GORS Analytical 1-Year Sandwich Placement

Job summary

Apply now for this exciting opportunity to spend your university sandwich year placement in a high-profile Government Department.

Year-long placement opportunities are available at: Scottish Government, Office for National Statistics, Department for Work and Pensions, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Home Office, Ministry of Defence, HM Revenue & Customs and Cabinet Office.

In the following locations: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Croydon, Darlington, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Newport, Salford, Sheffield, Titchfield, Westminster.

You will have the opportunity to learn skills required for professional life whilst working for organisations ranked in the top 10 graduate employers in the country as rated by graduates.

You must be studying a highly numerate degree and expecting to achieve a 2:1 or above. You must be in at least your second year of study and must be returning to university after completing your placement, either to complete your current degree or post-graduate study.

Please select more than one location while expressing your location preference, this will allow us to allocate you the next preferred location, in case your first preferred location has been fully occupied.

Job description

The Government Operational Research Service (GORS) are the analytical minds behind many of the Government’s policies. Policies which, when implemented, affect everybody in the UK – including you. By looking closely at complex systems, and developing models that predict the way they behave, our analysts can bring a new perspective to the way problems are tackled.

If you join us, you’ll be part of a select team who can influence the decisions of policy makers at more than 25 government departments and agencies. From immigration to climate change, we look objectively at the complex problems the government faces and apply a range of analytical and modelling techniques to help them find better solutions.

Apply for a GORS placement to gain professional and technical skills whilst working on some of the most interesting and pertinent problems facing the country. We recruit students who are interested in learning modelling, statistical and computing skills and have the drive and personality to work effectively both on their own and in a team.

For hints and tips on how to apply, please see the student section of the GORS website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-operational-research-service-sandwich-student-scheme

Note that once you have submitted your application you cannot amend it. Please do not submit your application until you have answered all the relevant questions. We cannot accept late applications. All applications for these vacancies must be made online. Paper applications will only be considered if you have a disability that will prevent you from applying online. If this is the case, please email gorsjobs.csr@csresourcing.gov.uk.

Want help understanding whether your nationality qualifies to join the Civil Service, or UK immigration rules? Please search online for Civil Service Nationality Rules. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rules

Further information: www.operational-research.gov.uk

Person specification

Our analytical teams cover a broad range of remits, including dealing with resource allocation, workforce planning, forecasting, performance measurement, and strategic analysis.

Previous student projects have included:

• Informing impact assessments to provide balanced and objective views of the costs and benefits of policies
• Designing a pilot study to test the impact of a new policy to increase the likelihood of unemployed people entering work
• Analysing the impact of customer behaviour to identify different types of customers we interact with
• Forecasting migration routes into the UK
• Working on analysis to achieve world class education from early years through to adulthood
• Modelling benefit fraud

We are looking for bright, forward-thinking students from highly numerate subject areas such as Astrophysics, Data Science, Decision Science, Econometrics, Engineering (Aerospace, Chemical, Civil, Electronic), Mathematics, Operational Research, Physics and Statistics. Other numerate degrees, such as Accounting, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Economics, Finance, Geography, IT, Management, Management Science, Psychology, Sociology, Social Sciences and Systems Science, may be accepted if 50% or more of the modules are considered highly numerate.

Being highly numerate is only the starting point for our student analysts. We expect you to build on your technical skills and work towards successfully influencing policy decisions by presenting your analyses effectively in meetings, written reports, and oral presentations.

Qualifications

You must be studying for a degree in a highly numerate subject AND you must be studying in at least your second year and returning to university after completing your placement. Please list all modules and credits for both current and subsequent years post placement. You will be asked to provide further detail on your degree in one of the application questions before your application can be fully submitted and considered.

To meet our definition of highly numerate, at least half of your modules must be from one or more of the following subjects: Astrophysics, Data Science, Decision Science, Econometrics, Engineering (Aerospace, Chemical, Civil, Electronic), Mathematics, Operational Research, Physics and Statistics, or similar. You must have a good chance of obtaining a 2:1 or better.

Modules that we do not consider highly numerate include Accounting, Business, Computer Science, Economics, Finance, Geography, IT, Psychology and Sociology. This list is not exhaustive.

Languages

You must be able to explain highly technical concepts in plain English.

Behaviours

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

• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Technical skills

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

• Knowledge and Application of OR
• Achieving Impact with Analysis

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £25,501, Government Operational Research Service contributes

£7,387 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• 20-25 Annual leave days

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Your application form will be sifted based on eligibility (including level of degree numeracy) and based on the technical skills and the behaviour examples provided in your application. Please ensure you provide all the modules/credits as asked for in the qualifications section, otherwise you risk being rejected.

For hints and tips on how to apply, please see the student section of the GORS website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/government-operational-research-service-sandwich-student-scheme

If there are unprecedented numbers of applications, we reserve the right to sift on only the lead behaviour: Knowledge and Application of OR.

If your application is successful at the sift stage, we will invite you to book an interview. You will be able to choose from dates as mentioned for your interview.

Before the interview begins, you will be asked to prepare and deliver a five-minute presentation to describe the approach you would take to tackle a problem described in a given scenario.

There will be only one round of interviews, and it will focus on testing your technical skills and behaviours in line with the presentation you prepare on the day and the examples you have provided in your application form.

If successful at interview, you will be placed on a waiting list whilst we allocate you to a Government department based on your location preferences. It is important that you give us your first, second and third choice of location from the list of available locations, and we will do our best to allocate you to your first or second choice.

If there are more successful candidates than vacancies, we will allocate places based on their overall interview scores initially, followed by technical scores and then behaviour scores. We will only use written application scores in the event of any further ties.

Security Update

For allocated successful candidates you will be required to undergo a security vetting process (National security vetting: clearance levels - GOV.UK), the level of vetting will depend on the department you are allocated to. Once allocated your department will inform you of the level of vetting required. Please read the attached information and please inform your department immediately post allocation if you have any potential issues.

For more information on the level of security checks we will carry out, review this information on security checks

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Please note: in addition to the standard pre-employment checks for appointment into the Civil Service, all candidates must also obtain National Security Vetting at Security Check (SC) clearance level for this vacancy. You will normally need to meet the minimum UK residency period as determined by the level of vetting being undertaken, which for SC is 5 years UK residency prior to your vetting application. If you have any questions about this residency requirement, please speak to the vacancy holder for this post.

Interview dates and location:

Dates: weeks commencing Monday 9th November and Monday 16th November

Locations: Virtual via Microsoft Teams

Further Information

The reserve list will be held for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

If you are applying on a Student/Graduate Visa this will need to be valid for at least 18 months. Please note, we are unable to offer visa sponsorship through this campaign.

Reasonable Adjustments

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.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via GORSrecruitment.grs @cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

If you need a reasonable adjustment or a change to be made so that you can make your application, review this information on reasonable adjustments

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’