Having been separated from the role of ONS executive leader, the dedicated position as the country’s top statistician is open for applications for those with ‘deep expertise, energy, and vision’
The government has opened recruitment for a new national statistician to serve as the UK’s foremost “passionate advocate for the value of official statistics [and who] will inspire confidence and lead the profession with integrity”.
The position comes with a £200,000 salary and, for the first time, is separate to that of the permanent secretary of the ONS – a role to which Cabinet Office senior manager Darren Tierney was appointed in August.
Once appointed, the chosen candidate for national statistician will be “working in partnership with the ONS permanent secretary and reporting directly to me”, according to Cat Little, permanent secretary of the Cabinet Office and civil service chief operating officer.
Writing in the intro to the candidate pack, Little said that “is seeking an outstanding, internationally respected statistician to take on the pivotal role”.
“We are looking for someone who brings deep expertise, energy, and vision – someone who can build strong relationships with users and stakeholders both at home and abroad, and be a passionate advocate for the value of official statistics,” she added. “The national statistician will inspire confidence and lead the profession with integrity, supporting a culture of openness and continuous improvement.”
The recruitment process comes shortly in light of some sharp criticism of the previous national statistician, Sir Ian Diamond, and the organisational culture he fostered. Published this summer, a review conducted by former Whitehall permanent secretary Sir Robert Devereux identified “deep-seated issues” at the ONS.
Following the release of Devereux’s report, at a session of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs the committee chair Simon Hoare had some particularly harsh words for the former statistical chief, who left his post in May due to ill health.
“Ian Diamond appears to have run this organisation […] as a hybrid of a Medici prince and Blofeld,” the PACAC chief said. “He seemed unwilling or uninterested in anything anyone had to say, he managed to pull the wool over the eyes of ministers, the board – everything was hunky-dory, innovation was going to be the great salvation to all of our prayers. I’m now mixing my metaphors horribly, but when the emperor was found to be naked and not clothed in regal purple, ill health meant that he had to leave the ONS PDQ.”
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Diamond’s role included both statistical leadership and executive management of the ONS as its permanent secretary. Splitting the two roles was one of the recommendations of Devereux’s report.
The new appointee as national statistician will be tasked with focusing on the delivery of “expert statistical and methodological advice to the UK Statistics Authority board, ONS permanent secretary, parliament, ministers, the cabinet secretary and other senior officials on the production, dissemination and use of statistics across government”, according to the job advert.
A key objective of their work in the short term will be to “support the ONS’s recovery plans for core economic statistics and surveys, restoring capability and user confidence in its outputs. This will involve tackling “strategic methodological and statistical issues within ONS”.
As leader of the Government Statistical Service (GSS) – the cross-department community of all statistics professionals in the civil service – the successful applicant will be expected to “set a clear vision and standards for the GSS, demonstrating integrity and commanding the confidence of its members and users alike”, the advert adds.
The role also comes with a remit to “embrace innovation and address shared challenges across the UK and internationally , [such as] data gaps, statistical coherence, and technological advancements”.
Applications for the position are open until midday on 23 November, and the process is being supported by executive recruitment specialist Saxton Bampfylde.
