Statistician : Employers and vacancy sources

The Government Statistical Service (GSS) is the biggest recruiter of statisticians in the UK with over 1,400 staff in the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and around 30 government departments across the country. Corresponding opportunities are offered in many branches of local government and government agencies, particularly dealing with performance data and resourcing.

The manufacturing and service sectors are also significant employers of statisticians. Other employers of statisticians include higher education institutions, operational and scientific research establishments, the National Health Service (NHS) (see NHS Careers ), pharmaceutical companies, market research companies, investment companies, insurance companies, private consultancies and banks.

Examples of specific employers of statisticians include:

• national bodies such as Office of Communications (Ofcom) and the Scottish Government
• public sector research organisations such as the Health Protection Agency (HPA)
• research councils and institutes such as the Medical Research Council (MRC)
• international bodies such as Eurostat
• medical bodies including cancer registries, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) , Information and Statistics Division Scotland (ISD) , medical schools within universities and primary care trusts of the NHS (see Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland (DHSSPS) , NHS Health Scotland  and NHS Careers );
• pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer and AstraZeneca;
• industrial companies such as BT and Unilever;
• commercial companies such as Scottish Widows, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Tesco.

Sources of vacancies

• ALLSTAT Mailing List
• Institute of Clinical Research (ICR)
• RSS News
• Health Service Journal
• Office for National Statistics (ONS)
• New Scientist Jobs  
• PharmiWeb
• The Supply Curve
• Times Educational Supplement (TES)
• Eduserv Vacancies
• University and college of higher education vacancy bulletins.

Recruitment agencies such as Datatech Search and Selection and Access-ScienceJobs sometimes handle vacancies.

Get tips on job hunting, CVs and covering letters and interviews.