About the job

Job summary

Want to work at the cutting edge of environmental science research?  Passionate about making a difference and playing your part in tackling the climate and nature crises? Forest Research (FR) is a leading UK scientific research organisation that provides impactful scientific data, evidence and advice to policymakers and practitioners. Internationally recognised, we want to work with people who have the skills and passion to deliver impactful science which informs practical solutions across the sector.

We’re small enough that your voice is heard, yet large enough, as part of the Forestry Commission, that we have everything on hand to get the job done, as well as a variety of career pathways.  Our staff are dedicated to their work and sharing it with others to bring positive change for our natural environment.  With locations across the UK, you will find us a flexible and inclusive employer who promotes agile working to help you manage your work life balance. If you want to be a part of a growing organisation that makes a difference, find out more at Homepage - Forest Research

The National Forest Inventory (NFI) programme monitors the location, extent and condition of woodlands throughout Great Britain. It does this by means of construction, regular maintenance and updating of a digital spatial map of British woodlands using information from aerial photography, remote sensing and administrative sources. This is augmented with a large field survey operation with many thousands of individual survey sites covering a representative sample of woodlands across Great Britain.    

Job description

The Statistical Analyst will be part of the team that is responsible for the statistical design of the survey and the delivery of the programme of NFI statistical analyses and publication of statistical reports on many aspects of woodland across Great Britain. You will:

• Be responsible for developing and implementing statistical analyses and processing NFI field survey data to produce both planned and customised reports. These reports provide key information on the current state of woodland in Great Britain, growth and change of woodlands over time, and on expectations of future timber production from Britain’s forests. Reports can be found on the NFI web pages.
• Be instrumental in establishing pioneering evidence in the fields of woodland biodiversity, woodland habitat condition and observed change of woodlands through analysis of the field survey data.
• Collaborate with others in the Forest Information and Statistics team on developing and documenting the systems and methodologies underlying the collection and processing of data generated and used. This will include responsibilities for some of the quality assurance processes connected with the data, analytical models, analysis, and outputs from the programme.

There is a wide range of statistical tasks and approaches required for this role which will allow many opportunities for skills development. There will be opportunities to liaise with statisticians and other analysts and to be involved in wider aspects of the work of Forest Research including the Natural Capital Ecosystem Assessment programme. The option to become part of the Government Statistical Service is available and encouraged, as is training and career development in all forms.

Key Work Areas:

Development of spatial, statistical and analytical methodology used in the NFI 
•    Involvement in further development of procedures for generating derived data from field survey data
•    Development and implementation of growth and change estimators using comparative data collected over multiple cycles of the field survey
•    Development of analytical methods to uncover trends and patterns within NFI data
•    Quality control assessments and studies of the empirical models applied to the data in the generation of reports 
•    Collaborate with colleagues across Forest Research in the development of stochastic forecasts of timber production using Monte Carlo techniques

Analysis of NFI field survey data 
•    Use the custom-built Reporting Tool (implemented in SAS and MS Excel) to generate statistical outputs from the field survey data and woodland map for inclusion in statistical reports
•    Further develop the Reporting Tool as necessary to widen the scope covered by the outputs 
•    Conduct ancillary and investigative studies and analyses that support the processing of the data
•    Conduct spatial and statistical analyses of other field and desk-based surveys and exercises conducted under the auspices of the NFI, including the processing and analysis of survey data on trees outside woodlands 
•    Conduct quality assurance studies on data collected in the field survey 

Collaboration in the production of NFI statistical reports and supporting documentation 
•    Help to identify features in the field survey data that provide key information on the attributes of British woodlands, and determine how best this should be extracted, analysed, structured and presented
•    Analyse data for patterns and trends
•    Process results of spatial and statistical analyses for inclusion in NFI statistical reports and contribute to the commentary, especially relating to the methodologies underlying the generation of the results
•    Work with statistical colleagues to ensure compliance to the Code of Practice for Statistics with respect to the preparation, publication and content of statistical documents
•    Contribute to the preparation of technical documentation of processes involved in the analysis of NFI data

Data management
•    Collaborate with the team on the organisation and management of the field survey database and the digital woodland map, with particular reference to the interface between these and the Reporting Tool
•    Organise and manage spatial and statistical analysis outputs with appropriate structure and metadata to enable easy referencing and retrieval

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• A degree or equivalent in a subject containing formal statistical training (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Data Science, Geography, Environmental Science, Sciences, Psychology, or similar); or equivalent experience.
• A proven record of analysis of biological data including interpretation, presentation and dissemination of the results.
• Familiarity with spatial data and the technical skills for processing spatial data within geographic information systems
• A proven record of problem solving and pattern recognition when dealing with the analysis of large and complex data sets.
• Evidence of self-checking and quality assurance in the preparation of reports for publication.
• Experience of working with information in databases.

Desirable Criteria:

• Previous involvement with the development and application of empirical models to biological processes.
• Previous experience with forestry and environment related data would be an advantage.
• Experience of analysing biological survey data.
• Experience and knowledge of machine learning techniques.
  

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,485, Forestry Commission - Forest Research contributes £10,859 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.

Sift will take place 1st - 2nd August 2024
Interviews are planned to take place between 12th - 15th August 2024

If a large volume of applications is received, then we will sift on Experience/Technical Expertise and the Lead Behaviour Making Effective Decisions however, candidates will be expected to answer questions on all behaviours at the interview stage. 

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Forest Research which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

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.

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.

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.