Data Scientist

Ready to transform UK public services through data and drive key government decisions? Billions in public funds depend on data for efficiency and value, yet fragmented systems and poor data quality hinder insight. As a Data Scientist, you will modernise analytics infrastructure and deliver actionable insights across the Government Commercial Function (GCF) and Government Grants Management Function (GGMF). You will empower leaders, contracting authorities, and citizens to guide £160bn in grants and £400bn in procurement spend, ensuring transparency, value for money, and improved public services., The Data Scientist sits within Data & Analytical Services, within our Reporting & Analytics Pillar. Our team exists to drive grants and commercial data transformation and deliver analytical solutions to internal teams, contracting authorities and citizens, enabling better decision-making and enhancing public transparency. We foster a supportive culture focused on innovation, professional growth, and technical expertise. Recent achievements include delivering new search capabilities within Find a Tender Service, developing new internal dashboards and measuring the impact of functional initiatives., * Project Leadership: Leading data science projects by drawing on technical and analytical standards from across Government and industry;

• Analysis & Insights: Scoping and leading proactive analysis and technical tasks on priority areas, creating data science products which achieve significant impact;
• Data Services & Pipelines: Working with our digital team to map, produce, transform and test new data services, drawing on the most appropriate tools and techniques.
• Analytics Products: Developing new analytics products to provide deeper insights to senior stakeholders based on a broad range of data sets;
• Technical Expertise & Innovation: Providing technical expertise on how data science techniques can be used to drive more value from our data, and support the team in adopting innovative approaches and infrastructure;

• Automation & Efficiency: Developing and automating processes to drive greater efficiency in analytical processes, and enabling the retirement of legacy products and infrastructure.

• Ad-Hoc Delivery: Lead ad-hoc analytical projects to support strategic priorities;
• Quality Assurance & Communication: Ensure that analysis is robust and communicated effectively., GCA operates a smarter working model that balances flexibility with collaboration. Successful candidates are expected to spend at least 26 days per quarter (approximately 2 days per week, pro-rata) at their contracted office, another GCA site, or off-site for meetings. For the remainder of the time, you may work from home or another suitable location that meets business needs.

• Qualification. Degree of minimum 2:1 in a numerate subject.
• Applied maths, statistics and data science. Proven capability to apply quantitative techniques (e.g. time series analysis, machine learning, natural language processing) and statistical tools to discover insights, build data science solutions, and support organisational decision-making.
• Data engineering, programming, and build. Ability to write complex scripts (e.g. Python, R), apply testing methodologies, deploy code, and collaborate with data engineers and data analysts to design and deliver products.
• Data ethics, privacy, and governance. Skilled in identifying and addressing ethical and privacy concerns, assessing policies, and ensuring compliance within the wider organisational context.
• Delivering business impact and product delivery. Strong understanding of Agile/Waterfall delivery methods, defining minimum viable products, building data science capability, and communicating insights effectively to diverse stakeholders., * Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

Technical

• Applied maths, statistics and scientific practices - Lead success profile
• Programming and build
• Delivering business impact

• Competitive salary
• Generous pension scheme
• A discretionary non-contractual performance related bonus
• Working remotely in addition to working in advertised office location
• Flexi time scheme (available for B1-B6)
• Minimum 25 days annual leave to a maximum service related 30 days excluding bank holidays

Want to make a difference? Find out more about the rewarding work that we do in our candidate pack.

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 and the Civil Service D&I Strategy.