Senior Research Officer

Job summary

Do you want to produce statistics to improve society?

The Office for National Statistics provides statistics to give insight into different areas of society and our economy. We are at the forefront when it comes to the production of reliable data, giving trusted and unique insights into health, well-being, work, household finances, local economies, high streets and more. 

Census 2031 represents our most ambitious data collection project yet, a once-in-a-decade opportunity to capture a complete picture of everyone living in England and Wales. Building on the digital success of 2021, we're pioneering new ways to reach every household and community, ensuring no one is left uncounted. This vital work will provide the foundation for policy decisions, resource allocation, and community planning for the next decade. 

This campaign is to fill current vacant posts, therefore apply only if you have already completed your degree or are due to complete and receive your degree by 30th September 2026. 

As one of our Senior Research Officers, you'll join the Government Social Research (GSR) profession. It is one of the seven professional groups in the Analysis Function.  

What will you be doing?

High-quality data and analysis are required to inform the UK, improve lives and build the future. You could be working on topics of interest and programmes of work that include Census 2031 (only available at our Titchfield (Fareham) office), responding to changing data needs, population and migration, health monitoring, crime or survey transformation and quality.

We have a variety of opportunities you can get involved with as a social researcher including questionnaire design, primary research, quantitative and some qualitative analysis. The majority of GSR roles in ONS are quantitative but a handful of qualitative roles are also available. In your online application you can select your preference for qualitative roles, but we are unable to make guarantees on placement for successful candidates.

Person specification

Responsibilities 

Roles may include some of the following: 

• Production and publication of high-quality regular statistical outputs including National Statistics 

• Discrete pieces of analysis to provide context and understanding around analytical priorities including issues of significant public interest 

• Development of new methods, production systems and dissemination to make sure we meet data users’ changing needs 

• Leading on the designing, development, and management of questionnaires for social and economic surveys (suitable for paper, telephone, face-to-face and online self-completion) 

• Management of researchers and building their capability 

• Working and collaborating with a wide range of stakeholders (including government departments) and other customers to make the best use of our statistics through answering their questions on standard outputs or conducting additional analysis 

• Assisting with research to understand administrative datasets and how they can be used in the production of official statistics 

• Contributing to quality assurance and production of statistical publications and research reports 

• Leading and conducting qualitative research (including focus groups, cognitive interviewing, pop-up research, usability testing and so on) with the public and analysis of findings 

• Reporting findings through presentations, at ‘show and tell’ meetings, and through papers to a variety of audiences, both in the UK and internationally 

• Liaising closely with other colleagues across ONS to share knowledge and develop expertise 

• Using specialist statistical software (such as R, Python or equivalent) to support this research. 

Qualifications

Entry Routes for this vacancy

To be eligible to apply for these Senior Research Officer (SRO) roles in the Government Social Research (GSR) profession, you need to fulfil the criteria of one of the following three entry routes:

Qualification route

To be eligible for this route you must: 

Already hold or expect to hold by 30th September 2026 an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:2 or a postgraduate degree in a relevant subject 

AND 

At the time of application, have at least two years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated. 

Badged route

To be eligible for this route you must: 

Already be a member of the Government Social Research profession

AND

At the time of application, have at least two years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated. 

Use the SRO Eligibility form to tell us if you are already a badged member of the Government Social Research profession, which will be checked when we process your application. Please read this form carefully to ensure that you meet the criteria for this route.

Professional Experience route

To be eligible for this route you must: 

Already hold or expect to hold by 30th September 2026 an undergraduate degree at a minimum of 2:2 or a postgraduate degree in any subject  

AND 

At the time of application, have at least four years of successful experience of working in applied social research in which strong analytical skills have been clearly demonstrated. 

The SRO Eligibility form attached to this advert includes further information on what qualifies as relevant qualification and relevant work experience. Please read this form carefully to ensure that you meet the criteria for this route. You should complete this form to provide the evidence required for your route of application.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership

• Delivering at Pace

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• GSR technical skills: * Knowledge of research methods, techniques & application of these in more complex projects * Identifying research needs, designing and specifying research * Analysis & interpretation.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,644, Office for National Statistics contributes £12,643 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

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.