Higher Statistical Officer

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.

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.

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Please apply at Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UK.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Numerical Test Civil Service online tests - GOV.UK. You will need to successfully pass this to be invited to complete the remainder of the application. Please allow yourself sufficient time to complete this test. We recommend you do so as soon as possible. You should allow up to an hour, the test is not timed and internet access will be required for the duration of the test.

If you successfully pass the Civil Service Numerical Test you will be invited to complete the second part of your application. You will be asked to:

• Complete a CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role
• Submit a Personal Statement – (limited to 500 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience meet the essential criteria as outlined in the person specification. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years
• Provide a 250-word statement for each of the following Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace and Working Together.

We will use this information to assess your application against the essential criteria in the person specification.

Shortlist

The panel will select a shortlist of candidates whose applications best demonstrate suitability for the role, by considering the evidence provided against the Essential Criteria set out in the Person Specification. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

Sift is planned to take place in week commencing 16 November 2026

Interviews are planned to take place in person at Alice Holt or Northern Research Station on in week commencing 30 November 2026

At the Interview stage, you will be assessed on your experience and the 3 following behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Managing a Quality Service and Working Together.

Applicants invited to attend for interview will be required to prepare and present on the topic 'Describe a piece of work you have undertaken to carry out statistical analysis including the methodology you chose, how you handled the data, explaining your analysis to a non-expert audience'. The presentation will be evaluated against the essential criteria advertised.

If we receive a large volume of applications, then we will sift on CV (Experience) and Lead Behaviour (Working Together). Candidates will be expected to answer questions on the following behaviours at interview stage: Managing a Quality Service, Changing and Improving, and Working Together.

Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Forest Research which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match.

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

Complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.