Higher Statistical Officer

Job summary

Part of the Forestry Commission family, Forest Research (FR) is a world leader in applied forest science, providing evidence and practical solutions to policy makers, forestry professionals, land managers and anyone with green space, UK wide. With climate and biodiversity in crisis, and an increasing number of pests and diseases, our research is more vital than ever before. We advise on how woodlands can help combat climate change. We’re identifying tree species that will thrive in the future and seeking ways to safeguard those species at risk. Our research supports UK timber production because fewer imports reduce carbon emissions. We provide robust data on forests in Scotland, Wales and England, and provide evidence of the societal benefits of woodland. We do all this utilising the latest technology while working collaboratively with academia, partners and industry, nationally and internationally.

The Forest Information and Statistics team is a multi-disciplinary team including statisticians, spatial analysts, data scientists and others. There are 3 teams within Forest Information and Statistics, covering National Forest Inventory scheduling and mapping, National Forest Inventory analysis and outputs, and Statistics. Together, they are responsible for overseeing data collection and providing analysis and support to a range of internal and external customers and for producing a range of analytical outputs, including official statistics and the National Forest Inventory.

Job description

The purpose of the job is to contribute to policy development, monitoring and evaluation of sustainable forest management by providing statistical information, analysis and advice on economic aspects of forestry. The postholder also provides statistical advice and support to stakeholders, and support Forest Research’s Official Statistics team in ensuring compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Key Work Areas:

UK Official Statistics

• Collecting data on economic aspects of forestry – consulting users and data providers on requirements, managing the collection of data (annual surveys of the UK timber industry and other data sources), implementing quality assurance procedures
• Producing Official Statistics releases to agreed timetables and in compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
Official Statistics for international organisations
• Providing UK contributions on wood production and trade to international organisations
Statistical support activities
• Providing advice, support and analysis to stakeholders

Corporate compliance
• Supporting the Lead Statistician in ensuring compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics
• Reviewing the quality of data sources, methodology and outputs.
• Leading cross-departmental groups, such as the Expert Group on Timber & Trade Statistics, to stay up to date on discussions that have an impact on the statistics produced in the team.

Statistical development
• Leading on the development of statistics on timber utilisation to support the timber in construction roadmap, by consulting on requirements, identifying data sources and developing a methodology to produce statistics on the use of wood fibre (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/timber-in-construction-roadmap-2025/timber-in-construction-roadmap-2025)
• Leading on the development of labour market indicators from the Forestry Workforce Census

Management
• Line management of one team member.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Undergraduate degree in a subject containing formal statistical training (e.g. Statistics, Mathematics, Economics, Sciences, Business Studies, Psychology, Geography, Data Science or similar)
• Experience in data collection, analysis or dissemination
• Experience with survey design and handling survey data
• Experience of building and maintaining an R package
• Proven ability to communicate effectively (written and spoken), clearly explaining technical issues and presenting for non-expert as well as expert audiences
• Experience leading an analysis project

Desirable Criteria:

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates.

• Knowledge of economic aspects of forestry related to the timber industry
• Experience with the Code of Practice for Statistics
• Experience of Reproducible Analytical Pipelines and SAS

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,802, Forestry Commission - Forest Research contributes £12,110 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Your career

• Excellent professional development opportunities which are tailored to your role, with paid professional membership subscriptions, mentoring, and Civil Service Learning available to all
• access to world class laboratory facilities, as well as state of the art buildings within forest or science park settings

Your work/life balance

• flexible working options such as: up to two days flexi leave per month, blended working, part-time working, paid special leave, career breaks, and unpaid leave. Parents and carers will be supported to enable you to manage work and family responsibilities
• A generous annual leave allowance of 25 days on entry increasing by 1 day each year to a maximum of 30 days (pro-rata for part-timers). Plus 2.5 days of additional leave and 8 days’ paid bank/public holidays

Your wellbeing

• A culture which promotes a diverse and inclusive work environment
• A range of wellbeing benefits including Employee Assistance Programme 24/7
• We want you to feel part of something bigger and we encourage a community feel in our workplaces, with everything from cookery competitions to Pilates and fell running, plus topical talks at Wellbeing Wednesdays and Feelgood Fridays
• Paid volunteering leave of 3 days per year so you can give back to your community and charitable causes by sharing your skills and time

Your benefits

• a highly competitive Civil Service Pension of 28.97% of your salary
• an employee benefits scheme offering discounts on groceries, gym memberships, holidays, days out, online retailers and high street shops
• Cycle to Work scheme and Interest free loans
• Free parking is offered on-site, alongside electric car charging ports
• With maternity, adoption, and/or shared parental leave there’s the flexibility to have up to 26 weeks full pay, followed by 13 weeks statutory pay a