About the job

Job summary

This vacancy is for candidates who are NOT currently a member of the GSS but meet the entry criteria to join this profession.

If you wish to apply under GORS/GSR professions as current members or as applicants that are eligible for membership, or as a current member of the GSS, please apply to vacancy number 348594. 

The SEO Data Improvement Analyst post is based in the grade 7-led Rough Sleeping Data and Statistics team, within the grade 6-led Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Data and Statistics (HRSDS) team, which is responsible for data and statistics on homelessness, rough sleeping, domestic abuse, and data linking, and sits within Vulnerable People, Data and Evaluation (VPDE) Division. The Vulnerable People, Data and Evaluation division contains is a multi-disciplinary team of economists, statisticians, DDaT professionals, operational, and social researchers and working split across four separate G6-led teams. The division provides high quality, innovative research, and analysis across a wide range of DLUHC policies focused on vulnerable people. The division also includes teams responsible for data insights and innovation and a team focused on supporting evaluation across the directorate and department.

The post holder will play a pivotal role in designing, commissioning, and managing new analytical projects on rough sleeping and homelessness to help shape the strategic evidence base to support the goal of ending rough sleeping. A key focus will be on the data, analysis and evidence needed to monitor and understand current trends, progress, patterns and drivers, as well as the data needed to evaluate our programmes, and providing ad-hoc analytical and policy advice and producing and disseminating evidence and analysis.

Job description

The key responsibilities will likely include: 

• Developing a strategic programme of data, analysis and research to fill important evidence gaps on rough sleeping and homelessness, working collaboratively with policy, advisors, analysts, local stakeholders and service providers to ensure the analysis we provide has a high, positive impact and aligns with strategic objectives. 
• Managing external research project to evaluate the potential of natural language processing (NLP) techniques for unlocking the value of qualitative information for policy review and policymaking, using the Ending Rough Sleeping Plans to help identify common challenges, best practice and insights about what works to ending rough sleeping. 
• Collaborating on the rough sleeping data led framework to end rough sleeping, working with the Centre for Homelessness Impact, the wider homelessness sector, other analyst and policy officials from across government to implement the use of the framework. 
• Supporting the development of Reproducible Analytical Pipeline (RAP) approaches for quality assurance and production of timely management information and official statistics on rough sleeping in DLUHC. 
• Managing data projects to identify ways of reducing homelessness and rough sleeping by determining the best analytical tools and techniques to find patterns in data to support policy decision making. 
• Continuously improving the analytical outputs (publications, dashboards, infographics, data visualisation and tables) used to monitor trends and progress in ending rough sleeping, via user research with local authorities, rough sleeping advisers and policy teams. 
• Exploring and analysing data on rough sleeping to develop new insights into patterns of rough sleeping and homelessness; and the wider social, economic and fiscal costs associated with homelessness. 
• Developing and supporting other analysts in the team and actively promoting new analysis and tools and best practice across the analytical community, and wider.

Person specification

We are looking for an experienced analyst with the following key skills: 

• Analytical skills – You should be a strong champion for analysis and able to promote and generate enthusiasm amongst others, including non-analysts, to achieve impact. You must be comfortable communicating data and analysis and their caveats and limitations to analytical and non-analytical audiences (policy officials and external stakeholders) verbally and in writing. You should feel comfortable working with large quantities of data and be able to identify caveats and weak points within the data, understanding the impact of these and how we could potentially resolve any issues. You will have excellent attention to detail and will ensure that we produce and provide high quality data and analysis through robust quality assurance. You will need experience or the willingness and aptitude to learn relevant software for the role quickly. You must be able to plan and deliver analytical projects using appropriate techniques and following legal/organisational processes. You will be able to produce analysis and reports for publication that can inform and shape policy/delivery. Knowledge of process, impact and economic evaluation methodologies is desirable. 
• Communication, Stakeholder Engagement and Interpersonal skills – You should be confident in communicating straightforwardly with a diverse range of stakeholders within and outside the team and department, including non-analysts. You must be able to demonstrate that you can form effective working relationships with others across organisational boundaries, taking into consideration the diverse needs and interests, and building enthusiasm for analysis to maximise understanding and impact. 
• Project Management skills – You must be able to demonstrate that you can deliver projects independently and through others, ensuring outputs meet the customer’s needs. This includes delivering at pace and to tight deadlines and motivating others to deliver, whilst ensuring the quality of your work. You will also need to be able to identify and manage risks and issues. 
• Strategic Thinking and Leadership – You must demonstrate you can draw on a wide range of views and evidence, including innovative analytical approaches, to shape future work, and ensuring aligned to departmental and wider government objectives. You are able to consider options, costs, benefits and risks in order to present strong recommendations, and to demonstrate relevant impact to secure buy-in at senior levels 

Data and evidence is a crucial part of the rough sleeping strategy and this role plays a big part in ensuring that we get the greatest impact out of our analysis.

This is a great opportunity for someone that wants to work closely with policy colleagues and develop their strategic skills to maximise the impact of analysis.

We are looking for a creative analyst who can see the potential of data, identify appropriate methods to answer strategic policy questions, and design high impact data visualisations and dashboards (using Power BI, Plotly, R shiny, R markdown). Excellent communication skills are also essential to ensure that the analysis meets the user needs and has maximum impact.

Analysts in DLUHC must be affiliated to a Government analytical profession.  

Filter and eligibility questions, entry tests 

Candidates who successfully pass the initial filter and eligibility questions will be asked to confirm which of the analytical professions they belong to or are applying to be part of.  This information will be used to progress successful applications to the appropriate professional checks element of the process.  

Existing civil servants who are currently a member of one of these professions will retain their professional membership in this role.  Applicants on promotion will be assessed for promotion within their profession as part of the selection process.  Please make any current affiliation clear in your application.  

External candidates or civil servants without a current profession affiliation may be considered for accreditation to one of the professions as part of the recruitment process.  If you are not currently a member of a government analytical profession you will be put through the membership process for your chosen profession as part of this application.  You must pass the membership process for your application to be successful.  If you do not pass the relevant profession entry test your application will not be taken further.  See the Guide for Analytical Candidates document for more details of the membership process for the relevant profession.  

You will need to address the technical competences for your profession in the application and at interview. 

  

Please refer to the Guide for Analytical Candidates which provides: 

1 - The technical competences for each analytical profession 

2 - details of the entry requirements to each analytical profession 

3 – details of the entry process for each analytical profession 

 

Entry Qualifications  

The entry qualifications are listed below.  Please list FULL details of your degree in your application form. 

Government Statistical Service (GSS): 

a first or second class honours degree in a numerate subject (2:1 minimum for Assistant Statistician and 2:2 minimum for Statistical Officer) containing at least 25% taught statistical content (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography or similar) 

or 

a higher degree, e.g. a MSc or PhD, in a subject containing formal statistical training (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography or similar) 

or 

have worked in a statistical or data science field and are able to demonstrate Continuous Professional Development (via a log book) in statistics or data science at the same level as a foundation degree or Higher National Diploma (level five) 

or 

have achieved or are on track to achieve a level four apprenticeship including at least two years in a statistical or data analysis field in government and are able to demonstrate Continuous Professional Development in statistics or data analysis (via a log book signed off by a manager or mentor who are members of the statistical profession) 

 

Statistician candidates ( entry test) : 

Candidates who ARE NOT members of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) will be invited to sit the Government Statistical Services Test.  This is the first part of the GSS membership process and you must pass this test for your application to progress to the next stage of the recruitment process.  

 

The deadline for completing the GSS online test is 23:55 on 24/04/24.

The deadline for completing your application form is 23:55 on 28/04/24. 

Competencies 

You will need to address the technical competences for your profession in the application and at interview. 

Professional technical competences are listed below: 

Statistics competences 

Statistics: Acquiring data/Understanding customer needs 

Statistics: Data analysis 

Statistics: Presenting and disseminating data effectively 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,679, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £10,457 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

We are for everyone 

At DLUHC we value diversity and inclusion and actively encourage and welcome applications from everyone, including those that are underrepresented in our workforce. We promote equality of opportunity in all aspects of employment and a working environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation. 

Please contact the vacancy manager if you have any questions about the role.   

As part of our pre-employment checking process we will be using your CV to confirm your job history. Please note that by providing us with your CV you are consenting to us using the information enclosed as part of the checking process. 

We are for everyone 

DLUHC want to bring in and bring on a diverse workforce at all levels.  

Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise).  

At application stage you will be asked to upload a CV document. Unless stated otherwise in the advert, your CV will not form part of the assessment but will be used for information purposes and only shared with the panel at interview stage. 

Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to questions for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible.  

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors. 

When writing your application, remember: 

• that the assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially.  
• do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers.  

If talking about something in your first answer, make sure that write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!) 

At sift, we will be assessing: 

Technical (lead element) - Please provide an example of an analytical project you have delivered, which demonstrates your technical analytical skills in line with the requirements of the role. 

Behaviour 1  - Managing a quality service

Behaviour 2 - Making effective decisions

Behaviour 3 - Communicating and influencing

There is a 250 word limit per question. 

In the event that we receive a large number of applications, we may conduct an initial sift using the lead element listed in the advert. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview. 

We do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs. 

  

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of:  

Behaviours - Managing a quality service, Making effective decisions, Communicating and influencing

Technical - candidates will be expected to prepare a presentation, details of which will be sent on invitation to interview. 

Strengths - The strength based questions will require natural responses from the candidates.  

Candidates invited to interview will be expected to complete an oral briefing exercise as part of the interview process.  The oral-briefing exercise is designed to simulate aspects of the job to be performed and provide a second basis for assessing the behaviours and competencies required in the job. 

The oral briefing is usually part of the professional requirements as government analytical professions require an oral briefing as part of the entry or promotion process.  The briefing will take one of the following forms: 

1.  A prepared on the day presentation to the interview panel which will be followed by questions from the panel.  You will be provided with all the information to use for your presentation on the day of your interview.  You will be given up to 45 minutes to read this information and prepare your presentation. 

OR 

1.  You will be provided with a question in advance of the interview and asked to prepare a presentation of a specific length addressing this question.  This presentation will be followed by questions from the panel. 

Candidates invited to interview will be given full instructions on the presentation being used. 

The presentation will be followed by a 45 minute competency based interview. 

Candidates who are not members of a government analytical profession may also need to pass an entry test for their profession as part of the selection process. 

In the full campaign we will test the below Success Profile Elements: 

Behaviours: Managing a quality service, Making effective decisions, Communicating and influencing

Technical: Yes, at sift and interview stage

Strength: Yes

 

How to apply: 

Step 1- Complete your personal details on CS Jobs 

Step 2 - Complete the Government Statistical Service test by 23:55 pm on 24/04/24

When you are invited to complete the online tests you will be given access to guidance. It is strongly recommended that you read this guidance before you proceed.  
 

Step 3 - If successful, we will send you a link to complete your application by providing your behaviour examples on Be Applied by 23:55 pm on 28/04/24

Please note these links are not automated and so may take a couple of days to come through and may be delivered to your junk or spam folders. 

Step 4 - We will sift your application and if successful, we will invite you to attend interview.  

 

Senior Statistician

• The salary for this role will be £41,679 (National). 
• For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. 
• In order to receive this allowance, you must be fully qualified and in a qualifying post as agreed by the Finance Head of Profession. 

Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation’s terms and conditions.   

Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign.

 

BENEFITS: 

Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018: 

  
Any move to DLUHC from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk 

For further information about the benefits available to DLUHC employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack. 

 

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION: 

• Birmingham
• Bristol
• Wolverhampton 
• Darlington* 

There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role. 

*Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service.   

For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack. 

 

SIFT AND INTERVIEW DATES: 

Sifting is envisaged to take place W/C 29/04/24 with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall. 

 

RESERVE LIST: 

In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Due to the length of time CTC checks can take, our HR Shared Services team will contact reserve list candidates for London based roles to commence CTC checks. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@communities.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list. 

Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the DLUHC candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules 

 

Candidate Pack Information 

Please see attached Candidate pack for further information. 

 

Internal Fraud Database 

The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned.The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to DLUHC as a participating government organisations. DLUHC then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented.  

For more information please see - Internal Fraud Register 

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. 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.