Questionnaire and Materials Testing Delivery Manager

Job summary

Join the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as a Questionnaire and Materials Testing Delivery Manager and play a key role in shaping the future of the Transformed Labour Force Survey, one of the UK's most significant survey transformation programmes.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) is the UK’s largest producer of official statistics, covering a range of key economic, social and demographic topics. These include measuring changes in the value of the UK economy, estimating the size, geographic distribution, and characteristics of the population, and providing indicators of price inflation, employment, earnings, crime, and migration.

Social Survey Transformation (SST) is leading on delivery of a redesigned survey portfolio, including operational transformation of data collection and household survey processing systems. We are currently undertaking an ambitious programme of work to deliver the Transformed Labour Force Survey as an online-first, multi-mode survey delivering high quality data with a respondent-centred design.

The Operational Delivery Profession (ODP) is the largest profession in the Civil Service. ODP’s 200,000+ members work in a wide range of operational delivery roles across government, providing essential services that support and protect UK citizens at home and overseas. They help to make ONS a great place to work.

The Social Survey Transformation (SST) division, is responsible for transforming ONS social surveys as part of the wider overhaul of the statistical system. This includes developing a new online first Labour Force Survey and modernising data collection while continuing to gather essential supporting and attitudinal information alongside growing use of administrative data.

SST works collaboratively across ONS to improve survey quality and deliver efficient, high quality transformed data. The division comprises four areas:

Statistical Transformation
Research & Design and SIC/SOC,
Data Processing
End to End Requirements & Change

All areas are focused on designing, processing and delivering a modernised end to end survey system.

Underpinning this is SST’s vision “We believe in the benefits our people provide as the centre of excellence in research, methods, and technology with the expertise to transform the entire social survey portfolio end-to-end. Through this, we enable better quality and more efficient statistics that improve decision making across government and ensure a more informed public debate.

Job description

The work to develop the Transformed Labour Force Survey (TLFS) has been running for multiple years. We are now about to enter the TLFS Sustainability Project as we begin to decommission the Labour Force Survey. This will involve continuing to develop the TLFS questionnaire and accompanying materials which are provided to the respondent and survey staff.

This is an opportunity to join the research and design team to assist in increasing the operational efficiency of the research and testing being conducted. The post holder will keep abreast of and co-ordinate the testing associated with development of the questions and materials for the TLFS. The main purpose of the role will be to facilitate the smooth running of the research and development cycle.

This post is a key interface with the business-as-usual area and will involve handing the product specifications over. It is therefore essential that the successful candidate can build excellent working relationships with relevant business areas to understand their requirements and engage staff throughout development and implementation of enhancements whilst allowing existing business as usual commitments to continue.

The Senior Executive Officer will work with the G7 to identify and prioritise the operational processes necessary to ensure efficient research operations. This involves creating and embedding research operations within the teams and leading the operational running of the testing. This would encompass the whole research and development lifecycle from agreement of research priorities to delivery of product specifications for use in the live TLFS.

This role will include the management of a team. The team will facilitate the operational delivery, for example producing test questionnaires in our questionnaire building tool, producing and maintaining specifications in English and in Welsh, and booking meetings.

Role Responsibilities

You will:

• Document and operationalise effective processes for all stages of the research and development cycle, including business area specific induction materials for new staff.
• Facilitate the governance of project outputs, ensuring that products are agreed by all impacted areas, and are fully operationalisable.
• Develop and maintain budget spreadsheets for use by entire team, enabling efficient management of resources across multiple research work strands.
• Work collaboratively with other teams within the entire data lifecycle to deliver a Live survey of good quality.
• Act as the key point of contact within the business area with contracted suppliers to ensure effective delivery of these services within contracted SLA’s. (Current suppliers provide Welsh translations, recruit participants for testing, and transcribe interviews from recordings.)
• Act as the key point of contact for the business area within ONS; anticipating upcoming testing requirements from an operational perspective, undertaking planning in advance; dealing with queries and problems as they arise. (Current testing can require support from telephone interviewers and access to live systems)
• To schedule activities appropriately to ensure that testing is executed in an efficient and timely manner; ensuring that research outcomes delivered to timetable and requirements.
• Develop, own and refine mechanisms to track and update on testing activity progress and on outcomes from testing activity across the team.
• Managing routine (and ad hoc) test meetings (e.g. supplier meetings, and project retrospectives)
• Document test updates, issues, outcomes, progress, and communicate these to stakeholders as necessary.
• Raise, escalate as necessary and work to resolve testing issues.

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Proven ability to manage a complex workload and deliver outcomes within tight timescales.
• Adaptable and able to respond quickly and effectively to changing priorities and pressures.
• Strong relationship-building skills, with experience working collaboratively across teams and organisations.
• Detail-oriented, with excellent quality assurance and problem-solving abilities.
• Confident in managing stakeholders, resolving conflicts, and delivering projects through to completion.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £41,985, Office for National Statistics contributes £12,163 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).

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 or