Assistant Statistician

Do you want to use your analytical skills to help shape Scotland's future? The Scottish Government works to make Scotland a more successful country and a better place to live. Having the right people producing and communicating powerful analysis is vital to helping us achieve this.

Our statistical roles are ideal for motivated, creative people who want to use their skills to make a real difference to the lives of people in Scotland. You’ll have the opportunity to work across a wide range of policy areas including Health, Education and the Economy contributing high‑profile analysis from the outset and being supported to develop your expertise.

Statisticians are involved in designing, collecting, analysing and publishing statistics. Roles within the Scottish Government are varied and require strong data skills, technical ability and analytical thinking to identify patterns and trends. We’re looking for people who can clearly communicate what statistics show to a wide range of audiences, and who have strong people skills to build effective relationships with policy colleagues and data users to improve our statistics.

The posts we are recruiting for in this campaign are within Scottish Government agencies and non-ministerial offices in the Scottish administration such as National Records of Scotland and Social Security Scotland. Dependent on changes to recruitment controls in Scottish Government core, we may use this competition to fill roles in Scottish Government. In line with our current ways of working, we follow a hybrid working approach, where colleagues use a mix of office based and home working. Hybrid policies may differ depending if you are allocated to a role in Scottish Government core or agencies.

Further information about Statistics group can be found at on the Statistics Group Sharepoint page or the Statistics profession - Scottish Government Jobs site.

Responsibilities

• Collect and acquire data that provides evidence for Government policy and decision making.
• Use technical abilities to clean, process and manage the data for analysis.
• Make sense of what the data is saying using data management and statistical techniques to provide insights.
• Communicate the messages from the data to a range of audiences via statistical publications.
• Work with users to ensure statistics and data produced meet their requirements.
• Use innovative approaches to improve processes in the production of statistics.
• Work in a collective and collaborative environment across individual teams and the Statistics Group as a whole.

Qualifications

A minimum of a 2:2 undergraduate degree or a master’s degree or PhD, and applicants should either:

• Be a member of the Government Statistics Group (GSG), or;
• Demonstrate how your qualifications contain formal training on statistics or data, or;
• Have a minimum two years’ experience in a statistics or data related field.

If you have not yet completed your degree or relevant post graduate qualification, any job offer will be conditional on this. Please note: If you fail to demonstrate how you meet the minimum qualifications as stated above, your application will be automatically sifted out.

Applicants who are not currently a member of GSG will be required to sit a knowledge test before their application proceeds to sift.

Success profile

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of skills, experience and behaviours candidates will be assessed on. The Success Profile will include the Professional / Technical skills, Experience and Behaviours.

Technical / Professional Skills: Assessed at application and interview

• Acquiring data and understanding customer needs – HSto Level
• Data analysis - HSto Level

Assessed at Interview only

• Presenting and disseminating data effectively - HSto Level

Government Statistics Group Behaviours: Assessed at application and interview

• Developing Self and Others – Level 3
• Delivering at Pace – Level 3

Assessed at application only

• Working Together – Level 3

Assessed at Interview only

• Changing and Improving – Level 3

Find out more about Success Profiles.

How to apply

Apply online, attaching a CV (please ensure you clearly state how you meet the qualification element (GSG member details or qualification info) and provide a supporting statement (of no more than 1000 words) which provides evidence of how you meet the following criteria. Please note your supporting statement should cover just the criteria from the listed below:

• Builds working relationships and collaborates effectively to deliver a shared goal
• Takes ownership of personal development and supports others to develop skills and improve
• Plans and manages workload effectively to meet deadlines and balance priorities.
• Collects or gathers quality data ensuring it meets the requirements for which it was acquired
• Using appropriate data management, statistical and analytical coding techniques to produce analysis.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview, an oral briefing exercise and presentation. Assessments are scheduled for Mid-July however this may be subject to change. In the event of a tied score at interview, performance score in the sift will be applied to determine merit order.

Candidate Information Session

A candidate information session for the board will be held on 12th May 2026 at 11:00. This is a useful chance to hear more about the process and to ask any questions you may have.

The session will cover:

• Background to the campaign and what we are looking for
• An explanation of the application and assessment centre process
• An opportunity to ask questions at the end

The session will be recorded, anyone unable to attend can view the recording on the stats sharepoint site.

Recruitment Principles

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

About us

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, observing the Civil Service Code and working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland. We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Working pattern

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role, including Flexi-leave. Scottish Government staff in hybrid-compatible roles should aim to work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location.

If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Security checks

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions). You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, and read about the Government Vetting Charter, or about all the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide. Internal candidates may need to gain higher security clearance than they currently hold if successful in their application.

Equality statement

We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation. Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further information

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website. Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes. Apply before 23:59 on 18th May 2026. This post is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship Organisations only. External candidates and staff from UK Other Government Departments are not eligible to apply for this vacancy.