver impactful data science projects using Agile methodology.
- Ensure your work addresses user needs and delivers tangible value for stakeholders.
- Develop and apply advanced data science methods to produce innovative economic statistical products and to provide insights about the real-time economy.
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Person Specification
Essential Criteria:
- Data engineering and manipulation (Practitioner)
- Data Science Innovation (Practitioner)
- Delivering Business Impact (Working)
- Programming & Build (Practitioner)
- Applied maths, statistics, and scientific practice (Practitioner)
Please see role profile attached.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Working Together
- Changing and Improving
- Leadership
Technical Skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Programming & Build
Alongside your salary of £41,985, Office for National Statistics contributes £12,163 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.
This Role Is Part Of The Cross-government Government Digital And Data (formerly DDaT) Profession Framework. As a Role Within Government Digital And Data (formerly DDaT) At The ONS, We Also Offer Benefits Such As:
- Protected Learning Time to spend on your personal development and side-projects.
- A supportive and active Community of Practice which you will be expected to contribute to, helping ensure you and your colleagues get the training, development, and opportunities you need to progress your careers.
We are committed to supporting our people’s wellbeing by offering flexible ways of working that support a healthy work-life balance. We are happy to explore opportunities with you about working flexibly in line with our hybrid working policies.
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.
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.
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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 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.
If you are unsure that you meet the eligibility above, please read the information available on Gov.uk this link, or contact the recruitment email on the advert before applying, as failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected and any offer of employment being withdrawn.
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 is unable to offer visa sponsorship for this role. Applicants must have a valid right to work in the UK when employment commences. If you are currently in the UK on a time-limited visa, it must have at least 18 months remaining at the point of application.
To work at ONS, applicants must meet the Civil Service nationality requirements, satisfy UK right to work requirements, and, where applicable, 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.
Applicant Support
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, skills, experience, CV, 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, it will state the maximum word count allowed 1250 words, which should not be exceeded. Where it is a requirement to make a personal statement, 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.
We will reach out post application before sift to conduct eligibility checks for SC Clearance.
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
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