Senior Operational Researcher/Analyst

The Homeland Security and Technical Analysis team provides evidence-based analytical advice across Government to inform decision making on the security of the UK’s Transport System and Critical National Infrastructure to combat the threat from terrorism.

We are looking for an experienced numerate analyst, to lead in the analysis of data and use of computer simulation models to assess the operational impact of making changes to security screening equipment & processes to inform both policy decisions and the prioritisation of future research.

Our analysis ranges from optimising the effectiveness of individual screening processes through to developing frameworks to capture a high level view of the relative effectiveness across a range of different systems to understand the overall security screening picture.

We are looking for people with experience of leading and delivering operational research/analysis to join our team and lead small project teams delivering analysis and advice to our customers. You will be responsible for the end to end leadership and delivery of the analysis (planning, management, execution and delivery). In particular, giving guidance and direction to junior members of the team and managing the quality of work delivered by suppliers to ensure a high quality output that meets our customer’s needs is delivered.

Dstl recognises the importance of diversity and inclusion as people from diverse backgrounds bring fresh ideas. We are committed to building an inclusive working environment in which each employee fulfils their potential and maximises their contribution.

We particularly welcome female and ethnic minority applicants and those from the LGBTQI community, as they are under-represented within Dstl at these levels.

In this role you will be:

•    Working with our customers to understand their requirements & develop solutions, typically working on 1-2 projects at a time;
•    Responsible for designing and developing the analytical approach/method for your work, incorporating new and innovative approaches where possible;
•    Responsible for providing guidance and direction on the development, acceptance and use of simulation models to junior analysts including collection of input data, model run cases, analysis and visualisation of model outputs/data;
•    Providing technical advice and direction to industrial and academic partners and suppliers, as required;
•    Exploring and visualising data to present its story in a meaningful way to technical and non-technical audiences;
•    Providing timely, impartial, evidence-based advice to customers to enable them to make informed decisions on future policy or procurement;
•    Producing and deliver presentations and reports summarising your analysis;
•    Developing your knowledge and understanding of defence and security challenges and issues;
•    Leading projects, being responsible for your team’s research and analysis and keeping customers and stakeholders informed of progress throughout the project

Important Information

Our work in defence, security and intelligence requires our employees to be UK Nationals who are able to gain a high level of security clearance to undertake the projects we are involved in to protect us from security threats. For this reason, only UK Nationals will be able to apply for this role. If you are an international or dual-national candidate, and you think you have the skills we need, please consider applying to any of our government, security or defence partners.

This role will require full UK security clearance and you should have resided in the UK for the past 5 years. For some roles Developed Vetting will also be required, in this case you should have resided in the UK for the past 10 years.

We are looking for someone who has skills and experience in the following areas:

•    Leadership of operational research/analysis projects, delivering evidence based advice to customers;
•    Development and use of analytical models and computer simulations to analyse the impact of making changes to a system;
•    The ability to understand and analyse the performance of a system or a capability, and how that could be measured;
•    Data science and quantitative analytical techniques to help understand, process and analyse raw data and outputs from simulations;
•    Data visualisation techniques to help present and communicate data and information to senior decision makers make better decisions;
•    Facilitation of workshops to capture customer and stakeholder needs.

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Managing a Quality Service
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Managing a Quality Service

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Analytical skills, including: Data Analysis and Modelling & Simulation.

Benefits 

Dstl’s full range of great benefits can be found in the information pack which includes:

• Financial: An excellent pension scheme starting from 26% employer contribution (find out more here). In Year Rewarding Achievement bonuses and thank you vouchers. Rental deposit scheme and cycle to work scheme.
• Flexible working: Working options include alternative working patterns, compressed hours, job shares and annualised hours
• Flexible working hours: Ability to bank hours in a 12 month reference period including the ability to accrue and use 3 days per calendar month.
• Annual leave: A generous annual leave allowance starting at 25 days pro rata (rising to 30 after 5 years) plus 8 public holidays with the ability to buy/sell 5 additional days per annum.
• Family: Maternity, adoption or shared parental leave of up to 26 weeks with full pay, an additional 13 weeks statutory pay and a further 13 weeks unpaid
• Learning and Development: Encouragement and support on charterships, accreditations and access to fully funded apprenticeships up to level 7 (Masters Degree). Paid memberships with 2 relevant bodies/institutions. Employees have access to Civil Service Learning.
• Facilities: Onsite parking, EV Charging points, restaurants, cafés and gyms.

The information pack can be found attached to the job specification on Civil Service Jobs.

Diversity 

We have a number of support networks to ensure all employees feel supported at work. These include the following:

• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Network
• Race, Faith and Culture Network
• Parents and Carer Support Network
• Alternative Working Network
• Gender Equality Network
• New Starters Network
• Enabled Network, for people with visible and non-visible disabilities.

For further information about Dstl please check out our LinkedIn page

This job is not open to candidates who hold a dual nationality.