Senior Data Analyst; Census

Location:

Edinburgh Salary: 49,401 - 59,152 per year Employment:
Full time Category:
Business Intelligence Posted:
Valid to:

Employer:

Scottish Government Job summary

Do you want to shape the delivery of Scotland’s Census, enabling governments and other public bodies to plan the services we all rely on, and telling the story of Scotland's people for generations to come? If so, this post could be for you.

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.NRS

requires a Senior Data Analyst, the role is being offered on a Fixed Term Appointment (Fair and Open) basis for 2 years to support the delivery of Census 2031 by leading the design and implementation of data models and analytical structures, working closely with data architecture to shape how census and administrative data is structured, integrated and used. You should note that Scotland’s Census 2031 is a time limited project and as such the position is being offered on a Fixed Term (fair and open basis).

Please contact the line manager named in this advert if you have any further questions.

The candidate will take a hands‑on role in developing and delivering census data models, ensuring that data is structured in a way that supports high‑quality statistical outputs, operational delivery, and integration with administrative data sources. This role combines advanced analytical expertise with practical delivery, focusing on building and implementing robust data models and transformation logic.

Job description

Key Responsibilities Design, build and maintain data models and analytical structures for Census and population data Translate data architecture designs into implementable data models and transformation pipelines

Define and apply standards for structuring, transforming and quality‑assuring census data Develop schema designs that enable efficient querying and analysis of large‑scale demographic datasets

Deliver data integration and linkage with administrative data sources, supporting consistency and comparability

Implement estimation, aggregation and geographic data structures to support statistical outputs

Document data models, metadata and transformation processes to ensure transparency and reproducibility

Person specification

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:

Applying statistical and analytical tools and techniques
- Practitioner Data management
- Practitioner Data visualisation
- Practitioner Managing a data project
- Practitioner You can find out more about the skills required, here:

Senior Data Analyst framework.

Experience:

Significant experience in data analysis or statistics, ideally within government or large-scale data environments

Advanced proficiency in statistical programming (R or Python) and SQL Experience working with large, complex datasets (e.g., census, survey, administrative data)
Proven ability to lead analytical projects and influence senior stakeholders

Behaviours:

Changing and Improving
- Level 3

Delivering at pace
- Level 3

You can find out more about success profile behaviours here. Behaviours We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Changing and Improving Delivering at Pace Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills…