Data Scientist

Job title – Data Scientist

Profession– Data & Analytics

Directorate – Data Analytics & Surveillance

Full Time equivalent – 37.5 hours

No of Roles 4

Contract Type – Permanent

Location

UKHSA offices are located across the country, with large hubs in London and Leeds. There are many homeworkers within the organisation, but all staff will be required to attend the office on occasion.  The balance between home and workplace working is to be agreed with the line manager, determined primarily by business needs and in line with departmental policy.

Working Pattern – Full Time / Part Time / Flexible Working / Hybrid Working

Grade & Salary – Grade HEO. National banding – £29,160  – £35,612 per annum. Outer London £31,070 – £37,829 per annum. Inner London £32,978 – £39,691 per annum.

New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band.

The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.

For further details please refer to the Information Sheet- Starting Salaries & Benefits attachment

This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&Cs are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/.

Closing Date – 16/08/2023

Technical Assessment – 29TH-31ST August 2023

Interview Date – Week Commencing 11th September  2023

Job Overview

These pivotal roles are within the Data Analytics and Surveillance (DAS) Group, which consists of a large community of data scientists, government analysts (GSG, GORS, GES, GSR), mathematical modellers, epidemiologists, information specialists and data engineers. This is a unique opportunity to help provide crucial information and insight to support the management of high-profile health incidents such as MPOX, Hepatitis, Influenza, Strep A and COVID-19 as well as other threats to health security.

UKHSA has a strong data science community with learning opportunities, community groups and hackathon events. We predominantly code in Python and R and utilise AWS and Azure based cloud environments. The teams use Agile ways of working including software such as Confluence and Jira to manage delivery.  We will shortly see the delivery of our Enterprise Data and Analytics Platform (EDAP). This will be enriched with curated, consistent, and high-quality data from existing platforms as well as providing access to a range of analytical tooling.

We have several interesting and varied data science roles (more details in detailed description):

A data scientist will work independently and have a good or developing understanding of a range of topics, including data science techniques, delivery methods and stages (such as minimal viable products), tools and technologies. At this role level, you will:

• Work with more senior data scientists to develop problem solutions using a range of data science techniques, whilst understanding any ethical considerations
• Understand the role and benefits of data science within the organisation
• Support capability building within the organisation
• Collaborate with others to develop data science solutions and outputs supporting the organisation
• Prepare and manipulate data, and perform analytics
• Present and communicate effectively

The successful candidates will:

• Support the delivery of strands of data science work to a high standard, sometimes being required to meeting challenging deadlines
• Build strong relationships both within and outside the team, encouraging joined up work both within own team and across groups
• Have good written and verbal communication skills, being able to tailor communications appropriately for a range of audiences including scoping projects and communicating the results of analysis to senior stakeholders and decision makers
• Experience of Python and/or R and SQL databases.
• Have an understanding of mathematical and statistical approaches that are applied to use cases to derive tangible insights and benefit for the organisation
• Demonstrate awareness of software best practice such as writing functions, modular code and using git-based version control systems

The following skills are advantageous for certain roles:

• Experience of producing analytical products (e.g., software packages, automated reports, dynamic visualizations/dashboards) for decision making
• Experience of testing code and code refactoring to reduce computational timing/required resources
• Experience in utilising a range of data sources (clinical, epidemiological environmental and socio-economic data) to support efficient management of public health incident response and for research purposes including engaging with data owners, automating bespoke pipelines, and querying and linking data
• Sound experience of a range of mathematical and statistical approaches including Generative Additive Models, Bayesian models and Agent-Based Models

It is expected that after a short period in post you be able to demonstrate the Data Scientist role in the Digital Data and technology (DDAT) framework. Please see more details at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/data-scientist#data-scientist

Qualifications required

Candidates will need at least one of the following:

• A first- or second-class honours degree in a numerate discipline, computer science or IT equivalent which demonstrates core statistical skills;
  •A higher degree, e.g., an MSc or PhD, in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics (this is not a definitive list)
  •Have worked in a statistical/data science field and are able to demonstrate continuous professional development in statistics/data science at the same level as a foundation degree/HND (Level 5)

Detailed job description

The roles are in the following areas:

Advanced Analytics – Harness interdisciplinary analytical methods, tools and products which can rapidly be deployed to deliver policy relevant insight to support health security, partnering effectively and flexibly with a diverse range of stakeholders. Example methods include regression techniques, visualisation, network modelling, and natural language processing. 

Health Analytics and Automation – Leading on the delivery of key products to support incident response and the routine surveillance of health conditions and infectious diseases. Work across teams and directorates in identifying and developing opportunities for product automation and reproducible analyses (includes the automation of epidemiological and statistical models). A background of working with clinical or epidemiological data would be advantageous.

Security clearance level requirement

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.

People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.

Working for our organisation

We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, where Everyone Matters promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.

UKHSA ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all.

• 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 average employer contribution of 27%

Job contact :

• Name : sophie rigney
• Email : sophie.rigney@reed.com

Recruitment team

• Email : hradmin@phe.gov.uk