Vacancy: National Statistician’s Economic Statistics Classifications Technical Advisory Panel Chair

The closing date for applications is 20 February 2026 at 23:55pm

We are looking to appoint a Chair to the National Statistician’s Economic Statistics Classifications (ESC) Technical Advisory Panel (TAP, hereafter referred to as the Panel). If successful in your application, you will provide independent advice to the National Statistician and the Deputy National Statistician for Economic Statistics on the sector classification of UK institutional units, assets, transactions and schemes to ensure that these classification decisions are made impartially and in accordance with international statistical guidance.

About the National Statistician’s Economic Statistics Classifications Technical Advisory Panel

The establishment of the Panel is an important step towards ensuring there are robust arrangements and structures in place for the Economic Statistics Classifications Committee (ESCC) to access technical advice. This will typically relate to the statistical treatment of units, assets, and transactions and schemes in the UK National Accounts, where these are considered by the ONS ESCC or the ESCC secretariat to be:

• innovative, for example where the ESCC has not previously reviewed similar cases or it is anticipated to set a precedent for future cases;
• fiscally impactful on economic statistics produced by ONS;
• complex, for example where the balance of varied pieces of statistical guidance must be considered.

This excludes policy proposals or institutional units which are not yet operational.

The Chair and all Members of the Panel, except the Director of Macroeconomic and Environment Statistics and Analysis, will be independent of the existing ESCC. The advice provided by the Panel will support the accurate compilation by ONS of a suite of economic and fiscal statistics.

The advice provided by the Panel is expected to be made within a maximum of two meetings, even if this means the advice must be appropriately caveated. It is envisaged that the Panel will meet two to four times per year. Meetings will have flexibility to follow a hybrid approach, although the committee may, on occasion, meet all in person with a venue provided at a relevant ONS site for those attending.

Role specification

The Chair of the Panel will be an independent and trusted expert, with experience and skills which include, but are not limited to, expertise in:

• international guidance relating to the National Accounts or Government Finance Statistics (for example, the United Nations System of National Accounts 2008, the European System of Accounts 2010 and the accompanying Manual on Government Deficit and Debt 2022);
• how Economic Statistics Classification decisions are or have been reached in other National Statistics Institutes;
• the UK National Accounts (including where this relates to the field of academia);
• statistical application of Economic Statistics Classifications decisions.

The role of the Chair will include agreeing the Panel’s agenda, guided by the ESCC Secretariat.  The chair will also occasionally be required to attend National Statistician’s Committee for Advice on Standards for Economic Statistics (NSCASE) meetings to represent the Panel where there is a relevant agenda item, as determined by the NSCASE Secretariat. Shortly after taking up the appointment the Chair will participate in the appointment of Members.

Responsibilities

The Chair of the Panel will have the following responsibilities:

• to ensure all classification matters brought to the Panel are discussed fully, impartially, fairly, and in the context of internationally agreed and adopted guidance and principles;
• to set out clear aims, guide the discussion and keep the Panel focussed on the topic, welcoming relevant contributions, and discouraging off-topic discussions, whilst managing time effectively within a hybrid meeting environment;
• to provide expertise on relevant aspects of new, innovative, or complex classification matters, which could have a large fiscal impact on headline UK fiscal statistics;
• to provide advice in relation to the statistical classification of institutional units, assets or transactions and schemes using evidence from agreed and adopted international statistical guidance;
• to summarise key advice outcomes and set out any further actions with clear deadlines and expectations, including next steps following meetings of the Panel.

Essential criteria

The Chair of the Panel will have the following essential criteria:

• a strong background as either a producer or user of official statistics, particularly in the economic domain;
• a good working knowledge of the use of official statistics and the UK statistical system;
• strong leadership skills, with evidence of chairing meetings and having provided visible leadership to a comparable organisation or committee;
• strong strategic skills, including the ability to analyse complex issues and to think clearly, strategically, and laterally, extracting relevant evidence from papers and other documents
• team working and collaboration skills, including an ability to work with other members and to facilitate robust debate, challenging constructively the opinions of others, and working to achieve a shared consensus;
• influencing and communication skills, including an ability to develop and maintain relationships with all stakeholders

Conflicts of interest and consideration of reputational issues

Holders of public office are expected to adhere and uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles) and the Code of Conduct for Board Members of Public Bodies. Before you apply you should consider carefully:

• any outside interests that you may have, which could be affected by access to sensitive information;
• any possible reputational issues arising from your past actions or public statements that you have made;
• and/or any political roles you hold or political campaigns you have supported;

which may call into question your ability to do the role you are applying for.

Many conflicts of interest can be satisfactorily resolved, and declaring a potential conflict does not prevent you from being considered. If you are shortlisted, we will discuss any interests that would be likely to conflict with your responsibilities as Chair of the Panel, including any proposals you may have to mitigate them. Please declare any potential conflict of interest as early as possible in the selection process and disclose information or personal connections that might, if successful, be open to misperception.

Details of declared political activity will be published when the appointment is announced, as required by the Governance Code (political activity is not a bar to appointment but must be declared).

Security clearance

The successful candidate will be required to sign a confidentiality undertaking and conflict of interest form and undertake Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks in line with the Civil Service guidelines. Further information on National Security Vetting can be found on the Gov.uk website.

Period of appointment

The Chair and each Member is appointed for a fixed term of three years. Reappointments will be permitted.

Renumeration

The Chair and Members will not be remunerated, but reasonable travel costs and subsistence will be reimbursed in line with the UK Statistics Authority Travel and Expenses Policy.