Team Lead Metrics and Reporting at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York

Job summary

The Farming Directorate is responsible for designing and managing Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes. These schemes support farmers to farm in a more sustainable way.

We are looking for someone to lead the Metrics and Reporting team within the Evidence and Analysis function.

You will lead a small team of analysts, responsible for reporting, statistics and performance analysis. The team's work helps the directorate understand progress, make decisions and meet reporting requirements.

This includes publishing Official Statistics on the Farming Investment Fund (FIF), developing statistics that show how the directorate contributes to Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) outcomes, and improving how performance is measured and reported across the directorate.

We recognise that people with protected characteristics may experience challenges in the job market and in career progression. We want to make sure that everyone has equal opportunities. Defra has many staff networks and trade unions that represent staff and help to positively change how we work. We support flexible working and want to ensure that our staff have a good work-life balance. We provide support for employees with disabilities and health conditions. If you need support at interview, please let us know so that we can provide this. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from underrepresented groups.

Job description

You will:

• manage a small team of analysts and support their development
• help create a team culture where everyone is respected and valued
• produce, manage and publish official statistics in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics
• improve internal reporting and make summary data more widely accessible
• manage, plan and carry out analysis using suitable methods
• develop and maintain reproducible analytical pipelines
• work with policy and strategy teams to present results and answer questions
• carry out quality assurance activities, including code reviews
• respond to requests for information, including Environmental Information Requests

For more information, please see Government Operational Research Service - Mainstream Recruitment - GOV.UK

Candidates should be a member of Government Statistical Group or provide evidence of meeting the minimum qualification criteria to join the Government Statistical Group. If you are not badged, we will support you through the badging process at the Grade 7 level.

Person specification

Eligibility Criteria

The accepted qualifications are one of the following:

• a first or second class honours degree in a numerate subject computer science or similar field that includes statistical skills.
• a postgraduate qualification, such as an MSc or PhD, in a subjects such as data science, mathematics, statistics or physics
• a level 6 apprenticeship
• at least 3 years of professional experience in statistics or data science, supported by a record of continuous professional development (via a log book), at a level comparable to a foundation degree or Higher National Diploma (level five).

For more information, please see https://gss.civilservice.gov.uk/careers/joining-us/#joining-as-a-government-data-scientist or Government Operational Research Service - Mainstream Recruitment - GOV.UK

Essential Criteria

You must be able to show that you:

• have advanced technical skills in R and use version control
• develop and publish official government statistics in line with the Code of Practice for Statistics
• have created and managed reports and dashboards
• conduct high-quality analysis, whilst having competing demands and meeting deadlines
• have successfully managed analysts, statisticians or a technical team
• create a supportive environment where people can learn and perform well
• explain complex findings clearly to non-specialists and senior colleagues
• work effectively with policy teams or strategy teams
• understand GDPR requirements and have experience handling data securely

Qualifications

If you are not currently a member of a Government analytical profession, please outline how you meet the minimum eligibility requirement for the Government Statistical Service.

The accepted qualifications are ONE of the following:

• a first or second class honours degree in a numerate discipline, computer science or IT equivalent which demonstrates core statistical skills.
• a higher degree, e.g. an MSc or PhD, in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics (this is not a definitive list)
• have achieved or on track to achieve a level 4 apprenticeship including at least 2 years in a statistical/data analysis field in government and are able to demonstrate continuous professional development in statistics/data analysis (via a CPD log book signed off by a manager or mentor who are members of the statistical profession)
• have worked in a statistical or data science field and are able to demonstrate Continuous Professional Development (via a log book) in statistics or data science at the same level as a foundation degree or Higher National Diploma (level five)

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing

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

• Changing and Improving

Technical skills

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

• Data Analysis - Government Statistical Service
• Presenting and disseminating data effectively (Government Statistical Group)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £58,207, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes

£16,862 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%

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, Ability, Experience and Technical skills.

After submission of the first stage of your application you will be invited to complete a Civil Service Verbal Test, Civil Service Numerical Test. If you successfully pass the test, you will be invited to complete the final stage of the application.

Please complete the online tests as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended), the closing date for the tests is 23:55 on 23rd October 2026. If you fail to complete the online test before the deadline your application will be withdrawn. Guidance for the test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The t ests are administered online and accessed via the CS Jobs website.

You will be directed to the Talogy - True Talent – Scheduled Maintenance Window Webpage for online tests during an outage.

Our online test supplier will be performing scheduled maintenance between 4.00pm and 7.00pm on 11th October 2026. You will be unable to access tests during this period.

If you are in the middle of a test when the maintenance begins, your progress will be paused. You will be able to resume your test from where you left off via your application centre once the downtime has ended. Please note that you will not be able to launch any new tests while the system is offline.

While the tests should work on most operating systems and modern browsers with a good internet connection, we cannot guarantee that every combination will work. At the beginning, the test will check which browser you are using, and alert you if it is likely to be incompatible.

It is highly recommended that you complete the online tests on a desktop computer, not a mobile phone or tablet.

Please note that online tests associated with this vacancy are not subject to time limits; for further information visit the Reasonable adjustments for online tests - a candidate guide

Application Process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV, 500-word statement of suitability, a 250-word behaviour (changing and improving) and technical question (data analysis).

Please use your statement of suitability to provide evidence of your ability to meet the requirements of the post.

Please make it clear whether you are a member of the Government Statistical Service. If you are not currently, please outline how you meet the minimum eligibility requirement for the Government Statistical Service.

Applications will be sifted on CV, statement of suitability, the changing and improving behaviour and the Data Analysis (Government Statistical Group) or Presenting and disseminating data effectively (Government Statistical Group) technical skills.

If there are a lot of applicants, applications will initially be sifted on the lead technical skill, data analysis. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, be required to do a technical assessment or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Interview

Interviewees will be asked to complete a technical exercise using R at the interview. The coding exercise is designed to assess analytical thinking, use of R, code quality, interpretation of results and the ability to explain technical work. Candidates are not expected to complete every task perfectly.

You will be sent the dataset and details of how you will access R one calendar week before the interview.

The interview will be two hours. At the start of the interview, you will receive the technical assessment questions and have one hour to complete the coding exercise. You will be asked to remain on camera and share your screen throughout the coding exercise so that the panel can be confident that the assessment is being completed under consistent conditions for all candidates. You can use search engines and artificial intelligence tools to support your work, for example to look up syntax or troubleshoot coding issues. However, the analysis, interpretation and final solution must be your own work.

After the coding exercise, the panel will join. Around 20 minutes will be spent discussing your approach, code, assumptions and findings. The remaining time of the interview will consist of behaviour and technical questions.

Interview transcription: As a reasonable adjustment for a member of the interview panel, live transcription will be used during interviews. This will be used solely as a note-taking aid and will not form part of the assessment. Candidates will be assessed only on their interview performance, and transcripts will not be used for AI analysis or scoring. All transcripts will be deleted when no longer required.

The Civil Service is a diverse and inclusive workplace. We want to help you show your full potential whatever type of assessment we use. If you need any reasonable adjustments, tell us when you submit your application that you need an adjustment and how it will help.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

Behaviours

We'll assess you agai