Associate Director – Research and Data Analytics

About Ofqual

As England’s independent regulator of qualifications, examinations and assessments, Ofqual’s job is to maintain standards, to make sure that qualifications accurately reflect the knowledge and skills people have attained through a range of different learning methods.

Ofqual has an important role to play in looking ahead to the future.  It is important that public confidence in qualifications is secured for the future, that the implications of the pandemic are accounted for and that comprehensive data is available to support policy making.

Ofqual publish quantitative research reports and data sets, covering regulated qualifications, to help all stakeholders understand the qualifications and exams system.  This is complex work – but it is also really engaging and stimulating.

Ofqual also publish data and statistics on GCSEs, AS and A levels, and vocational and technical qualifications based on data collected from awarding bodies. Ofqual’s analytics culture is strong and has developed a range of innovative approaches to reporting data, including interactive visualisations that are made available to the public.

About the role

They are looking for an Associate Director to build on the strong platform in their data and analytics work.  That will require excellent analytical skills and equally, a really well-developed ability to work closely with and support colleagues across the organisation in their work too. Many of their reports are official statistics and the role of Associate Director Research and Data Analytics also acts as Head of Profession for Statistics, taking responsibility for the publication of these reports.

Person specification:

• you will have expert analytical ability and be very comfortable with both quantitative and qualitative data – it’s analysis and presentation
• an extensive track record of effective design and delivery of data solutions and statistical publications
• demonstrable experience of collecting, analysing and interpreting large data sets using computational statistical software tools such as SPSS (syntax), R, SAS programming language
• experience in data privacy and data governance
• you will be excited to innovate, develop new approaches and engage in analytical challenges where there is no playbook to refer to
• a strong communicator – with confidence to communicate clearly at all levels of seniority, including making technical work accessible to non-expert audiences
• you will be great at building relationships internally and externally, you will enjoy leading a function that is there to equip, support and enable others in their work
• experienced in developing business intelligence applications using tools such as Power BI, SAS or Tableau
• a strong manager – able to lead experts in their field, adding value through your insight, challenge and support
• it is essential that the person in this role is a member of (or has the ability to become a member of) one of the Government Analyst Function professions.

Find out more and apply

To read the full job advert including the job description and candidate pack, and/or to apply, visit the Ofqual website.