Principal Data Scientist (Spending Review Coordinator)

Discover a career in your hands at HMRC. Whether you're seeking purpose, growth, or a workplace that gives you a true sense of belonging, hear from some of our employees as they share their story about what it’s really like to work at HMRC., The Principal Data Scientist (Spending Review Coordinator) role is central to advancing HMRC’s data-driven approach to solving business challenges and developing analytical capability. The postholder will lead the delivery of innovative analytical projects, working with multidisciplinary teams to support them in generating actionable insights. These insights will inform decision-making, improve operational processes, and support HMRC’s strategic objectives.

A key aspect of the role is to foster a culture of continuous learning and professional development across the data and analysis workforce. The postholder will design and implement learning pathways, build and sustain a vibrant community of practice, and ensure that colleagues have the skills and support needed to excel in their roles.

The successful candidate will champion the adoption of new analytical techniques and technologies, promote best practice, and drive the transition of successful solutions into live operational use. Through effective stakeholder engagement and clear communication, the role will maximise the impact of data science across the organisation.

Person specification

Technical Project Delivery

• Direct multidisciplinary teams to deliver impactful solutions using advanced analytics, machine learning, and data engineering.
• Manage the full project lifecycle—from problem definition and data acquisition through to model development, deployment, and monitoring.
• Ensure robust data governance, reproducibility, and ethical use of data.
• Champion modern tools, platforms, and best practices to foster innovation and continuous improvement.
• Translate technical concepts into actionable insights for stakeholders, enabling data-driven decisions.
• Collaborate across technical and non-technical teams to embed data science solutions into operational processes.

Learning & Capability Development

• Provide leadership for learning and capability development across all analytical roles.
• Design inclusive learning pathways supporting career progression from entry-level to expert.
• Build communities of practice and facilitate knowledge sharing across disciplines.
• Partner with profession leads and senior stakeholders to align skills development with organisational priorities.
• Curate communication channels to promote engagement and share best practice.
• Monitor and evaluate learning initiatives to drive continuous improvement., We want to make sure no one is put at a disadvantage during our recruitment process. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate., HMRC has a presence in every region of the UK. For more information on where you might be working, review this information on our locations.

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expects all candidates to abide by these principles. The evidence you provide in your application must relate to your own experiences.

Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant application(s) will be withdrawn from the process.

Recording of interviews is prohibited unless explicit agreement is sought in line with the UK General Data Protection Regulations.

Questions relating to an individual application must be emailed as detailed later in this advert.

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.

New entrants will join on the minimum of the pay band.

Please note that, if you are applying for roles on a part-time basis, the salary agreed will be pro-rata, reflective of the working hours agreed within your contract.

If you experience accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.

For more Information for people applying for, or thinking of applying for, roles at HM Revenue and Customs, please see link: Working for HMRC: information for applicants - GOV.UK. Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment., * 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)
• 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

Do you have experience in Quality assurance?, Are you inquisitive, innovative, and passionate about solving complex problems? Do you thrive in a collaborative environment and excel at building strong relationships? If so, joining HMRC’s Data Science team as a Principal Data Scientist (Spending Review Coordinator) could be your next big step., * Proven leadership in the delivery of large data, analytics, or data science enterprise projects, with good understanding of advanced analytics, machine learning techniques, or data engineering principles.

• Understanding of data governance frameworks, reproducibility and quality assurance standards, and ethical use of data.
• Roadmap and planning expertise; comfortable setting direction, prioritising, and making quick, evidence based decisions.
• Stakeholder engagement across technical and non technical audiences; excellent written and verbal communication.
• Learning & development leadership: designing pathways, building communities, and enabling others’ growth., * Demonstrated ability to mentor, coach, or upskill colleagues in technical or analytical domains, especially through structured programmes or initiatives.
• Familiarity with contemporary data science tools, cloud platforms, and best practices for scalable solutions.
• Track record of fostering cross-functional or cross-profession collaboration, particularly between different analytical or technical communities.
• Experience introducing or scaling new technologies, tools, or methodologies within a large or complex organisation.
• Involvement in developing or contributing to professional standards, frameworks, or communities of practice within data, analytics, or technology., Customer facing roles in HMRC require the ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English and/or Welsh where required. Where this is an essential requirement, this will be tested as part of the selection process., Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

£58,541 - £64,624 You may also be eligible for an additional non-pensionable allowance with a value of up to £12,000 based on a Capability and Skills Assessment. A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% GBP, Alongside your salary of £58,541, HM Revenue and Customs contributes £16,959 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

HMRC operates both Flexible and Hybrid Working policies, allowing you to balance your work and personal commitments. We welcome applications from those who need to work a more flexible arrangement and will agree to requests where possible, considering our operational and customer service needs.

We offer a generous leave allowance, starting at 25 days and increasing by a day for every year of qualifying service up to a maximum of 30 days.

• Pension - We make contributions to our colleagues’ Alpha pension equal to at least 28.97% of their salary.
• Family friendly policies.
• Personal support.
• Coaching and development.

HMRC is one of the most digitally advanced tax authorities in the world, operating one of the largest IT infrastructures and data sources in the UK. With 50 million customers, 60,000 colleagues, and £600 billion to collect, our data operation is vast and critical. This role offers a unique opportunity to lead cutting-edge data science initiatives that make a real impact on the UK public., HMRC is an office-based organisation, and colleagues are expected to spend 60% of their working time in the office. Our offices provide opportunity for interaction, collaboration which aids learning and development and a sense of community. Where the role allows it, and where the home environment is suitable, colleagues can work from home for up to 2 days a week, averaged over a calendar month (or a proportionate amount of time for colleagues who work less than full time)., Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. You have the right to complain if you feel there has been a breach of the Recruitment Principles. In the first instance, you should raise the matter directly via ubsrecruitmentcomplaints@hmrc.gov.uk. Please note that we do not accept complaints or appeals regarding scoring of outcomes of campaigns, unless candidates can provide clear evidence that the campaign did not follow the Recruitment Principles. If you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their website.   You must create an Indeed account before continuing to the company website to apply