Director of Population and Migration Statistics Change

We operate a hybrid working model and fully support flexibility with colleagues already based across the UK working from home and linked to one of our core locations in Newport, Titchfield (Fareham), Darlington or Manchester.

For this role you will be linked to one of the core locations, the frequency of attendance at our offices is agreed with you as relevant to your role.

Do you want a key role driving change in the production of population and migration statistics?

Are you looking for work that has a real-world impact, making lives better?

Do you want to work for an organisation that values you, not just your output?

Then this might be the role for you!

Our statistics are hugely important in shaping policy development, public and business decision making. The opportunities to improve our statistics are enormous, and the demand for more timely, frequent and granular statistics describing our society continues to grow. ​

We are looking for a programme delivery professional with statistical experience to lead the next stage of the transformation of population and migration statistics.  ​

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) works with Whitehall Departments, the Devolved Administrations and local government, as well as academia and a wide range of stakeholders. Managing these relationships is key to our success. Within the ONS, we have a world class survey function to support the variety of modes available to us, and a Data Science Campus that provides support using cutting edge techniques to help improve our statistics. Externally we work with academics to develop new methods, make the best use of data available to us, ensure research findings and new techniques are used to inform our statistical development. ​

We have a vision for our statistics to be increasingly based on new data sources such as administrative, health and commercial data, to describe the ever changing and complex nature of modern societies and harness new technology. This ultimately requires new skills and ways of working. To achieve these goals is the purpose of our Future of Population and Migration Statistics (FPMS) Programme. The first phase of that transformation has successfully completed, and we are consulting on our proposal resulting from the research. We have some initial seed money to aid the ongoing change as a full business case is developed and as we further improve our core statistical offering in line with user needs. ​

Role Overview​

The Director of Population and Migration Statistics Change will oversee a wide-ranging portfolio of issues. Specifically, this includes:  ​

• Delivering the next stage of transformation of population and migration statistics, in line with the direction from the Government following the National Statistician’s recommendation, by embedding a sustainable future model of delivery. This means realising an ambitious and radical plan over the next decade, managing the structures and governance for that plan, and ensuring that the strategic direction of the programme remains aligned with any changes in political or business priorities;​
• Acting as the champion for the programme, taking authority and personal accountability for delivery of the benefits set out in the business case. Providing clear leadership and strategic direction to the Programme Director / Programme Board throughout the life of the programme. Being a visible, engaged, active leader who creates an open and honest culture;​
• Ensuring the improvements in our statistics are wholly aligned to clearly defined and understood user needs for all aspects of the programme including population topics and characteristics;​
• Building strong relationships with key delivery partners in the ONS (such as Digital Services and Technology, Methods and Quality, Survey Operations, and Data Growth) who we rely on for key inputs and services and with a wide spectrum of external stakeholders including His Majesty’s Treasury and the Cabinet Office as well as non-government users. Effective management of all interdependencies; and​
• Being accountable for the management of strategic risks and issues in the operating environment and maintaining awareness of all high-level risks and issues affecting the  Ensuring appropriate mitigation plans are developed and followed through. You will also be accountable for resource management, budgeting, and cost control. ​

Responsibilities

​As Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) your main accountability is to deliver significant change in impact for users of population and migration statistics. This means overseeing planning, setting, and managing ways of working, identifying key dependencies, and managing key stakeholder relationships both within the ONS and externally. You will be accountable for the delivery of the FPMS programme and will have primary responsibility for successful delivery of the required outcomes, including the establishment of appropriate governance and assurance, monitoring progress, managing risks and issues, and ensuring the business readiness for change.

Key projects over the coming period include: ​

• The completion of benefits realisation of the Census Transformation Programme, and close-down of the programme. ​
• Supporting the National Statistician to deliver the recommendation to government on the future of population and migration ​
• The development of a radical and sustainable future model for our Future of Population and Migration Statistics as a GMPP programme, to provide better insight in support of policy making and the public ​
• The development and delivery of a programme of statistical coherence across the UK, in collaboration with chief statisticians in Devolved Administrations and ONS Analytical Directors. ​

ONS has been awarded seed money from the HMT reserves in 2023/24. Following the consultation and submission of the recommendation, the SRO will need to oversee the submission of a full business case for ongoing funding. The postholder will need to demonstrate that they can work across the organisation and beyond to resolve potential blockers, manage Programme risks related to meeting delivery timeframes and ensure existing and wider corporate outputs aren’t negatively impacted, and rationalise complex, cross-organisational resource requirements in collaboration with other major programme SROs at ONS. The cross-cutting nature of transformation means you will have a wide leadership role, often working with teams drawn from across the ONS. ​

The Director of Population and Migration Statistics Change will be part of the leadership of the Health, Population and Methods Group (HPaM), and the senior leadership cadre of the ONS.  ​

While there are four Director roles in the Health, Population and Methods Group, the connections between the different areas are deep. Key business processes such as budgeting and staff performance are therefore managed across the Group as a whole. The successful candidate must therefore be a strong team player and be capable of setting the conditions for success across their peer group.

This is a demanding and challenging role which will require commitment, enthusiasm, and skill to drive forward and lead specific elements of delivery. You will need to demonstrate significant experience, along with a strong delivery record and the key skills required to succeed in this post.​

This is a demanding and challenging role which will require commitment, enthusiasm and skill to drive forward and lead specific elements of delivery. You will need to demonstrate significant experience, along with a strong delivery record and the key skills required to succeed in this post.​

The successful candidate will demonstrate as a minimum the following knowledge, skills and experience: ​

• Strong leadership and management skills, able to create and inspire a high-performing and motivated team;​
• Good judgement in balancing risks and opportunities around change, and wider decision making;​
• Experience of leading significant change, with the ability to deliver complex programmes and continuous improvement on time and to budget. This also includes experience of managing the people aspects of business change and implementation;​
• Experience in resource, dependency and risk management within a project or programme environment and of having held overall responsibility for benefits realisation, governance structures, assurance, and evaluation at a strategic level;​
• The ability to develop and effectively manage relationships with external stakeholders to build an in-depth understanding of their requirements and put in place plans to meet them. This also means working with data providers in Government and the private sector to ensure safe and secure access to key data inputs;​
• The ability to work closely and collaboratively with others and influence them to ensure that our priorities are reflected in ONS-wide planning and decision making;​
• Knowledge and experience of population or wider social statistics;​
• Having completed, be currently working towards or be willing to take the Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA).

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 member of the Business Disability Forum and 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.

Job contact :

• Name : Natalie Niering
• Email : natalie.niering@ons.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : SCS.Recruitment@ONS.gov.uk