Candidates who ARE NOT members of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) must complete and submit their application on Civil Service Jobs. You 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.

Candidates who are EXISTING members of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) do not need to complete the Government Statistical Services Test as part of their application. If you are a GSS member, please submit your application on Civil Service Jobs in the usual way. Email Analytical.Recruitment@communities.gsi.gov.uk from your Departmental email account to let us know you are a full member of the Government Statistical Service. We will progress your application to the next stage of the recruitment process.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government aims to help create great places to live and work right across the country and to back communities to come together and thrive.

Our Single Department Plan sets out the following priorities, to:

• Fix the broken housing market;

• Grow local economies;

• Build integrated communities;

• Support effective local government;

• Ensure an effective response to the Grenfell Tower fire;

• Support local government, local economies and the housing sector to get ready for EU Exit, so that the department can continue to deliver its policies; and

• Maintain MHCLG as a great place to work.

Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the CTC security checks – this requires candidates to have been living in the UK for the past 3 years. See page 20 of the MHCLG Candidate pack for a list of conditions which may affect your eligibility for our vacancies.(Link at bottom of this vacancy).

Candidates who meet the requirements but are not offered a post at this time will be retained on a reserve list for a maximum of twelve months and may be offered alternative posts as they become available. 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.gsi.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list.

This post is based in the Local Policy Analysis (LPA) division. This is lively Division of around 36 analysts within the Analysis and Data Directorate comprising a mixture of economists, statisticians, social researchers and operational researchers. LPA plays an instrumental role in the delivery of effective local public services- one of the department’s key objectives. Our analysis plays a critical role in the design and delivery of local government finance policies and is continuously in demand from senior officials, Ministers and other government departments. We are an energetic, innovative and high calibre analytical division that aims to attract and retain the most talented people.

All analysts in MHCLG are based within the Analysis and Data Directorate. The directorate is made up of a number of multi-disciplinary teams responsible for delivering evidence across the range of core Departmental priorities, for example on housing, planning, local government finance and local economic growth. The services we provide are always in high demand − including from senior officials, ministers, and their special advisers, both here and in other government departments (most notably Number 10, HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office) − and have been highly influential in shaping and designing policy.

The Directorate offers a fast-moving, friendly and intellectually stimulating environment, where you can make a real contribution to maintaining this high quality evidence base used for formulating government policy.

In this role the post-holder will:

1. Lead the analysis of technical efficiency in local government spending. Technical efficiency concerns the maximisation of outputs for a given cost or the minimisation of cost for a given set of outputs. In preparation for the next Spending Review, LPA is undertaking extensive analysis of potential efficiency levels in local government expenditure. The post-holder will lead analysis on the potential variation in technical efficiency across local authorities and, working closely with policy colleagues and stakeholders, determining appropriate efficiency assumptions over the Spending Review period.

2. Lead the analysis of local finance Government data more generally. There is a wealth of data with respect to local government finance and the post-holder can expect significant responsibility in putting together analysis of multiple datasets, where they will need to identify key patterns and trends and to communicate this effectively and proactively to senior officials.

3. Lead analytical briefing for the Local Government Finance Settlement and local government finance data and analysis more generally. The post-holder will lead the coordination of briefing and the communication of key Local Government Finance Settlement data to Ministers.

4. Modelling and analysis of policy options concerning potential reforms to local government finance to better understand the potential distributional impacts of different options.

The post-holder will also have line management responsibility for an Executive Officer (EO) in the team and can be expected to task manage analysts from across the division on various analytical projects.

The post holder will have experience of working in high-performing teams producing top-quality analysis to multiple customers and tight deadlines. You will be able to demonstrate the following:

• Strong analytical skills and an ability to apply skills to policy problems;

• Ability to present and communicate complex information clearly and in an impactful way;

• Knowledge of MS Excel;

• Ability to collaborate effectively and manage multiple projects including an ability to work under pressure independently and as part of a team; and

• Desirable but not essential skills include knowledge of STATA and PYTHON.

Analysts in MHCLG use a range of statistical packages for data manipulation and analysis, including SPSS and STATA, and SQL databases for data storage. Training in the software required for the specific role can be provided.

We take the development of our people very seriously, equipping and enabling them to make an impact by ensuring high quality evidence and analysis is at the heart of the policy-making process. We are committed to good management and professional development staff. All statisticians have access to a statistical mentor outside of their line management chain.

The roles available requires intellectual curiosity; self-confidence and belief in your own abilities and judgement; good communication, analytical, numerical and problem solving skills. You should also be able to manage a quality service, collaborate and partner with others and deliver results at pace.

Team working is essential to the success of analysts in MHCLG and you should be able to deliver your goals and objectives by working with others. If you believe you have the right skills for this role, we would like to hear from you.

Candidates are advised to be aware of the different experience and qualification requirements for entering the Government analytical professions at different grades. Information on the different grades is available in the download - Application Guide for Analytical Candidates.

If you narrowly miss out on passing the interview for this post, you may be offered an alternative analytical role at a lower grade. This opportunity will allow you to develop your skills and experience to progress your career within MHCLG.

Candidates who meet the requirements but are not offered a post at this time will be retained on a reserve list for a maximum of twelve months and may be offered alternative posts as they become available.

Your application will need to give specific examples of when you have demonstrated particular skills or qualities for each of the competencies listed below. These competences have been identified as critical for success as a Senior Statistical Officer in MHCLG.

Your initial application must provide examples of projects in your previous career that demonstrate the breadth of your ability in each competency area in the application form and you must be prepared to discuss these in detail with the interview panel. One of the best indicators of how you are likely to perform in the future is to find out about how you have dealt with tasks, challenges and situations in the past.

Candidates should also describe why they are suited for a Senior Statistical Officer role in MHCLG as part of their application – demonstrating broader interpersonal and work management skills in addition to their technical capability which is covered in the competency examples.

Your responses to these competences will be used to assess your initial application for the role. For each competence, please ensure you have provided sufficient information – it is not enough to send a CV or list of bullet points. Your examples can come from any situation, such as your studies, paid employment or voluntary work. Each example should set out what you have done, how you completed the work and the results this delivered. Candidates are advised to be aware of the different experience and qualification requirements for entering the Government analytical professions at different grades.

The competency framework for the Government Statistical Service (GSS) is provided as a download to this advert. Please refer to this when making your application.

Your examples can come from any situation, such as your studies, paid employment or voluntary work. Your example should set out what you have done, how you completed the work and the results this delivered.

You are advised to use the Situation, Task, Action and Result or STAR model to help you ensure your examples are clear and show you in the best light possible. Each example should set out what you have done, how you completed the work and the results this delivered to allow our panels to assess how you meet the required competences. More information on the STAR model can be found here: STAR Model

Please refer to the competency frameworks and the MHCLG candidate pack – both provided as downloads in the job advert to ensure you are familiar with what is required under each competency. You will not be expected to meet every single aspect of every competency, but must demonstrate a good range or depth for each competency to be successful at the sift stage.

Your interview will comprise competency-based questions on the competencies – core and professional - listed in the job advert. You should be able to discuss a range of examples of how you meet the required competencies that are different to and complement the examples given in your application form.

The recruitment process will focus on your professional competences and on four core Civil Service competences. These are as listed below and you'll need to be prepared to demonstrate how you meet these competences. Please refer to the competency frameworks for more information on the standards required.

Statistical competences For the professional competencies you need to meet the standards for a Principal Statistician in the Government Statistical Service (GSS). These professional competencies are:

• Statisticians – Acquiring data/Understanding customer needs

• Statisticians – Data analysis

• Statisticians – Presenting and disseminating data effectively

Candidates should note that they are not required to provide evidence against all Civil Service competencies on their application form but these competences will be tested thoroughly at interview. Therefore before interview candidates should refer to the civil service competency framework and prepare examples of the Civil Service competencies at Level three SEO equivalent listed below to talk about at interview.

• Leading and communicating

• Making effective decisions

• Collaborating and partnering

• Delivering at pace.

The sift will focus on the four competences listed below. The interview will cover all listed competences.

• Statisticians – Acquiring data/Understanding customer needs

• Statisticians – Data analysis

• Leading and communicating

• Making effective decisions

Successful candidates must be a member of the Government Statistical Service or meet the entry qualifications for this.

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 profession entry test your application will not be taken further.

To be eligible to join one of the government analytical professions you must have the relevant qualifications. For this post these are:

Government Statistical Service: 2:2 degree in a numerate discipline such as mathematics, economics, psychology or geography (applications are welcome from those whose degree contain formal statistical training), or a graduate diploma of the Royal Statistical Society, or an equivalent qualification.

John Bray - 0303 444 4597

Analytical.Recruitment@communities.gov.uk