Data Scientist Department for Work & Pensions

Job description

DWP. Digital with Purpose.

• Are you a problem solver who is creative with data?
• Do you have skills in open source technologies or Python/R programming?
• Do you love to get your teeth into complex unstructured data?
• And are you ready to be part of an epic digital transformation? Then look no further, we’d love to hear from you!

This is an excellent opportunity in our Data & Analytics, Universal Credit Service Design team. We’re looking for emerging Data Scientists to join our Service Design team and work on this flagship project.

On Universal Credit we use data analysis to prevent and detect fraud and error in our benefits system including serious organised crime, and to shape and optimise digital products and services used by millions of people.

It’s a role with huge opportunity for development and exposure. You’ll work alongside and share knowledge with brilliant, talented Senior and Lead Data Scientists as part of a community of data experts, and with talent digital practitioners from a variety of backgrounds

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📽Watch the video to find out what Daniel enjoys about being a #DataScientist in DWP Digital.#DataScience #BigData pic.twitter.com/M2M3O5iGfz

— DWP Digital Jobs (@DWPDigitalJobs) February 8, 2019

Data. Work. Projects.

We’re looking a service design-focused Data Scientist to work on our Universal Credit team.

You will be responsible for studying user behaviour, strategic initiatives, and new product features to bring data-driven insights and recommendations into every decision we make. Above all, your work will directly impact the way the Universal Credit digital service is designed, developed and delivered.

As the Universal Credit service grows, it will scale to provide services to 7 million claimants. It will be used daily by thousands of DWP employees and third parties at DWP service and job centres across the country. It is big.

DWP is undergoing a major digital transformation programme and data science has a critical role to play; facilitating better design of our services, and making them more personalised to individual circumstances, and making big shifts in our effectiveness and efficiency.

You are a self-starter who is motivated by using impactful and creative applications of data science to deliver to user needs.

You’re interested in wider Data Science trends, best practice and emerging technologies. You’ll help us be better, actively participating in the wider capability development of Data Science in DWP through code sharing or ‘show and tells’ (via collaboration tools or presentations).

What skills, knowledge and experience are we looking for?

You’ll have the skills and experience required to:

• Own specific data science ‘projects’ (e.g. experiments or new capability); identifying a business need, data gathering, requirements specification, determining the best tools, data and techniques, executing analysis and presentations
• Engage with cross-functional multi-disciplinary teams. You’ll work with product owners, business analysts, user researchers, designers and developers to elicit the underlying causes of business problems and inefficiencies and support their design objectives with insights.
• Use a range of coding practices to build scalable data products for a range of users within a technology context (e.g. big data, unstructured, cloud).
• Use Agile techniques and work as part of a delivery team.
• Prototype and/or iterate data analytics that find potential opportunities or problem behaviours previously
• Create rapid prototypes of data-driven tools that test hypotheses with stakeholders and end users
• Create and validate machine learning models that can be deployed within digital applications
• Share key findings with a range of technical and non-technical stakeholders, utilising interactive visualisation techniques effectively
• Understand the ethical considerations of potential data science approaches, and the legislation applicable in this area, i.e. GDPR, DPA etc
• Stay aware of existing Government and other frameworks, and ensure work adheres to key privacy, security and data protection principles.

It’s also great if you have the following:

• A Maths/ Statistics/Science background
• Experience working in a product analytics or insight role, ideally with digital products or services
• Ability to tackle challenging problems that are often unknown or very loosely defined, with a passion and curiosity to ask great questions to truly understand what’s going on, and experience translating analysis into actionable recommendations

Where you’ll work

You’ll join us in one of our easy-to-reach digital hubs in either Leeds or Manchester.

Find out more here: https://careers.dwp.gov.uk/our-locations/

We also have all the tech and tools we need to work flexibly. Many of us are working at home at present due to Covid-19.

DWP is the UK’s biggest government department with over 80,000 diverse and brilliant people on our team.

We are an equal opportunity employer and we welcome applications regardless of age, disability, gender, race or sexuality.

Details. Wages. Perks.

In return for your skills we offer competitive salary up to £50,938 per annum, a brilliant civil service pension, and a generous leave package.

We also have a broad benefits package built around your work-life balance which includes:

• Flexible working
• Family friendly policies
• Volunteering and charitable giving
• Discounts and savings on shopping, fun days out and more
• Interest-free loans to buy a bike or a season ticket, so it’s even easier for you to get to work and start making a difference
• Sports and social activities
• Learning and development tailored to your career

APPLY
Click apply to start an application on civil service jobs. For further information click apply or contact tia.nicholas@dwp.gov.uk

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