Phase Readiness Manager (Census)

Job title: Phase Readiness Manager (Census)

Business area / directorate: NRS

Location: Generlal Register House, Edinburgh

Working arrangement: Our standard hours are 35 hours per week, and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role, including Flexi-leave. Candidates should note that office attendance will be needed at points in particular for collaboration sessions but there is currently no fixed set days in addition there may be occasional travel to other UK agencies. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Grade: C1

Advert Type: Temporary promotion or level transfer

Duration: 12 months

Eligibility: Expressions of interest are welcomed from eligible staff in bands a-c for this vacancy.

Sponsorship: Skilled worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require skilled worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

Job description

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.

This role provides the Programme Director and Programme Manager with internal assurance of delivery readiness for key Census phases. You will help ensure each phase is cohesive, aligned and ready to proceed by bringing together insights on risks, dependencies and progress across teams. Working alongside delivery teams (digital, operations and statistics), while remaining independent of them, you will provide objective challenge, clear analysis and confidence to decision-makers. You will maintain an end-to-end view of readiness, driving alignment across services, operational delivery, technology and external partners.

As Census phases are delivered in close collaboration with UK partners (ONS and NISRA), a key aspect of the role will be ensuring readiness is aligned across all organisations.

Responsibilities

Key duties for the role include :

• Build a joined-up view of phase readiness, highlighting risks and confidence levels

• Support the definition and application of clear readiness criteria aligned with programme governance and ONS, and assess delivery against these criteria

• Identify gaps, dependencies or misalignment across teams and partners

• Provide constructive challenge and advice to strengthen readiness

• Produce clear, evidence-based reporting to support governance decisions, including go/no-go recommendations

• Proactively identify emerging risks to phase readiness and ensure early visibility

• Ensure key assurance activities, impact assessments and strategies are coordinated and complete across the phase

• Help capture and apply lessons learned between phases

• Maintain alignment between business case intent, delivery outputs and readiness ("golden thread")

• Assess the impact of changes and decisions on overall phase readiness, ensuring downstream risks are understood