Role profile: statistician

Statisticians work in government as analysts and producers of official statistics. In some cases they also work as data scientists. In all of their job roles they use their recognised professional standards to ensure the quality and integrity of their work.

You can find more guidance about the role of a statistician in the Government Statistician Group (GSG) competency framework.

You can also find more information about career progression in the GSG by reading the career framework for GSG members. This framework explains the job grades members of the Government Statistician Group (GSG) can progress through during a career as a government statistician or data scientist, and how they will be assessed.  It also gives tips on how to develop skills.

The GSG profession works within the Government Statistical Service (GSS). The GSS is the community for all civil servants working in the collection, production and communication of official statistics.

Typical role responsibilities

The role responsibilities for statisticians are different depending on the level of the role.

Placement students and statistical officers

Placement students are sandwich course students who take an academic year away from university to work in the role of a government statistician. They work in this role for 12 months. The aim of a placement student is to take on a job role that is at a comparable level to a statistical officer. Statisticians at this level can expect to:

• be supervised by more senior statisticians or data scientists
• be responsible for their own work
• contribute to statistical or data science production
• gain experience of working within a statistical or data science role using formal statistical qualifications gained from previous education or experience
• develop strong working knowledge of tools and methods

Higher statistical officer

At this level you will:

• be responsible for aspects of statistical production or data science projects
• be able to communicate and champion statistics or data scientists in your own area of work
• continue to develop their technical skills

You may also be responsible for managing junior grades, including non-analysts.

Senior statistical officer

At this level you will:

• be responsible for multiple aspects of statistical production or data science analytical projects
• develop your expertise in technical skills through further training and qualifications

You may also be responsible for managing teams of analysts and non-analysts.

Principal statistician

At this level you will:

• be the head of statistical or data science teams
• be responsible for statistical production and data science production, or the areas where these outputs are produced
• often be regarded as a topic expert
• champion your topic area, and your team’s work
• develop your expertise in technical skills through further training and qualifications

Senior principal statistician

At this level you will:

• be head of multiple statistical or data science teams
• be responsible for whole programs of statistical and data science work
• have an overview of the statistical, data and political environment
• be a champion for the use of statistics and data science across government

Sample career path

The statistician career path shows some of the common entry and exit points for the role. It also shows the typical skill levels needed.

You can enter a statistician role from another analytical profession, or from other professions. You can also exit the role to join another profession.

The diagram shows a potential career path. It shows that you can enter or leave a role from a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels. For example, you could become a statistician by developing your skills in a statistical officer role. You could continue to move up the levels in the career path by taking on more senior statistical roles. Or you could develop your skills by working in a technical specialist role in an analytical or digital profession. You could also develop the necessary skills by working in a profession agnostic role outside of these professions.

Beyond the chief statistician role, you could go into more senior leadership roles. These roles require broader analytical understanding, and the ability to lead multi-disciplinary teams.