Assistant Statistician in Edinburgh

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 such as National Records of Scotland and Social Security Scotland, and potentially other roles in the Scottish administration too. 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 on which role you are allocated.

Responsibilities:

• Assist in collecting and acquiring data that provides evidence for Government policy and decision making.
• Use technical abilities to clean, process and manage the data for analysis.
• Support in making sense of what the data is saying using data management and statistical techniques to provide insights.
• Assist in communicating 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.

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:

• 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, applications will be withdrawn.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview, an oral briefing exercise and presentation. Assessments are scheduled for late July/early August however this may be subject to change.

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

Candidate Information Session:

A candidate information session for the board will be held on 19th May 2026 at 11:00. This is a useful chance to hear more about the process and to ask any questions you may have.

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.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.

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.

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).

Equality statement:

We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Further information:

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.