The ONS operates a flexible hybrid working model across the UK, with colleagues linked to one of our contractual locations working between office and remote throughout the week. The locations for this role are Newport, Titchfield (Fareham) and Manchester.
All colleagues are required to work from their contractually allocated site for at least 40% of their working time.
The induction process for the role will be conducted in person.
Job Summary
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution, and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime, and migration.
Social Surveys Directorate’s (SSD) primary purpose is to provide high quality data that underpins core National Statistics and the wider UK statistical system. While much of ONS is reliant on us for their outputs and statistical bulletins, the data we generate supports research, policy development and decision making across the wider public and private sectors, academia, and the general public.
ONS has recently made a strategic commitment to sustain survey data collection into the future and has published a Surveys Improvement and Enhancement Plan which reflects the urgent need to improve survey data quality. As a result, ONS’s social surveys are undergoing a period of significant investment and renewal as we deliver a clear road map to restore confidence in social survey operations, refresh methods and technology and enhance data quality.
With Around 1,500 Colleagues Across The Country, The Directorate Is Currently Comprised Of Six Divisions, Including Three Field Communities, Who Work Together To Paint The Picture Of Life In The UK:
- Social Surveys Field Collection
- Social Surveys Telephone and Ports Collection
- Social Surveys Research and Production
- Social Surveys Transformation
- Social Surveys Central Services
- Social Surveys Strategy, Research, and Innovation
The Operational Delivery Profession is the largest Profession across government and within ONS. Social Surveys Data Collection Colleagues sit within the Data Collection Function for ODP and are key to the delivery of Organisational Priorities.
Job Description
ONS’s surveys and, particularly its social surveys, are central to ONS’s priority outcomes to deliver top quality, trusted, relevant and independent statistics and analysis. Despite their critical role, our social surveys are currently facing unprecedented challenges, principally driven by a substantial change in the willingness of citizens to participate in voluntary surveys and past disinvestment in survey data collection. At the same time, ongoing survey transformation programmes, artificial intelligence and administrative data are providing opportunities that will shape our data collection operation significantly over next five to ten years.
Aligned to recent strategic investment, this Deputy Director role will be responsible for providing senior operational leadership and management of:
- Two of ONS’s Field Data Collection Operations: the International Passenger Survey (IPS) operation (involving ~100 interviewers) and the Telephone Operation (TO) (growing to ~200 interviewers).
- Two of ONS’s core survey enabling services, the Survey Validation (SV) team and Survey Enquiry Line (SEL).
- Key continuous improvement projects within the Surveys Improvement and Enhancement Plan, in particular, the Telephone Services Review which has recently moved into implementation phase.
It will be essential for this role to work closely with the other Deputy Director's within the directorate to deliver core data collection, field enabling services and surveys transformation. This role demands strong strategic thinking and the ability to respond at pace to emerging issues. You will build the confidence of senior colleagues across the organisation, whilst leading, bringing together and inspiring diverse, multi-location teams.
The Role Will Provide Senior Civil Servant (SCS) Leadership For Two Of Our Data Collection Operations And Their Associated Field Communities, Two Key Data Collection Enabling Services And The Implementation Of Continuous Improvement Projects Within The Surveys Improvement And Enhancement Plan. Specifically, This Includes:
- Providing leadership, direction and management oversight across your live operations and services, split across multiple sites and UK regions (composition of 400+).
- Delivering a step-change in staff engagement and a pro-active action plan in response to the People Survey, ensuring visible and approachable leadership and an effective employee voice.
Strategic Leadership Of Surveys Improvement And Enhancement Plan Projects:
- Delivering recommendations from the recent Telephone Services Review on people, process and technology, ensuring these are successfully embedded into your telephone operation and that staff are engaged and involved at every step.
- Implementing a new Interviewer Recognition scheme (IR) into the Telephone Operations and International Passenger Survey field communities to support recruitment, retention and performance.
- Embedding consistency and transitioning the International Passenger Survey (IPS) into an optimal business-as-usual state following the operational transformation that recently occurred through the Travel and Tourism Reform Project (TTRP).
- Maintaining effective financial management and controls across a ~£12m budget.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide empowering, inspiring and inclusive leadership across your operation and field communities.
- Oversee the Social Surveys data collection operation within your portfolio and deliver sustainable high-quality data collection.
- Engage widely with staff, communicating a compelling and clear picture of the future of Social Surveys within ONS.
- Define, influence and deliver the totality of operational and business changes in line with best practice change management approaches.
- Lead delivery for the divisions projects within the Surveys Improvement and Enhancement Plan.
- Build, develop and motivate a high-performing, coherent and diverse senior team, valuing everyone’s contributions and regularly seeking out opinions and challenge.
- Build open and collaborative relationships with the other Deputy Directors across Social Surveys, so that together you are delivering in unison and working effectively with stakeholders across ONS.
Further information on the role can be found in the attached candidate pack.
ONS’s surveys and, particularly its social surveys, are central to ONS’s priority outcomes to deliver top quality, trusted, relevant and independent statistics and analysis. Despite their critical role, our social surveys are currently facing unprecedented challenges, principally driven by a substantial change in the willingness of citizens to participate in voluntary surveys and past disinvestment in survey data collection. At the same time, ongoing survey transformation programmes, artificial intelligence and administrative data are providing opportunities that will shape our data collection operation significantly over next five to ten years.
Aligned to recent strategic investment, this Deputy Director role will be responsible for providing senior operational leadership and management of:
- Two of ONS’s Field Data Collection Operations: the International Passenger Survey (IPS) operation (involving ~100 interviewers) and the Telephone Operation (TO) (growing to ~200 interviewers).
- Two of ONS’s core survey enabling services, the Survey Validation (SV) team and Survey Enquiry Line (SEL).
- Key continuous improvement projects within the Surveys Improvement and Enhancement Plan, in particular, the Telephone Services Review which has recently moved into implementation phase.
It will be essential for this role to work closely with the other Deputy Director's within the directorate to deliver core data collection, field enabling services and surveys transformation. This role demands strong strategic thinking and the ability to respond at pace to emerging issues. You will build the confidence of senior colleagues across the organisation, whilst leading, bringing together and inspiring diverse, multi-location teams.
Strategic Leadership Of Surveys Improvement And Enhancement Plan Projects:
- Delivering recommendations from the recent Telephone Services Review on people, process and technology, ensuring these are successfully embedded into your telephone operation and that staff are engaged and involved at every step.
- Implementing a new Interviewer Recognition scheme (IR) into the Telephone Operations and International Passenger Survey field communities to support recruitment, retention and performance.
- Embedding consistency and transitioning the International Passenger Survey (IPS) into an optimal business-as-usual state following the operational transformation that recently occurred through the Travel and Tourism Reform Project (TTRP).
- Maintaining effective financial management and controls across a ~£12m budget.
Key Responsibilities:
- Provide empowering, inspiring and inclusive leadership across your operation and field communities.
- Oversee the Social Surveys data collection operation within your portfolio and deliver sustainable high-quality data collection.
- Engage widely with staff, communicating a compelling and clear picture of the future of Social Surveys within ONS.
- Define, influence and deliver the totality of operational and business changes in line with best practice change management approaches.
- Lead delivery for the divisions projects within the Surveys Improvement and Enhancement Plan.
- Build, develop and motivate a high-performing, coherent and diverse senior team, valuing everyone’s contributions and regularly seeking out opinions and challenge.
- Build open and collaborative relationships with the other Deputy Directors across Social Surveys, so that together you are delivering in unison and working effectively with stakeholders across ONS.
Further information on the role can be found in the attached candidate pack.
Person specification
Essential Criteria
- Proven track record in large-scale operations, balancing a data led approach with astute business acumen and ability to manage risks and issues with sound judgements.
- An extensive track record of successfully delivering transformation, organisational change, continuous improvement and or business change into a live operation.
- An inclusive leader, with strong people management skills and a proven track record of developing capability and building large, diverse, high performing teams.
- Strong communication skills, with an ability to engage effectively with staff at all levels and embed a culture which values the voice of the employee.
- Ability to build constructive and collaborative relationships, and influence effectively across a complex stakeholder landscape.
This role aligns to the Operational Delivery Profession Core Skills for SCS1: https://www.odp.civilservice.gov.uk/media/yu2lykbu/scs1-odp-capability-framework-final.pdf
Alongside your salary of £81,000, Office for National Statistics contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
The Office for National Statistics is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our valued colleagues across the organisation.
Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that our careers site will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues, and our fantastic working culture.
Inclusion & Accessibility
At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.
As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance.
If you would like an accessible version of any of the attachments or recruitment documents below or linked to in this advert, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist.
ONS are committed to flexible ways of working that support a healthy work-life balance. ONS has already considered how this job could be right sized for applicants working flexibly and we are happy to explore options with you about working part time, in a job share or flexibly, in line with our hybrid working policies.
Selection process details
For ONS the requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying and the department will consider eligibility by exception on a case-by-case basis. You will be asked to provide information regarding your UK residency during your application, and failure to provide this will result in your application being rejected.
If you are unsure that you meet the eligibility above, please read the information available on Gov.uk on this link, or contact the recruitment email on the advert before applying to discuss, as failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected and any offer of employment being withdrawn.
At the point of SC application, you will need to provide or give access to the following evidence:
- Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
- UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
- Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
- Security Services records
Artificial intelligence (AI) software such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini are powerful tools that can create and review text in ways that mimic what people can do. These tools can help you enhance your application and prepare for the process, but it is essential you use them appropriately.
They must also not be used to provide misleading or false information at any stage of the application journey.
It is also important to understand that while AI can help you prepare for an interview, you must not use it to produce responses during an interview.
For full guidance in relation to the use of AI through the recruitment process, please click here.
Selection Process
Applications should consist of your
CV and
Personal Statement combined as one document and uploaded as a single attachment through Civil Service Jobs.
A Curriculum Vitae consisting Of:
- Details of your education and/or professional qualifications.
- Full employment history, giving details (where applicable) of budgets and numbers of people managed, relevant key achievements in recent posts.
- Details of your latest remuneration.
A Personal Statement, which Includes:
- Explanation as to how you meet the essential criteria as detailed in the Person Specification. Your statement should be no longer than 1200 words. We recommend that you give clear examples for each criteria, including your personal contribution and impact and value of your actions.
Applications will be acknowledged shortly after receipt. If you do not receive an acknowledgement within one week of applying for the post, please contact our SCS Recruitment Team at:
[email protected]Further information on the assessment and interview for this role can be found in the attached
candidate pack.
We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours and essential skills.
Expected Recruitment Timetable
Closing date - 28th September 2025
Shortlisting meeting - 6th October 2025
Employee Engagement Exercise - 13th October 2025
Interviews - 17th October 2025 - To be conducted online via Microsoft Teams
Dates are subject to change.
Informal conversations to discuss suitability with the recruiting manager are welcomed in advance of the application closing date and can be arranged via email.
If you meet the required standard but the recruiting department is unable to offer you the job, you may be given the option of being added to a reserve list. Reserve lists may be shared with other Civil Service departments and professions who are recruiting for similar roles.
Please note that all campaigns may be subject to withdrawal at any stage if the internal resource position changes.
Full terms and conditions are attached at the bottom of this advert.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
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 security 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.
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 security 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.
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.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact :
Recruitment team
Further information
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact
[email protected]. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission
