Senior Statistician - Online Safety

Team overview

The global communications industry is continuing to change at breakneck speed. As the UK’s communications regulator, Ofcom is at the heart of a sector which not only impacts everyone’s lives but also plays a leading role in the UK economy.

The Research and Intelligence team is the source of critical information and providing data and analysis on the communication industries. Sitting within the Strategy and Research Group, the team provide first-class analysis and insight of UK communications market developments that serve as the evidence base for Ofcom’s policy and regulatory work. We work collaboratively with other Ofcom teams and with external stakeholders to deliver Ofcom’s objectives. Our work includes leading the delivery of Ofcom’s annual Communications Market Report, Online Nation Report, Media Nations Report and advising on the development and analysis of consumer research surveys as well as new and innovative data sources.

Purpose of the Role

This new role has been established to enable Ofcom to prepare for taking on responsibility to help people lead a safer life online. As the Online Safety Bill passes through it’s parliamentary stages, it is critical that we plan ahead to the needs for clear and transparent Official Statistics to support public understanding of the online world.

In this post you will play a leading role in developing our Official Statistics, working with other research, policy and operational colleagues to design, collect, analyse and communicate new measures of relevant topics. You will be confident in analysing multiple data sources, combining keen analytical skills with strong instincts for what is important. 

This role offers the opportunity to put your analytical skills to work in developing new official statistics which will impact almost everybody in the UK.

Requirements of the Role

• Work across a wide range of Ofcom projects and reports to ensure our Online Safety policy work is evidence-based and reflective of the latest industry developments.
• Lead on the analysis and exploration of datasets of varying sizes and structures from a range of sources, producing clear, impactful, repeatable and robust findings
• Contribute to the design of consumer research surveys, advising on sampling, weighting and related statistical considerations
• Present analysis in a concise, clear, and easily accessible way using appropriate data visualisations, well-written text, interactve reports and presentations.
• Idenitfying and assessing existing data sources that can inform our understanding of risks of illegal offences online

Skills, knowledge and experience

• Strong experience of analysing  large datasets, and related statistical methodology, for example regression and multi-variate analysis
• Knowledge of survey methods, sampling and weighting data, and related statistical methodology, for example statistical significance testing
• Proficiency in at least one statistical, analytic and visualisation packages to manage data sets, analyse results and present data in clear, concise and creative ways (such as SPSS, Python, R, Power BI, Azure Databricks).
• Good attention to detail and commitment to ensure work is accurate.
• Curiosity, and enthusiasm for analytical work and strategic thinking.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to explain complex results and technical issues clearly and concisely in writing and orally to different audiences/stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills, with ability to manage and prioritise a range of work, projects and ad hoc requests.
• Understanding and appreciation of the role of regulation in the communications sector.
• Evidence of Ofcom’s values of excellence, agility, empowerment, collaboration and respect.

Desirable skills/experience

• Experience of developing reproducible analytical pipelines
• Knowledge of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics
• Understanding of Online Safety

Competencies 

• Draws complex ideas into a clear and focused document
• Seeks creative and innovative ways to achieve outcomes 
• Adapts, develops, and applies analytical approaches to tackle new problems/projects
• Prioritises own work on the basis of strategic importance
• Shows understanding of the interests and needs of internal and external stakeholders

Qualifications

• Degree or equivalent higher qualification in a quantitative subject such as mathematics, statistics, economics, social research or equivalent; or equivalent experience in an analytical role