About the job

Job summary

Building a strong commercial function is at the heart of a far-reaching programme of Civil Service reform. The award-winning Commercial Capability Team exists within Cabinet Office to support the growing Government Commercial Organisation (GCO) and wider profession in recruiting and building commercial expertise across government.

The GCO’s inaugural reward strategy was published in 2023 and outlines our mission over the next three years to design and implement reward policies and practices that attract, motivate and retain colleagues, ultimately improving commercial outcomes for Government.

This role offers a fantastic challenge for a passionate and experienced data analyst. You will join a supportive and committed HR team comprising c. 20 people, within a larger People Services team. We offer a friendly working environment, flexible and hybrid working arrangements and a commitment to ongoing professional development. The role can be undertaken on a full time or part time (minimum 30 hours per week) basis.

Job description

In this role, you will be pivotal to the successful delivery of the reward strategy, working with key employee data such as pay, performance and diversity information to model scenarios, analyse trends, and visualise outputs. Your work will contribute to tangible results which have a positive and long-term impact on the lives of our employees.

Reporting to the Senior Reward Lead, the exact allocation of work will be shaped with you and the team.

Responsibilities are likely to include:

• Understanding and interpreting business problems to identify and implement appropriate data solutions;
• Building accurate, complex pay scenario models to inform annual pay award recommendations;
• Benchmarking internal and external market pay and benefits data;
• Collating, analysing and visualising salary, performance and talent information;
• Extracting, cleaning, aggregating and manipulating data from a variety of systems and sources;
• Choosing and employing appropriate statistical techniques and visualisation tools to deliver impactful analysis and engage stakeholders;
• Ensuring analytical outputs are robust and effective, and that methods can withstand audit scrutiny;
• Contributing data and insights to papers and reports, and providing briefings as needed;
• Automating data management activities where possible;
• Ensuring that lessons learned are captured and fed into wider process improvement activities;
• Supporting day-to-day business operations and working with colleagues across the wider team to deliver against priorities.

Person specification

Essential criteria:

• A genuine passion for data and analytics, with the curiosity to investigate, understand and explain patterns and trends;
• Demonstrable experience translating business issues into data problems for resolution;
• Significant experience working with large, qualitative and quantitative datasets;
• Strong analytical skills, including experience employing a range of techniques, including basic statistical techniques, and modelling a variety of scenarios;
• Advanced MS Excel skills;
• Experience developing a range of clear, engaging data visualisations;
• Excellent accuracy and attention to detail;
• Experience balancing competing priorities/demands and working to tight deadlines;
• Strong verbal communication skills with the ability to challenge assumptions and explain technical issues to stakeholders without the use of jargon;
• Good mathematics and IT skills gained through qualification and/or experience.

Desirable criteria:

• A good working knowledge of a programming language such as SQL, Python and/or R;
• Experience using Tableau and/or Power BI;
• Experience of pay modelling.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £40,850, Cabinet Office contributes £11,029 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

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Application process

Please provide a CV & 750 word max personal statement outlining your suitability for this job role. Please pay particular attention to the essential criteria when writing your statement.

This section will be used for the sift to assess your suitability to be invited to an interview. You do not have to refer to the behaviours in your statement as you will be asked to provide a separate 250-word statement on the listed behaviour.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using the lead behaviour, Changing and Improving. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Selection process

During the interview you will be assessed in your experience and the listed behaviours.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – w/c 18 December 2023
Expected interview dates - January 2023
Interview location - virtual on Google Meet.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional. 

Further information

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'contact point for applicants' section.

Please note that this role requires CTC clearance, which would normally need 3 years' UK residency in the past 3 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter 

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to Cabinet Office 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

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email Info@disclosurescotland.co.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

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 counter-terrorist 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.