Can you turn complex data into clear insights that influence decisions and improve policy outcomes?
Do you build strong stakeholder relationships while ensuring high-quality analysis, data practices, and effective communication?
If so, we'd love to hear from you!
The Department for Transport (DfT) is committed to putting passengers back at the heart of the railways and introducing new measures to protect their interests. Our railways play an essential role in enabling people to travel, connecting people and communities, and seizing economic opportunities.
This post is within the Transport Statistics community, which has a strong identity and impact within DfT, producing a broad range of statistics and embracing innovation and improvement in areas such as data visualisation and coding techniques. We develop and deliver high quality analysis and statistics that underpin evidence-based policy and decision making, and which meet the needs of users.
Joining our department comes with many benefits, including:
- Employer pension contribution of 28.97% of your salary. Read more about Civil Service Pensions here
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by 1 day each year of service (up to a maximum of 30 days annual leave), plus 8 bank holidays a privilege day for the King’s birthday
- Flexible working options where we encourage a great work-life balance.
Read more in the Benefits section below!
Find out more about what it's like working at Department for Transport Central - Department for Transport Careers
Job description
As Higher Statistical Officer, you will use official statistics, management information and big data to steer and develop policy and operational activities. You will directly influence key decisions, tackle real-world challenges, and play a pivotal part in shaping the future of our organisation.
You will also develop and maintain data tools for various customers, working with multiple teams across the Department, other public sector rail entities both internally and externally, and the Office of Rail and Road and Great British Railways.
Your responsibilities will include, but aren’t limited to:
- Deliver high quality statistical advice including supporting drafting of ministerial briefings and statistical advice to Ministers, telling the story of the data in plain language to aid understanding.
- Extract and manipulate data from multiple existing data sources to enable complex new analysis, advising other analysts on suitability of data and best practice usage.
- Producing the rail passenger crowding statistical release (includes analysis, preparation of key facts, commentary, quality report, charts and tables, and layout work).
- Perform and document quality checks on familiar and new data sources and innovate new quality assurance processes to improve the quality of the team's data sources. Evaluate whether a data source is fit for purpose by making professional judgments on its suitability and relevance, ensuring quality issues and their implications are communicated to end users.
- Build and maintain working relationships with train operating companies (TOCs) to encourage the submission of high-quality data to the Department. Actively engage with TOCs to understand data collection processes and challenges, using influence to improve data quality by advocating best practice and empowering them to take ownership of data quality improvements .
For further information on the role, please read the role profile. Please note that the role profile is for information purposes only - whilst all elements are relevant to the role, they may not all be assessed during the recruitment process. This job advert will detail exactly what will be assessed during the recruitment process.
Person specification
You must have the following experience:
- Demonstrate exceptional communication skills, quickly building strong, constructive working relationships across teams and stakeholders.
- Demonstrable experience in transforming diverse evidence into clear, compelling, and actionable narratives.
- Skilled in using data visualization to highlight key messages and engage audiences effectively.
- Will have experience of at least one coding language (the ability to develop skills in R if this is not already known) and familiarity with best practices in reproducible analytical pipelines to ensure robust and efficient workflows.
- Be experienced in applying quality assurance processes proportionately to ensure all outputs are fit for purpose. Uphold quality standards for yourself and your team, adhering to the Code of Practice for Statistics, Aqua Book, and other relevant guidance. for purpose and uphold quality standards for yourself and your team.
Additional Information
You must be a member of the Government Statistical Group (GSG) or meet the eligibility requirements to join the GSG.
Joining the GSS and GSG – Government Analysis Function
For candidates currently not working in a professional post within the Government Statistical Service this can usually be demonstrated through one or more of the following criteria:
- A first-class or second-class honours degree in a numerate subject (2:2 minimum) containing at least 25% taught statistical content (for example, Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography, or similar);
- A higher degree, such as an MSc or PhD, in a subject containing formal statistical training (for example. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography, or similar);
- Having worked in a statistical field for a minimum of two years and are able to demonstrate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) (via a logbook) in applying statistics at the same level as a foundation degree or Higher National Diploma (level five), which demonstrates the expected skills as outlined in the GSG Competency framework; or
- Having achieved or are on track to achieve a level 4 apprenticeship including at least 2 years in a statistical or data analysis field in government and are able to demonstrate continuous professional development in statistics or data analysis (via a CPD logbook signed off by a manager or mentor who are members of the statistical profession).
Apply before 11:55 pm on Sunday 3rd May 2026
