Geospatial Analyst

This is a brilliant time to join RPA - our organisation is growing and we're at the heart of delivering the Government's agricultural transition and making a genuine difference to the health of our environment and rural economy. We continue to make year on year improvements in performance as we become a data and intelligence-led organisation, embedding our vision of customer excellence at every level and growing our reputation to make a difference every day. Our Data and innovation Business Area is a multidisciplinary team including Geospatial Analysts, Data Engineers and Architects, Data and Intelligence Analysts and a national Field Team. Together, we're in a unique position to use our specialist skills to work with the agricultural community to deliver big, impactful change, supporting high level environmental and animal welfare outcomes and the move towards net zero. This is a really exciting time to join our team as we grow and develop our ability to continuously analyse nationwide agricultural activity and provide agile, directed data and evidence-driven support to the farming community. We have clear values that we are embedding at every level in our organisation, improving engagement and innovating to be a more inclusive, supportive, and engaging employer. Our people own our values and bring them to life in everything we do. Recent new starters have talked glowingly about how supportive and caring their new colleagues are. We are proud of this culture; how open and approachable we are and our commitment to individual development, investing in the skills of our people and creating an environment in which everyone can flourish. Further details can be found at Rural Payments Agency - GOV.UK, As a Geospatial Analyst, you will use technology and data for policy development, intelligence gathering and mapping of the natural environment. You will be part of the Geospatial Team, responsible for overseeing and delivering a range of geomatics capabilities such as earth observation, the geospatial data supply chain, machine learning, spatial analytics and designing enterprise geospatial information products and solutions. This outstanding opportunity is directed towards a Geospatial Specialist with excellent technical knowledge of data science concepts and an interest in working within a fast paced, dynamic and motivated team environment. Successful applicants will be presented with a unique opportunity to work, develop and grow their skills within a geo-centric organisation. You will be part of an exciting and expanding business area to further develop and exploit data derived from a wide range of sources and multiple third-party suppliers. It is an excellent opportunity to get involved in strategic environmental programmes and business critical initiatives within central government. We've already embedded geospatial capabilities within our operational business processes. Working with our existing team, you will work on developing and exploiting these capabilities within enterprise scale business processes. You will get experience working with different teams across the agency and wider government, delivering projects, working with our supply chain and working in an exciting fast-growing business area. The successful candidate will undertake the role of HEO Geospatial Analyst in the Data and Innovation directorate focussed on supporting the update and the management of the spatial data. You will join a team of 20+ geospatial data specialists whose work includes ad-hoc data analysis, responding to data requests, managing/updating data within enterprise systems, remote sensing data acquisition/processing, creation of data products using machine learning, and subject matter expert input into system development. As a geospatial analyst you will work with non-geospatial data and geospatial data in all its forms using software and tools to carry out transformations and analysis to generate insights to support operations, project managers and policy makers. Focus will be on maintaining RPA's data holding, including ingestion of Aerial Photography, Ordnance Survey MasterMap and Environmental datasets and managing them through the release pipeline. This data is essential in the maintenance of our Rural Land Register and determining eligibility for RPA's schemes. This will also include managing internal Oracle databases, supporting the team's cloud data processing platform as well as an internal ArcGIS Server/Portal instances. The candidate will work collaboratively with RPA/Defra Release & Change managers, as well as with supplier DBAs, Linux Engineers and developers, to deploy and deliver change to internal and external facing applications. The role will combine several responsibilities, but the main ones will be:

• Becoming a subject matter expert on spatial data created and used by the organisation
• Ensuring business systems have access to latest geospatial intelligence from a wide variety of data sources and providers to support business decisions and policy development
• Provide consultancy and technical support to other areas of the organisation in relation to geospatial data and systems
• Contributing to system developments of geospatial applications and data products
• Recommending and executing modifications to GIS applications and processes to improve efficiency, reliability, and performance
• Responsible for producing analytical outputs that integrate spatial and georeferenced data from a range of sources to provide integrated geographical evidence to support business decisions and policies
• Responsible for ensuring geospatial analytical outputs are of a high quality and fit-for-purpose through the application of best practise, policies and standards for assurance and reporting of geospatial analytical outputs
• Assist with data preparation and loading within the enterprise systems
• Looking for opportunities to utilise their skills on existing and new data and processes to benefit Defra and RPA
• Participating in innovation and R&D with other Defra network agencies, support projects and develop workflows that use geomatics and remote sensing technologies, + A 750-word personal statement demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria detailed in the advert Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form. Sift Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the Personal Statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to interview. Interview If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on Strength based questions and the following behaviours: Changing and Improving, Communicating and Influencing and Delivering at Pace You will also be required to prepare and deliver a 10-minute presentation that will assess your experience. Further details regarding the presentation will be provided to candidates who are invited to interview. Interviews will take place week commencing 12 January 2026 Interviews will take place via MS Teams. Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application. However, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate, and based on your own personal experience. Submitting content that has been generated by AI or copied from others and presented as your own may be considered plagiarism. Applications found to contain such content may be withdrawn, and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please refer to our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. Location As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s) Where the location is 'National' the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both RPA's location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes. Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra Group organisation for this post may choose to remain in their current contractual location or may choose to change contractual location to one of those listed above. This should be discussed and agreed prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes. The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations. Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee. The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time. Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD., A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made. Childcare Vouchers Any move to RPA from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website. Near Miss Candidates Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in RPA which may be at a lower grade but have a potential skills match. Merit Lists Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order by location. Criminal Record Check If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out. In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. Internal Fraud Database Check Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment. A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Reasonable Adjustment If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. Complete the 'Assistance required' section in the 'Additional requirements' page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a Language Service Professional. Accessibility If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section. Visa Sponsorship Statement Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship. Feedback Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative. The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

You must be able to demonstrate the following skills and experience

• Applicants must either hold relevant degree or masters equivalent in Geography; Remote Sensing; Geographic Information Systems/Science or relevant land/IT discipline or have equivalent industry experience
• Strong geographical knowledge and an interest in spatial data analysis
• Ability to apply geospatial knowledge to analyse complex spatial, imagery and data model problems
• Ability to quickly identify key issues from complex information, separating essential from non-essential and producing workable solutions
• GIS software skills, including cartographic presentation techniques, geodatabases and geoprocessing techniques
• Experience of working with database/spatial database management systems such as Oracle Spatial or Postgres/PostGIS and ETL tools such as Safe FME
• Use of ArcGIS and QGIS or other industry standard software, + Changing and Improving
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Alongside your salary of £34,765, Rural Payments Agency contributes £10,071 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%, New entrants are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.