Policy Officer

Looking for a role where you can influence how data is used across the UK? Join us at the heart of Legal and Data Services and make a real impact.

This role sits at the heart of the UK Statistics Authority, supporting the delivery of Legal and Data Services (LDS) across the organisation, including the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR). The LDS team provides expert advice and hands-on support across a diverse portfolio, including data governance, policy, Freedom of Information (FOI), Data Protection, ethics, accreditation for statistical research, and complaints handling. Through this work, the team plays a vital role in ensuring the organisation operates within legal frameworks, maintains public trust, and upholds the highest standards of transparency and accountability.

The UK Statistics Authority is an independent body operating at arm’s length from government, with a clear statutory mission to promote and safeguard the production and publication of official statistics that serve the public good. As its executive office, ONS is the UK’s largest independent producer of official statistics, delivering critical insights across economic, social, and demographic areas. This includes the census, tracking changes in the UK economy, estimating population size and characteristics, and producing key indicators such as inflation, employment, earnings, crime, and migration, providing the evidence that underpins decision-making across government and society.

Job description

This role offers a unique opportunity to work at the centre of one of the most dynamic areas of the UK Statistics Authority. Based within the Legal and Data Services (LDS) branch in the Strategy & Policy division, you will play a key role in supporting the National Statistician, Permanent Secretary, senior leaders and colleagues across the organisation. The LDS team is responsible for overseeing how data is accessed, used and shared for research and statistical purposes, ensuring all activity is compliant with relevant legislation. Through this work, LDS is instrumental in helping the Authority deliver its strategic objectives, producing trustworthy, independent and high‑quality statistics that inform the UK’s most important economic and societal decisions, always in a way that is legal, ethical, transparent and for the public good.

As a Policy Adviser, you will be part of a multidisciplinary team at the forefront of legal and data governance. You will provide both expert advice and practical support across a wide range of areas, including Freedom of Information (FOI), UK GDPR, data ethics and Digital Economy Act accreditation. The role will see you working collaboratively with teams across the organisation, such as Knowledge and Information Management, Security and Private Office, as well as engaging with external stakeholders including the Government Legal Department, the Statistical Data Ethics Advisory Committee and the Research Accreditation Panel.

You will contribute to shaping and implementing policies and procedures, ensuring statutory compliance, and safeguarding the Authority’s reputation for ethical and lawful data use.

This is a fast‑paced and varied role, offering the opportunity to work flexibly across the LDS team, responding to evolving priorities and emerging challenges as business needs change.

Responsibilities

The Legal and Data Services team manage a variety of legal and policy functions. Responsibilities for this role may include:

• Supporting the delivery of responsive and timely secretariat and policy advice services to the chair and members of the UK Statistics Authority Research Accreditation Panel (RAP) in respect of the RAP’s role in supervising the accreditation of research projects, researchers and Trusted Research Environments under the Digital Economy Act 2017.

• Implementing and managing systems to ensure that the research project accreditation process overseen by the RAP is delivered efficiently and effectively, being a key enabler for data access in multiple TREs across the UK.

• Providing advice and guidance on legal and ethical matters, including data sharing, acquisition, and interpretation of legislation and engaging with internal and external stakeholders to promote legal and ethical standards across the organisation.

• Support the Data Protection Officer in fulfilling statutory obligations under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, including compliance activities such as personal data breach management, audits and risk management through review of data protection impact assessments.

• Assisting the Legal and Data Services senior leadership team in drafting papers, and providing advice, support and briefing within the branch’s remit and to the relevant boards, panels and committees.

Person specification

Essential Skills Criteria:

Candidates will need to demonstrate:

• Experience working with a range of customers and stakeholders, with the ability to build and maintain strong business relationships, and use influence to achieve outcomes.

• Strong interpersonal communication and writing skills.

• Can analyse information from multiple sources, quickly draw conclusions from information to simplify and communicate issues to non-experts in a clear way.

• Can operate flexibly and at pace, with experience of planning and prioritising your workload to meet tight deadlines.

• Keen eye for detail to ensure a quality service is delivered quickly and effectively and can liaise with stakeholders and take on their feedback to review and improve services.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

• Managing a Quality Service

• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £35,144, UK Statistics Authority contributes £10,181 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

The UK Statistics Authority 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.