About The Role

We are the trusted producer of Scotland’s population statistics, including taking the Census of Scotland’s population every 10 years. The next Census is in 2031 and will be delivered in partnership with the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA). This is one of the largest digital programmes delivered in Scotland, gathering data from every household across a population of c.5.7m. Census data is used by government, local authorities, health boards, the third and private sectors to plan national and local services and informs the allocation of billions of pounds of UK and Scottish Government public funds each year .

As part of a large and complex programme of work, you will support the development and delivery of operational readiness activities for Scotland's Census 2031.

You should note that Scotland’s Census is a time limited project which will run until 2031 depending on the role. Staff who are on permanent contracts will remain with NRS after this time whilst a new, suitable role is found. Please contact the line manager named in this advert if you have any further questions.

Working as part of an operational delivery team, you will contribute to the planning, coordination, testing and continuous improvement of operational services and processes. You will work closely with Operational Managers, Product Managers, colleagues and external partners to ensure operational requirements are understood, documented and ready for delivery.

The role provides an opportunity to contribute to a wide range of operational activities including planning, workforce readiness, stakeholder engagement, testing, management information, process improvement and live operational support. You will use data and insight to support decision making, identify risks and issues, and help ensure operational services are delivered effectively and efficiently.

Responsibilities

Support Operational Managers in planning and delivering operational readiness activities.
Coordinate actions, risks, issues and dependencies across operational workstreams.
Assist in the development and maintenance of operational processes, procedures, guidance and documentation.
Support testing, rehearsal and readiness activities, ensuring actions and lessons learned are captured and tracked.
Produce, analyse and present management information to support operational decision making.
Monitor progress against plans and help identify opportunities for process improvement.
Build effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
Support operational governance activities including reporting, meetings and action tracking.
Contribute to workforce planning, training, communications and capability activities as required.
Assist in the management of operational risks and incidents, ensuring issues are appropriately escalated.
Support the delivery of continuous improvement initiatives across operational services.

Work flexibly across operational priorities to support programme delivery

Success Profile

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of behaviours, experience and technical criteria (if applicable) that candidates will be assessed on.

Technical / Professional Skills

Connections and communication
Delivery and decision making as speed

You can find out more about the skills required, here: ODP competency framework

Experience

Experience supporting operational and programme delivery within public-facing, large-scale service environments, including operational readiness and change initiatives.
Proven ability to coordinate stakeholders, manage actions, and work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams to deliver against plans and shared objectives.

. Behaviours

Working Together
Making effective decisions

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours, here: Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)

How to apply

Apply online, providing a CV and supporting statement (of no more than 1000 words) providing evidence of how you meet the behaviours, experience and technical skills listed in the Success Profile above. Both the CV and the supporting statement provided will be assessed against the criteria for the role.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples 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, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation.

Assessments dates to be confirmed.

Skilled Worker Sponsorship not being offered

Skilled worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require skilled worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

Recruitment Principles

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

About us

NRS is a Non-Ministerial Department of the Scottish Government & and our staff are part UK Civil Service , working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer .

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules .

Working pattern

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role.

Candidates should note that office attendance will be needed at points in particular for collaboration sessions but there is currently no fixed set days in addition there will be occasional travel to other UK agencies. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Security checks

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website , or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide .

Equality statement

We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further information

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website .

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.

Scotland’s Census is a time limited project which will run until 2032 depending on the role. Please contact the hiring manager if you have any further questions.