About the job

Job summary

Analysts x 2

 

1 x 12 month fixed term contract

Salary: Pay band 6 £30,388- £31,789

 

1 x permanent role

Salary: Pay band 6 £30,388- £31,789

With opportunity to progress to pay band 7: £34,695 - £36,470

 

Plus generous civil service defined benefit pension 

 

About us

 

The OfS is the independent regulator of higher education in England.  We aim to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers. We also care about supporting and developing our staff, working together to achieve more than each of us can do alone.    

 

We’re proud of our people, our culture and the benefits we offer. At the OfS we want to create a welcoming and engaging working environment which is free from discrimination. We’re looking for skilled, committed people who care about students and their experience of higher education.

 

Our Data, Foresight and Analysis directorate (DFA) is currently seeking 2 analysts to join our supportive, enthusiastic, and high performing teams on a permanent basis, where you will be part of a community of around 60 analysts. The directorate provides a range of data collection, analysis and research activities that have an essential role underpinning the regulatory functions of the Office for Students (OfS).

 

Join us and you’ll be part of an energetic, forward-looking organisation with high ambitions and big opportunities for our people 

 

Job description

About the role

 

At the OfS, we want to be driven by evidence. Data and analysis inform our effective, efficient and intelligent regulation in the student interest and we use a range of data science and analytics techniques to illuminate trends, solve problems and provide evidence for a range of projects which contribute to these aims.  

 

DFA work collaboratively on a range of tasks and projects which reflect the priorities of the organisation as they evolve, and as an analyst you could work on a variety of these. Whether you are writing code to implement the data specifications informing the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), collecting data from higher education providers, applying a range of analytical techniques to explore National Student Survey responses or contributing to projects that research the current state of the English higher education sector, your work will be interesting and important. And those are just a few of our current projects.  

 

You will apply a range of analytical and statistical techniques to a set of unique data, and will support the production and quality assurance of experimental and official statistics. You will also be communicating with colleagues, providers and other users externally to share understanding of our methods and data publications, and to ensure that data and analysis findings can be used effectively.  

 

To find out more about some of the work that analysts in DFA do to support the aims of the OfS, visit our website Data and analysis - Office for Students.   

 

When appointed, the postholder will be given an initial activity assignment and will work in one or more home teams within the directorate. This is where you will undertake most of your work in the first instance. The OfS is committed to working flexibly and over time we may move people to work on different assignments or in different teams, in order to: develop an individual’s skills and experience, improve communications across teams, and to ensure that as the OfS’s priorities change, resources are allocated appropriately.  Movement to different assignments will take account of an individual’s competencies, knowledge and preferences, as well as the needs of the organisation.

 

Person specification

About you

 

We are looking for candidates who have the ability to gain insight from large and complex data, and to develop and present clear and concise conclusions. The key person attributes to fulfil these roles are: 

• A degree in a numerate discipline, experience in an analytical role or other substantial relevant experience or qualifications;
• Experience of data analysis, data presentation and quality assurance of data processes.
• Experience of analytical programming – as these are entry-level roles, we don’t require knowledge of any particular language. If you’ve already got some experience of SAS, SQL and Tableau please include this in your application.
• Logical thinking, and an ability and interest to deploy strong numerical skills in work that will support students and their experience of higher education.
• Working well within a team and communicating data and technical detail clearly with those who are not data experts.
• Attention to detail and an interest in learning how to manage data-based analysis and research projects, including identifying risk and using effective quality assurance approaches.
• Ability to engage with policy issues and propose how data could be used to support them.
• Willingness to work flexibly across a range of tasks as the needs of the OfS evolve, including collecting, analysing and organising data using a range of technology and analytical programming.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £30,388, Office for Students contributes £8,235 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

Working for us

 

The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do.

We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic background.

 

Working arrangements

 

Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that flexibility can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two or three days in a typical week.

 

To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part-time working, apply to these roles. 

 

Note: please indicate in your application which role(s) you would like to be considered for.

 

Closing date for applications: Sunday 3 March 2024

Interviews: Thursday 21 and Friday 22 March 2024

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.