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.
The SEO Workforce Design Lead plays a pivotal role in shaping and delivering the ONS’s strategic workforce design agenda, ensuring that workforce structures and practices are aligned with organisational priorities and future needs. This role operates with significant autonomy and influence, reporting to the Head of Workforce Design and collaborating closely with senior leaders across the organisation.
Job details
We are seeking a proactive and strategic leader to head our Workforce Design team, driving the delivery of innovative workforce planning and design initiatives.
The SEO Workforce Design Lead will be responsible for setting direction, overseeing implementation, and ensuring that the ONS’s workforce is equipped to deliver on its objectives both now and in the future. This role requires a strong focus on stakeholder engagement, data-driven decision-making, and continuous improvement.
Key Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership and Workforce Planning
- Assist in the development and implementation of workforce design strategies, ensuring alignment with organisational goals and the evolving needs of the ONS.
- Oversee the governance and integrity of workforce data, setting standards and ensuring compliance with organisational policies.
- Provide expert advice to the head of Workforce Design on workforce structure, skills requirements, and future workforce challenges.
Position Management and Data Governance
- Direct the management and review of job positions across the organisation, ensuring robust position management and assurance processes.
- Champion data quality and integrity, using advanced analytical skills to generate insights that inform strategic workforce decisions.
- Lead the development of workforce data reports and dashboards for senior stakeholders.
Skills Framework and Capability Development
- Oversee the design and maintenance of the organisational skills framework, identifying critical skills gaps and leading initiatives to address them.
- Drive the adoption of a skills-based approach to workforce planning, ensuring the ONS is future-ready.
Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration
- Build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders, ensuring buy-in for workforce planning initiatives.
- Represent the Workforce Design function at forums, influencing organisational strategy and policy.
- Foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the team and across the organisation.
Continuous Improvement
- Identify and implement best practices in workforce design and planning, driving process improvements and innovation.
- Monitor external trends and developments, ensuring the ONS remains at the forefront of workforce design.
This role will focus on delivering key priorities over the next 6–12 months:
- Lead the development of a new SharePoint area for skills, taxonomy, and position management.
- Oversee improvements in data quality and position management across all business areas.
- Drive the reduction of errors in workforce data and enhance the quality of the job taxonomy.
- Support the implementation of capability pay and the integration of allowances into workforce systems.
- Develop and deliver training to build data and analytical capability across the team.
- Provide strategic advice on the workforce implications of the Census and other major organisational initiatives.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
- Demonstrable experience in workforce design or strategic workforce planning.
- Analytical skills, with the ability to interpret complex workforce data and provide actionable insights.
- Proven ability to influence and engage stakeholders, with excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- Strong track record of delivering innovative solutions to workforce challenges.
- High attention to detail and commitment to data integrity.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and workforce analytics tools.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
Benefits
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.
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.
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:
The requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying.
A lack of UK residency in itself is not always a bar to security clearance but the Department will need to 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 on this link, or contact the recruitment email on the advert before applying to discuss, 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 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.
Application process:
Number of Stages: 2 stage process
Stage 1: Application
Stage 2: Interview
Stage 1 – Application (2 steps)
Application Step 1: Online Civil Service Judgement Test.
Upon submission of Part 1 of your application form you will be sent an invitation to complete an online Civil Service Judgement test. There will be full instructions on how to complete the test including an opportunity to practice before undertaking the actual test. The test is not time limited. If you fail the test your application will not proceed to the next stage.
Application Step 2: Submission of Job History and Personal Statement.
If you pass the online judgement test for this vacancy, you will be invited to complete the final step of your application, this is where you will be required to provide information such as your work history and personal statement.
For your personal statement you are required to 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).
The maximum word count allowed is 1000, which should not be exceeded.
Please note that Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage of the application process.
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.
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 in person at our Newport Office - Cardiff Rd, Duffryn, Newport NP10 8XG.
A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.
Sift - w/c 22nd June
Interviews – w/c 6th July
Dates are subject to change
For the full terms and conditions of the post, please see attachment below.
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 the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
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 :
Recruitment team
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 [email protected]. 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)
