Scottish Government
Stakeholder Manager (Census 2031)
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Job Description
Overview
Do you want to shape the delivery of Scotland’s Census, enabling governments and other public bodies to plan the services we all rely on, and telling the story of Scotland's people for generations to come? If so, this post could be for you.
We are the trusted producer of Scotland’s population statistics, including taking the Census of Scotland’s population every 10 years. The next Census is in 2031 and will be delivered in partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA). This is one of the largest digital programmes delivered in Scotland, gathering data from every household across a population of c.5.7m. Census data is used by government, local authorities, health boards, the third and private sectors to plan national and local services and informs the allocation of billions of pounds of UK and Scottish Government public funds each year.
We are looking for a Stakeholder Engagement Lead to support the delivery of the next census, where you will be responsible for leading and delivering a comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategy for Scotland's Census 2031. This is a significant and complex role: as a statutory exercise for every household in Scotland, the census requires engagement with a wide and diverse range of stakeholders across the programme lifecycle.
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You should note that Scotland’s Census is a time-limited project which will run until 2032 depending on the role. Staff who are on permanent contracts will remain with NRS after this time whilst a new, suitable role is found. Please contact the line manager named in this advert if you have any further questions.
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Responsibilities
Working closely with communications, community engagement, policy, digital, and statistical colleagues, you will lead the development of strong relationships with key stakeholders, securing their understanding, buy-in, and active support for the programme. Specifically, you will:
- Lead the strategic identification, analysis, and prioritisation of stakeholders across the census 2031 lifecycle, using appropriate tools and frameworks to map influence, interest, risk, and engagement needs.
- Develop, maintain, and own a census-wide stakeholder engagement strategy, ensuring alignment with programme objectives, equality considerations, and delivery timelines.
- Act as a senior adviser to programme leaders on stakeholder sentiment, risks, opportunities, and emerging issues, providing clear, evidence-based recommendations.
- Assist in ensuring stakeholder insight is fed into programme design and delivery decisions.
- Support mitigation of delivery and reputational risks by proactively identifying stakeholder-related issues and leading appropriate engagement responses.
- Capture lessons learned from census engagement activity and previous censuses, ensuring these inform future phases and post-census evaluation.
- Deliver briefings, presentations, and awareness sessions on the census programme and engagement approach to a range of audiences, including senior stakeholders and Ministers.
- Build effective relationships across the UK census system, helping to share insight, manage cross-cutting stakeholder issues, and support the programme’s strategic partnerships.
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