Principal Private Office Analyst

The Department for Work and Pensions is recruiting for the role of the Principal Private Office Analyst (PPOA) to the Secretary of State (SoS) for Work and Pensions. The PPOA is responsible for advising the SoS on some of the most critical policy areas of this Governments priorities.

DWP is the UKs biggest public service department, and administers the state pension, a range of working age, disability, and ill health benefits to around 22 million claimants and customers. What we do matters to millions of people every day.

This is an analyst job and so candidates must meet the eligibility requirements set out in the Essential Qualifications sections of the candidate pack; which is either to be a member of one of the following professional bodies Government Economic Service (GES), Government Operational Research Service (GORS), Government Social Research (GSR) or Government Statistician Group (GSG) or have the required qualifications to become a member of one of these professions. Knowledge will be tested at interview.

If you are not already a badged member of GES, GORS, GSR or GSG, you must apply through one of these professions and meet its eligibility and professional assessment requirements. Successful candidates will be badged into their chosen profession as a condition of appointment.

Please check you are eligible and follow the instructions on the Essential Qualifications section of the candidate pack when completing your application form. When completing the additional questions at the end of the application form, ensure that you only state one of the professions that you wish to align with. If multiple professions are stated or it is not clear which profession you are applying under then your application will be withdrawn.

If you meet the eligibility requirements you should then provide evidence against the Essential Experience Criteria listed in the Person Specification section of this job advert.

The analyst community in DWP operates a Managed Moves system. Given the nature of this role, the successful candidate will not be able to opt in to the Managed Moves until a) they have been in this post at least two years and b) there are surplus Managed Moves roles available.

This is a unique role where the post holder will directly support the SoS to progress their priorities and regularly interact with Ministers, Special Advisers and senior officials. This is a fast-moving, dynamic and, at times, challenging environment in which to navigate complex issues at the highest level. The post-holder will be an excellent leader; demonstrate a high degree of political acumen, curiosity to identify and produce helpful work; and an outstanding communicator.

The post-holder will also be a key part of the Private Office senior management team, and will manage one junior analyst.

In this role, the Principal Private Office Analyst is responsible for:

• Being the main analytical point of contact in Private Office for all analysts within DWP. This requires regular engagement with senior analysts and subject experts across the Department.
• Leading analytical support to the Secretary of State and Ministers on a range of analytical questions to support their decision making and parliamentary activity. This includes co-ordinating cross-cutting analytical commissions which span across DWP.
• Leading analytical support to prepare analytical and statistical briefings for the Secretary of State, Ministers and senior officials for appearances in Parliament (DWP Orals, debates, speeches) and Select Committees.
• Oversight and quality assurance of all analytical work, including briefing for Ministers, and any ad-hoc analysis the team produces.
• Supporting briefing to Ministers and press office on Official Statistics.
• Leading, managing and developing a team within the Private Office structure to ensure the Ministerial team receive the highest level of service

The successful applicant will need to demonstrate sound and sensitive political awareness; robust analytical skills and a strong understanding of the policy-making process.

Excellent analytical, communication and stakeholder engagement skills are required for this role, as well as an ability to thrive and remain resilient in a high-pressure environment.

Essential Criteria 

If you meet the eligibility requirements, then you will be asked to provide a 750-word personal statement. This statement should highlight your experience in line with the criteria below:

• Strong analytical leadership, including the ability to engage others, lead and quality assure analytical work, and maximise the value and impact of analysis in supporting senior decision-making. (Lead Criterion)

• Political awareness and experience of working with Ministers or in a Private Office style environment; 

• An ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with others, building strong networks to deliver, often to short deadlines and to achieve common goals;

• Excellent analytical skills to lead, quality assure and effectively disseminate high quality, complex analysis;
• Strong communication skills to influence a wide range of stakeholders to inform decision making;
• Excellent organisational, time management and planning skills, being able to prioritise and multi-task.

If there are a high number of applications, the lead Experience Essential Criterion may be used to conduct an initial sift and applications that do not meet the minimum requirement for this criterion will not progress to a full sift.

It may be necessary to work long hours, especially when Parliament is sitting.

The successful candidate will be based in the office (Caxton House, London) and is full time only. You will be expected to be in the office Monday-Thursday as a minimum.

Please note this role will initially be based at Caxton House and then move to Sanctuary House by early 2027.

In the event of a large number of candidates meeting the pass standard at sift, then only the strongest candidates will proceed to interview.

Qualifications

Essential Qualifications

In order to be eligible to apply for these posts you must either be:

A current, permanent, badged member of one of the following four Government analytical professions: Government Economic Service, Government Operational Research Service, Government Statistician Group or Government Social Research Service.

OR

Hold the qualifications to become a badged member of the Government Economic Service, Government Operational Research Service, Government Statistician Group or Government Social Research Service.

Full details of the qualifications required for candidates who are not already badged members of one of the analytical professions listed are provided in the candidate pack. The qualification requirements are different for each of the four professions and you will be asked which profession you wish to align with as part of the application process. If successful in the recruitment exercise you will be badged into that profession. You must provide sufficient detail on the qualifications required and already hold the required qualifications, otherwise your application will not be sifted.

If you are applying as a current, permanent, badged member then you must say yes to having the qualifications required and state this in the additional questions section of the application form. You may be asked to provide proof of membership and we will verify this in the recruitment process with the relevant Government professional body. If membership is not verified then you will be withdrawn immediately from the recruitment round.