Heathrow
Job Summary
Do you want to work in a fast paced environment, and enjoy working with the public?
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.
This International Passenger Survey Interviewer role will see you being part of a continuous survey that started in 1961 and is based at all major sea, air and international rail terminals within the United Kingdom.
The Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) is the largest profession in the Civil Service. ODP’s 200,000+ members work in a wide range of operational delivery roles across government, providing essential services that support and protect UK citizens at home and overseas. They help to make ONS a great place to work.
As a member, ODP supports you by providing learning and development opportunities, career pathways, tools and resources to help develop your skills and progress your career. This is an exciting opportunity to join a modern, innovative and inclusive Civil Service profession that sits at the heart of public service delivery.
Part of the wider Surveys Directorate, covering business and social surveys, Social Survey Operations (SSO) consists of Social Surveys Collection (SSC) and Social
Surveys Delivery (SSD). SSO have approximately 1,400 members of staff - 300 are located at the Newport and Titchfield headquarter sites and the rest are spread across the UK as SSO is home to the ONS Field Force who are on the front-line of data collection in ONS. SSO are responsible for some of the largest social surveys run in the United Kingdom and produce a series of high profile research and statistical outputs for policy and research purposes.
Job Description
You will be based at Heathrow and this will be considered your normal place of work. Please note that you will be required to work at all Terminals.
IPS shifts are allocated on Rota basis with a mixture of AM & PM weekday and weekend shifts. Depending on your site, shifts lengths vary from 4 – 8.5 hours.
As an IPS Interviewer, you will work independently or as part of a small team honing your interpersonal skills to persuade international departing passengers to participate in the survey. Some people take more persuading than others to take part, therefore you will need an adaptable interviewing style. The information you gather is entered into a tablet during the interview.
You will be employed on a permanent contract for 1248 hours per annum. More information on annualised contracts and how they work can be found in the candidate pack.
Flexibility in when you can work is a requirement of our business. Therefore, if you have any regular set commitments on any day of the week, this will preclude you from applying.
You will be based at Heathrow and this will be considered your normal place of work. Please note that you will be required to work at all Terminals.
IPS shifts are allocated on Rota basis with a mixture of AM & PM weekday and weekend shifts. Depending on your site, shifts lengths vary from 4 – 8.5 hours.
As an IPS Interviewer, you will work independently or as part of a small team honing your interpersonal skills to persuade international departing passengers to participate in the survey. Some people take more persuading than others to take part, therefore you will need an adaptable interviewing style. The information you gather is entered into a tablet during the interview.
You will be employed on a permanent contract for 1248 hours per annum. More information on annualised contracts and how they work can be found in the candidate pack.
Flexibility in when you can work is a requirement of our business. Therefore, if you have any regular set commitments on any day of the week, this will preclude you from applying.
Person specification
Key Responsibilities Include
- Work independently or as a part of a small team to undertake interviews with the travelling public, demonstrating high standards of data collection and meeting your KPIs.
- Gathering data at the beginning of the passenger journey, follow guidelines and instruction dependent upon how passengers are processed at the data collection point.
- Be responsible for self, ensuring site operating procedures and health and safety procedures are adhered to at all times.
- Be punctual, ensuring shift start times are met.
- Build effective relationships with airport/port staff to enable co-operation necessary for effective data collection.
- Collect and transmit high quality data within agreed timeframe and following agreed protocols.
- Be proficient in the digital technology and corporate systems required for your role.
- Take responsibility for your breaks, ensuring data collection is not compromised.
- Complete the administrative tasks required for your role as detailed.
- Buddy new interviewers as required, helping them settle into the environment and reach required standards.
- Working in partnership with your Site Manager, identify areas for your continued learning, self development and progression.
- Provide constructive feedback to your managers to help the operation and structure perform more efficiently.
Essential Criteria
- Good interpersonal skills and enjoy working with people.
- Be able to follow instructions recording accurate information.
- To be self-disciplined and self-motivated.
- Proficient in the use of tablets and smartphone as these will be used within your work.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
Alongside your salary of £17,924, Office for National Statistics contributes £5,192 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 5400 valued colleagues across the business.
Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that the benefits pack attached
(bottom of page) 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.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
All applicants will have access to AI resources, it is therefore important to remember these tools, although helpful in streamlining the writing process, cannot fully understand the organisational context, or requirements for the role you are applying for.
To maintain authenticity and credibility of the application process, should you choose to use generative AI tools, you need to ensure the information you provide in your supporting evidence accurately reflects your skills, knowledge, and experience.
ONS does not advocate relying solely on generative AI to write your application. Doing so may negatively impact your chances of success during the selection process.
If you are invited to interview, please be aware the use of AI tools is prohibited and any suspected use may result in the termination of your interview and subsequent withdrawal from the campaign.
Please note that all campaigns may be subject to withdrawal at any stage if the internal resource position changes.
Application Process
Number of Stages: 2 stage process
Stage 1: Application
Stage 2: Interview
Stage 1 – Application
The assessment process at the application stage will be based on your work history, skills, experience, CV, and personal statement. It is important that your application is tailored to highlight the skills, knowledge, and experience relevant to the role.
If a personal statement is required at application stage, it will state the maximum wordcount allowed, which should not be exceeded. Where it is a requirement to make a personal statement, you should provide evidence for each essential skill criterion listed in the person specification. As these criteria are scored, it is advisable to give clear examples for each one, including the impact of your actions, ideally utilising the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result).
Please note that Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage of the application process.
In instances where a high number of applications are received, the sift pass mark may be adjusted, and candidates will be invited to interview based on merit order, i.e., those with the highest scores.
Stage 2 – Interview
If invited to interview, you will be assessed using techniques aligned with the Civil Service Success Profiles framework, covering all behaviours listed in the job advert and any required technical skills.
Interviews will be conducted via Microsoft Teams.
A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.
The Sift will be conducted from: Thursday 19th June 2025
Interviews will be conducted from: Monday 30th June 2025
Dates subject to change.
For the full terms and conditions of the post, please see attachment.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.
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.
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.
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
