My career story: Samantha Ryan
Job title and department or organisation
Samantha is a Workforce Analyst at the Office for National Statistics. Her role matches the role of Data Analyst on the Analysis Function Career Framework.
Grade
Samantha works at Senior Executive Officer (SEO) grade.
Profession and entry route
Samantha is an unaffiliated analyst.
She entered the Civil Service at SEO grade as part of a departmental recruitment round.
Samantha’s career path
I left college and joined IBM as an International Centre for Asset Management (ICAM) Operations Analyst. In this role, I worked with finance data and contracts around computer leasing, which also involved being an accounts manager. I enjoyed the role, so I decided against going to university and worked in this role for 2 years before this work was outsourced. I then became a HR Analyst in the Central Test Team for IBM. This involved making changes to computer systems. After about a year I then moved within IBM to become a Technical Resources Support Specialist in HR Talent. This role involved researching into the future technical leaders for IBM using people data we held. Again, that role was outsourced after a few years.
I then moved to Portsmouth City Council as a Benefit Assessment Officer working on housing benefits. It was not an analytical role, but I was able to use some of the analytical skills I had. I stayed at Portsmouth City Council for six years.
In June 2015 I moved to Southern Electric Network, which is now called Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), as a Network Upgrades Administrator. It was a step down for me, as I thought it would be a good company to work for. I did a lot of analysis and used databases such as Excel and Access.
In January 2017, I moved to SSE Retail as a Management Information (MI) Data and Reporting Analyst. I looked after the retail key performance indicators (KPIs) for the retail side of SSE. This involved creating dashboards and offering insight into how metrics were connected across the business. I really enjoyed this role. In my early stages of pregnancy, I moved on secondment to Team Leader for this team. This meant working with more senior management around the analytical needs and KPI’s for the team to report on, as well as ensuring all the work was to our high standards.
I returned from maternity leave to the same team, but the role had changed. I was no longer on secondment, and the way the team worked had changed. I no longer enjoyed the role, so in October 2020 I applied on loan to become a People Transformation Analyst and I was successful. At this point SSE and OVO Energy were merging, so there were lots of redundancies being made. I joined the central team to support the merge. This involved aligning HR policies, reviewing redundancy spending, cost modelling, and agile reporting. This opportunity allowed me to lead on several projects as I was working independently.
In August 2021, I returned to my old team and, whilst on maternity leave, I was made redundant. I started to look for a new job, and I applied to the Civil Service as a Workforce Analyst (SEO grade) for the Analysis Function (AF). I joined the AF in November 2022, and my role involves analysing people data to build the AF Workforce Data Product and support the roll out and business as usual reporting of the Online Skills Tool, among other things. I love working in the Office for National Statistics as there are so many opportunities for personal development, which I never had in my previous roles. I have increased my knowledge in analytical systems outside of Excel and I have just enrolled onto a Data Science Graduate course. I hope to move into a Data Science role in the future.
The flowchart shows Samantha’s career progression from college to her current role as Workforce Analyst. It shows the step-by-step journey Samantha has taken to achieve her current grade and experience. Enlarge the flowchart.
I am currently looking at the people data we hold for the Analysis Function and how we can use that to improve our offering to members. This includes updating our Workforce Data Product which is an annual publication which identifies the size and shape of the Analysis Function by using data sources such as the Civil Service People Survey. I also work on the Online Skills Tool which helps us to understand where our skills gaps are.
By working in the Analysis Function I have gained a good understanding of the career opportunities available to me as an analyst in government. I want to complete my Data Science Graduate course and feel more confident using different software to support my role. I am open to lots of different opportunities, but I want to improve my knowledge and skills in Data Science before I think about promotion.
I am proud of the work I did when I was on loan to the HR team at OVO working on the redundancy reporting and cost modelling. It was a big thing for me, as it was the first big project which I managed and that had real world implications. I saw HR policies launch based on the work that I did. To do that on my own with no other analytical support and produce work which aligned the data from two companies was a big project which I am proud of.
My biggest challenge is balancing work with family life. After having children, I found the private sector was less flexible around juggling childcare and work commitments. I am glad I found a role in the Office for National Statistics where I can concentrate on my career and personal development whilst fitting it around my family life.
Samantha’s advice
Be confident in what you are capable of and never second guess yourself. Ignore the imposter syndrome voice in your head, as the chances are you know what you are doing — and if not, there’s always Google! Be confident in yourself and your knowledge.
This career story was published on Tuesday 1 August 2023.