Menu
Departments
Back to main menu
Professions
Back to main menu
Life in the Civil Service
Back to main menu

Find opportunities that work for you...

Share your feedback, help us improve this site

A photo of two women working side by side on laptops. The image is overlaid with the GSS logo.

Government
Statistical
Service

Working in government statistics

The Government Statistical Service (GSS) is a community for all civil servants working in the collection, production and communication of official statistics.

An interview with Professor Sir Ian Diamond

Working for the GSS is a fantastic opportunity to make a contribution to decision making at all levels in our country.

Whether it is deciding the future of our transportation network or better education outcomes, through better statistics, we can make better decisions.

Collectively we provide critical data and services that underpin policy making and public service delivery.

There are huge rewards individually too – you will have the opportunity to be involved in unique projects putting your stamp on how we collect, analyse and communicate our statistics.

A photo of Laura Requena. She has long dark hair and is wearing a bright red scarf.

Laura Requena

Laura is a Senior Statistician at the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Read her experience of working in the GSS.

“There are two main benefits of working for a government organisation: the flexi policy to manage your time as best as it suits you and the large opportunities for training offered…

I always had a passion for mathematics, but I wanted to study a more applied subject where I could put into practise all the formulas and theories I’d learnt on real data.

When making the degree choice I wanted to make sure that I would have a job after graduation.

As the use of data increases every second in our modern world, and analysts are always needed to make sense of this ever increasing ocean of data, this is what drove my decision to study a degree in Statistics and Business.

The wide range of opportunities for training offered have really helped me develop my career. Programming in open source applications such as R and Python, workshops to better understand your business area and the interactions with other areas, wellbeing sessions on nutrition, stress control, etc.”

Why a career in the GSS is right for you

  • Membership of a professional community
  • Bespoke continuous professional development
  • Opportunities across 30+ departments
  • Generous Civil Service pension scheme
  • Opportunities to work in multiple specialist areas

Joining the Government Statistical Service

We recruit regularly throughout the year for Statisticians at 3 grades, from Graduate level roles at the Statistical Officer (StO) grade, through to experienced statistician opportunities for Senior Statistical Officers (SStO).

Links to the currently live recruitment campaigns and candidate packs can be found on the link to our jobs at the top of this page.

If you are interested in a career in the Civil Service as a Statistician, you can find out more information about how to apply and what skills and experience we are looking for on our adverts, or by contacting our GSS Recruitment team at GSS.Recruitment@ONS.gov.uk

Spotlight on – DSIT

DSIT is responsible for: positioning the UK at the forefront of global scientific and technological advancement; driving innovations that change lives and sustain economic growth; delivering talent programmes, physical and digital infrastructure and regulation to support our economy, security and public services; and R&D funding.

Infographic showing the words "Statistics for the Public Good”"

Spotlight on – Manchester

Working and living in Manchester comes with many of the benefits of working in a big city, but rent comes at half the price in comparison to the capital city London. Manchester city centre also operates a free bus service, which serves to link all the main rail stations in the city, as well as shopping districts and business areas.

An info graphic with text that reads "Applying for a career in the Government Statistical Service. Application support and Success Profiles"

Join our next webinar

Our GSS careers webinars focus on what you need to know to apply for one of our roles as a Government Statistician across the Government Statistical Service. We’ll cover everything, starting with the roles and moving on to the application process itself, and with plenty of time to answer your questions.