There is 1 x Permanent Position Available and 1 x 12 Month FTA Position Available
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world‑leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in peoples day‑to‑day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.
The role will be based in Defra’s central, multidisciplinary analytical team – the Analysis and Insight Division (AID).
AID has a key, strategic role to play in leading on cross‑cutting issues and ensuring that high quality analysis is driving Defra’s strategy, policy and ways of delivering.
The team delivers value in numerous key ways:
* Promotes and assures analytical quality across Defra policy areas – supporting the Chief Analyst to ensure the department has robust social science evidence bases and business cases, and challenges and supports the Department to promote value for money and accountability.
* Leads, co‑ordinates and contributes to high‑quality, impactful analysis to support Defra’s strategies, ministerial priorities and cross‑cutting areas; including representing Defra analytical thinking on cross‑cutting issues in cross‑Whitehall forums and with OGDs, such as Defra’s Economic Growth Strategy.
* Provides specialist analytical expertise to support teams across Defra and represent Defra on cross‑government expert forum – this covers behavioural insights, evaluation and operational research.
Encouraging diverse applicants
We recognise the challenges that people with (multiple) protected characteristics may experience on the job market and in their career progression. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities. We are keen to make our workforce as diverse as possible, and we hope to attract applications from under‑represented groups.
The Operational Research (OR) Hub sits alongside teams of economists and social researchers within AID. The OR Hub is currently made up of a team of seven talented operational researchers, with a supportive team identity.
We help enable analytical, policy and strategy teams across the Department, to deliver the key priorities for Defra. This ranges from providing a consultancy service for discrete projects derived from individual work areas, to identifying and owning emerging work areas with no established lead, or strategic projects which cut across multiple areas of Defra policy.
The work that the team takes on is varied, interesting and fast‑paced, and utilises different OR techniques – from problem structuring through to modelling and coding.
Previous projects include:
* using statistical modelling to evaluate progress of an environmental plan,
* constructing an app to assist with survey analysis,
* quality assuring a mathematical model,
* using multi‑criteria decision analysis to support a prioritisation issue,
* building a dashboard to aid the visualisation of sector data.
In terms of the role, you will be working closely with the Head of the OR Hub and the other lead OR analyst to identify strategically important projects that would benefit from OR input.
You will play a role in prioritising the work of the whole team.
You will engage with stakeholders to scope out impactful and timely analytical projects. You will manage these projects effectively and provide support and guidance to the junior analysts working on those assignments.
These projects will provide the opportunity to advance your technical skills and develop your creativity in finding solutions to novel analytical challenges.
As a member of the OR Hub, you will also be available to support teams and colleagues across Defra with your OR expertise. In the past this has involved teaching, sitting on steering boards, support for analytical quality assurance, and supporting the OR community.
You will also play a role in testing and steering Defra’s technical data science infrastructure. You will have the opportunity to be an advocate for new functionality and support the integration of new tools into the Defra analytical community.
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