OF
Planner
- Hiring from
- United Kingdom
- Work type
- Hybrid
- Posted
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Job Summary
At the Office for National Statistics (ONS), our work helps shape decisions that impact millions of lives. We are looking for a talented project professional to join us in the Census 2031 Programme!
Census 2031 represents our most ambitious data collection project yet – a once in a decade opportunity to capture a complete picture of everyone living in England and Wales. Building on the digital success of 2021, we're pioneering new ways to reach every household and community, ensuring no one is left uncounted. This vital work will provide the foundation for policy decisions, resource allocation and community planning for the next decade.
Your work will support delivery of this transformational project that will shape how we understand and support our nation's future. You'll be part of a team that ensures everyone is counted—and every voice is heard. We're building a culture that values collaboration, fresh thinking and respect for diverse expertise. Whether you're a seasoned professional or bringing new perspectives, you'll be part of a team that welcomes bold ideas, works transparently and thrives on solving complex challenges together.
You'll join a growing community of Census Project Delivery professionals - delivering projects that span multiple disciplines, partners and stakeholders, with the opportunity to influence decisions that will shape the successful delivery of Census 2031. Few projects offer the same scale, visibility and opportunity to contribute to a national endeavour that impacts every person and community across England and Wales.
Job Description
As a Planner within the Census Directorate, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the successful delivery of high-profile projects and programmes that underpin the collection and production of essential statistics. Working closely with a wide range of stakeholders, you will develop, maintain and monitor detailed plans and schedules, ensuring that activities, resources, dependencies and milestones are clearly defined and aligned to strategic objectives. Your work will provide the structure and insight needed to enable effective decision-making and ensure projects remain on track to deliver expected outcomes.
You will collaborate with project and programme teams to identify risks, dependencies and opportunities, tracking progress throughout the project lifecycle and providing timely reporting on performance against agreed plans. As a planning specialist, you will champion planning standards and best practice, adapting approaches to meet the needs of complex and evolving work programmes. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the successful delivery of work that has a direct impact on the quality and accessibility of statistics used to inform government, businesses and the public.
Key Responsibilities
Essential Criteria
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
Alongside your salary of £56,861, Office for National Statistics contributes £16,472 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).
The Office for National Statistics is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our valued colleagues across the organisation.
Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that our careers site will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues, and our fantastic working culture.
Inclusion & Accessibility
At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.
As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance.
If you would like an accessible version of any of the attachments or recruitment documents below or linked to in this advert, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist.
ONS are committed to flexible ways of working that support a healthy work-life balance. ONS has already considered how this job could be right sized for applicants working flexibly and we are happy to explore options with you about working part time, in a job share or flexibly, in line with our hybrid working policies.
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.
Security Clearance
For ONS the requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying and the department will consider eligibility by exception on a case-by-case basis. You will be asked to provide information regarding your UK residency during your application, and failure to provide this will result in your application being rejected.
If you are unsure that you meet the eligibility above, please read the information available on Gov.uk on this link, or contact the recruitment email on the advert before applying to discuss, as failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected and any offer of employment being withdrawn.
At the point of SC application, you will need to provide or give access to the following evidence:
ONS may be able to provide visa sponsorship where the role meets ONS sponsorship criteria and all relevant Home Office requirements. Applicants must hold, or be eligible to obtain, the right to work in the UK before employment commences.
Right To Work And Nationality Requirements
To work at ONS, applicants must meet the Civil Service nationality requirements, satisfy UK right to work requirements and, where applicable, meet the relevant security clearance requirements.
If you are unsure whether you meet the appropriate right to work or security clearance eligibility criteria, please refer to the guidance on Gov.uk or contact the recruitment email provided in the advert before applying. Failure to meet these requirements will result in your application being rejected and employment offers being withdrawn.
Application Process
Number of Stages: 3-stage process
Stage 1: Application
Stage 2: Competency Questions
Stage 3: Interview
Stage 1 – Work History, Skills And Experience
The assessment process at the application stage will be based on your work history, skills, experience, and the competancy questions. It is important that your application is tailored to highlight the skills, knowledge, and experience relevant to the role.
Please note that Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage of the application process.
Stage 2 - Competency Questions
As part of your personal statement, you will need to answer the three questions below. You may use up to 500 words for each response.
Your answers will be assessed as part of the selection process, so we encourage you to provide clear and relevant examples that demonstrate your skills and experience. Where possible, explain the actions you took and the impact or outcome of those actions.
Please note that Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage of the application process.
When a high volume of applications are received, the sift pass mark may be adjusted. Candidates will be invited to interview based on their merit order, with those achieving the highest scores being prioritised. Applicants who score below the adjusted pass mark but still pass will be placed on hold and may be invited to interview at a later date.
We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours, and essential skills.
Stage 3 – Interview
If invited to interview, you will be assessed using techniques aligned with the Civil Service Success Profiles framework, covering all behaviours listed in the job advert and any required technical skills.
You will be required to provide a 5 minute presentation at interview. The presentation topic will be emailed to candidates who have passed the initial online application stage, 1 week prior to interview. This presentation will assess candidates against the technical skill Planning - Practitioner: Project Delivery Capability Framework
Interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams
Our main locations are Newport (South Wales), Titchfield and Darlington.
A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.
Important Dates
The Sift will be conducted from Thursday 29th October
Interviews will be conducted from Monday 16th November
Dates are subject to change.
For the full terms and conditions of the post, please see attachment.
Please note that all campaigns may be subject to withdrawal at any stage if the internal resource position changes.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact recruitment.complaints@ons.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission
At the Office for National Statistics (ONS), our work helps shape decisions that impact millions of lives. We are looking for a talented project professional to join us in the Census 2031 Programme!
Census 2031 represents our most ambitious data collection project yet – a once in a decade opportunity to capture a complete picture of everyone living in England and Wales. Building on the digital success of 2021, we're pioneering new ways to reach every household and community, ensuring no one is left uncounted. This vital work will provide the foundation for policy decisions, resource allocation and community planning for the next decade.
Your work will support delivery of this transformational project that will shape how we understand and support our nation's future. You'll be part of a team that ensures everyone is counted—and every voice is heard. We're building a culture that values collaboration, fresh thinking and respect for diverse expertise. Whether you're a seasoned professional or bringing new perspectives, you'll be part of a team that welcomes bold ideas, works transparently and thrives on solving complex challenges together.
You'll join a growing community of Census Project Delivery professionals - delivering projects that span multiple disciplines, partners and stakeholders, with the opportunity to influence decisions that will shape the successful delivery of Census 2031. Few projects offer the same scale, visibility and opportunity to contribute to a national endeavour that impacts every person and community across England and Wales.
Job Description
As a Planner within the Census Directorate, you will play a pivotal role in supporting the successful delivery of high-profile projects and programmes that underpin the collection and production of essential statistics. Working closely with a wide range of stakeholders, you will develop, maintain and monitor detailed plans and schedules, ensuring that activities, resources, dependencies and milestones are clearly defined and aligned to strategic objectives. Your work will provide the structure and insight needed to enable effective decision-making and ensure projects remain on track to deliver expected outcomes.
You will collaborate with project and programme teams to identify risks, dependencies and opportunities, tracking progress throughout the project lifecycle and providing timely reporting on performance against agreed plans. As a planning specialist, you will champion planning standards and best practice, adapting approaches to meet the needs of complex and evolving work programmes. This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the successful delivery of work that has a direct impact on the quality and accessibility of statistics used to inform government, businesses and the public.
Key Responsibilities
- Providing visible and effective leadership to the planning team, collaborating with the Project Manager to deliver the benefits and outcomes outlined in the business case, developing a clear vision and standards, championing best practice in planning tools and processes, and building strong internal and external networks.
- Applying advanced planning knowledge to analyse and resolve risks and issues, while identifying opportunities that support successful delivery.
- Identifying future planning capacity and capability requirements and implementing effective strategies to meet these needs.
- Building and maintaining external networks to access and apply technical and professional best practice.
- Analysing performance data to identify trends, opportunities for collaboration and areas for improvement, and using appropriate methods and tools to address them.
- Providing specialist planning advice and support to enable the successful delivery of projects and programmes, advising Project Managers during initiation on proportionate planning approaches, tools and processes, introducing best-practice templates aligned with industry standards, and building planning capability across teams.
- Using digital tools to analyse and validate data, developing and maintaining robust plans, using data insights to forecast timelines and resource requirements, and providing Project Managers with evidence-based insights into potential risks, delays and opportunities.
Essential Criteria
- Expertise in planning, with the ability to define the fundamental components of a project in terms of its scope, deliverables, dependencies, time scales, resource requirements and budget.
- Expertise in scheduling, with the ability to develop, produce and maintain schedules for activities that take account of dependencies, resource requirements and constraints in order to enable the efficient realisation of benefits.
- Ability to inspire and motivate their own team, providing clear direction in line with corporate strategy.
- Ability to work with ambiguity, able to feel comfortable making decisions and setting direction without having the full picture and take proactive steps to reduce ambiguity across the programme workstreams.
- Ability to establish and manage stakeholder relationships, with a proven track record of effectively communicating with technical and non-technical stakeholders at all levels.
- Experience in creating, managing and maintaining the plans for a GMPP or equivalent programme.
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Leadership
- Delivering at Pace
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- Planning - Practitioner: Project Delivery Capability Framework
- Scheduling - Practitioner: Project Delivery Capability Framework
- Resource Management - Working: Project Delivery Capability Framework
Alongside your salary of £56,861, Office for National Statistics contributes £16,472 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).
The Office for National Statistics is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our valued colleagues across the organisation.
Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that our careers site will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues, and our fantastic working culture.
Inclusion & Accessibility
At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.
As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance.
If you would like an accessible version of any of the attachments or recruitment documents below or linked to in this advert, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist.
ONS are committed to flexible ways of working that support a healthy work-life balance. ONS has already considered how this job could be right sized for applicants working flexibly and we are happy to explore options with you about working part time, in a job share or flexibly, in line with our hybrid working policies.
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.
Security Clearance
For ONS the requirement for SC clearance is to have been present in the UK for 3 consecutive years immediately prior to applying and the department will consider eligibility by exception on a case-by-case basis. You will be asked to provide information regarding your UK residency during your application, and failure to provide this will result in your application being rejected.
If you are unsure that you meet the eligibility above, please read the information available on Gov.uk on this link, or contact the recruitment email on the advert before applying to discuss, as failure to meet the residency requirements will result in your security clearance application being rejected and any offer of employment being withdrawn.
At the point of SC application, you will need to provide or give access to the following evidence:
- Departmental or company records (personnel files, staff reports, sick leave reports and security records)
- UK criminal records covering both spent and unspent criminal records
- Your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency
- Security Services records.
ONS may be able to provide visa sponsorship where the role meets ONS sponsorship criteria and all relevant Home Office requirements. Applicants must hold, or be eligible to obtain, the right to work in the UK before employment commences.
Right To Work And Nationality Requirements
To work at ONS, applicants must meet the Civil Service nationality requirements, satisfy UK right to work requirements and, where applicable, meet the relevant security clearance requirements.
If you are unsure whether you meet the appropriate right to work or security clearance eligibility criteria, please refer to the guidance on Gov.uk or contact the recruitment email provided in the advert before applying. Failure to meet these requirements will result in your application being rejected and employment offers being withdrawn.
Application Process
Number of Stages: 3-stage process
Stage 1: Application
Stage 2: Competency Questions
Stage 3: Interview
Stage 1 – Work History, Skills And Experience
The assessment process at the application stage will be based on your work history, skills, experience, and the competancy questions. It is important that your application is tailored to highlight the skills, knowledge, and experience relevant to the role.
Please note that Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage of the application process.
Stage 2 - Competency Questions
As part of your personal statement, you will need to answer the three questions below. You may use up to 500 words for each response.
Your answers will be assessed as part of the selection process, so we encourage you to provide clear and relevant examples that demonstrate your skills and experience. Where possible, explain the actions you took and the impact or outcome of those actions.
- Question 1 : Please describe a time when you developed and maintained a plan and schedule for a complex project or programme. How did you define the scope, deliverables, milestones, dependencies, timescales and resource requirements, and what impact did your approach have on delivery?
- Question 2 : Tell us about a time when you used planning or performance data to identify and address risks, delays, resource constraints or competing dependencies. How did you analyse the information, what action did you take, and what was the outcome?
- Question 3: Describe a time when you provided leadership and specialist planning advice within a complex or evolving programme. How did you work with technical and non-technical stakeholders, manage ambiguity and influence the planning approach or decisions made?
Please note that Success Profiles Behaviour examples are not required at this stage of the application process.
When a high volume of applications are received, the sift pass mark may be adjusted. Candidates will be invited to interview based on their merit order, with those achieving the highest scores being prioritised. Applicants who score below the adjusted pass mark but still pass will be placed on hold and may be invited to interview at a later date.
We often have similar roles available at different grades. If a candidate is suitable for a similar role or a lower grade than they have applied for, we may offer the candidate that role without the need to go through a further selection process providing the role has the same behaviours, and essential skills.
Stage 3 – Interview
If invited to interview, you will be assessed using techniques aligned with the Civil Service Success Profiles framework, covering all behaviours listed in the job advert and any required technical skills.
You will be required to provide a 5 minute presentation at interview. The presentation topic will be emailed to candidates who have passed the initial online application stage, 1 week prior to interview. This presentation will assess candidates against the technical skill Planning - Practitioner: Project Delivery Capability Framework
Interviews will be held via Microsoft Teams
Our main locations are Newport (South Wales), Titchfield and Darlington.
A reserve list may be held for a period up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made.
Important Dates
The Sift will be conducted from Thursday 29th October
Interviews will be conducted from Monday 16th November
Dates are subject to change.
For the full terms and conditions of the post, please see attachment.
Please note that all campaigns may be subject to withdrawal at any stage if the internal resource position changes.
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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 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
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
Apply and further information
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact
- Name : Recruitment Operations
- Email : recruitmentoperations@ons.gov.uk
- Email : About.you@ons.gov.uk
If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact recruitment.complaints@ons.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission