Statistical Data Analyst

Job summary

Part of the Forestry Commission family, Forest Research is a world leader in applied forest science, providing evidence and practical solutions to policy makers, forestry practitioners, 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 ways of safeguarding those species at risk. Our research supports UK timber production because fewer imports reduce carbon emissions. We provide data on forests in Scotland, Wales and England, and provide evidence of the societal benefits of woodland. We do all this 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 supporting analysis and provision of advice on economic aspects of forestry. The postholder will also support Forest Research’s Official Statistics team in ensuring compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.

Key Work Areas:

• Working with the project lead 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.
• Using R and/or SAS to process data and test methodology for statistics produced as part of the Official Statistics outputs and timber utilisation.
• Supporting the economic lead with the collection and management of data on economic aspects of forestry (annual surveys of the UK timber industry and other data sources) by carrying out data cleaning and compiling reports using their outputs.
• Working with other members of the team to carry out quality assurance of Official Statistics and the methods used to produce them to ensure compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics.
• Attending cross-departmental groups with the economic lead, 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.

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) or equivalent experience
• Experience in data collection, statistical analysis and dissemination
• Some experience of statistical analysis software (e.g. SAS, SPSS, R)
• Proven ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, clearly explaining technical issues and presenting information to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.

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

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Working Together

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,854, Forestry Commission - Forest Research contributes

£9,807 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% 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 and a further 13 weeks unpaid leave. Paternity leave of up to two weeks is available with full pay.

Any move to Forest Research from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

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

Y ou will be asked to:

• Complete a CV setting out your career history, highlighting specific responsibilities and achievements that are relevant for this role. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years
• Submit a Personal Statement – limited to 500 words
• Provide a 250 word statement for each of the three listed Behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Communicating & Influencing 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 week commencing 5th October 2026

Interviews are in person at Alice Holt, Farnham and Northern Research Station, Roslin in week commencing 19 October 2026

If we receive a large volume of applications, then we will sift on CV (Experience) and the lead behaviour Delivering at Pace.

Applicants invited to attend for interview will be required to prepare a presentation. The topic is : '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. Further instructions will be provided to candidates shortlisted for interview.

At interview stage you will be assessed on your experience, your presentation and the following 3 behaviours: Delivering at Pace, Working Together and Changing & Improving. The presentation will be evaluated against the essential criteria advertised.

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

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.

Visa Sponsorship

FR holds a licence to sponsor Skilled Workers under the Home Office points-based immigration system. Candidates wishing to apply should note that the likelihood of obtaining sponsorship would depend on an assessment of this role against defined criteria, which include:

o Whether the Job role has been identified as being a Critical Role in FR, which has been identified in the Workforce Plan, and / or

o Whether the Job role is a known Capability gap, which has been identified in the Workforce Plan for the relevant Centre, and

o Evidence of significant recruitment challenges in filling the Job role previously

Skilled Worker sponsorship may be available, subject to an application and assessment process and the Home Office points-based system .

For further details, please refer to the Sponsorship for Skilled Workers – guidance for applicants and managers on our website .

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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 S