Data Scientist/ AI Engineer- Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs-SEO
Government Digital & Data -
Data Scientist/ AI Engineer
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Apply before 11:55 pm on Friday 19th July 2024
Details
Reference number
360176
Salary
£39,439 - £47,039
National - £39,439 - £43,569 London - £42,577 - £47,039.
For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’.
A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
Job grade
Senior Executive Officer
Contract type
Permanent
Type of role
Architecture and Data
Working pattern
Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time
Number of jobs available
1
Contents
Location
This role can be based any Defra Office/Hub
About the job
Job summary
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is the UK government department responsible for safeguarding our natural environment, supporting our world-leading food and farming industry, and sustaining a thriving rural economy. Our broad remit means we play a major role in people's day-to-day life, from the food we eat, and the air we breathe, to the water we drink.
Portfolio Directorate
Portfolio Directorate is at the centre of Defra's work to deliver £30B+ of major projects that will benefit the environment, rural communities, agricultural producers and the UK public. You will play a critical role in supporting, enabling and delivering these projects by putting our customers, data and successful delivery at the centre of all that we do. And you'll be part of a diverse, friendly and fun team based across the UK.
Project Data Division is a new, nimble and multi-disciplinary group of data scientists and architects, analysts and service managers, project managers and subject matter experts with a mandate to transform how Defra does major project delivery.
While we sit within the Director General-lead Portfolio Delivery Group, we work across all of Defra’s £30B+ portfolio of major projects. From the £5.2B floods defences investment programme to the £500M English Tree Planting Programme, from a new animal and plant science capability for the UK to the implementation of the Windsor Framework in Northern Ireland, we are at the centre of some of the most exciting and impactful work in government.
Come join us to help put data at the heart of all we do!
Blended Working
Defra operates a blended working policy subject to business need, giving people the flexibility to choose when and where they work and collaborate with others.
Individuals are expected to work from one of the office locations stated in the advert to connect with their colleagues, as required by their role and business team needs. There is flexibility to split the working week, spending minimum of 60% in the workplace, unless exceptional circumstances apply and/or you are a contractual home worker.
Job description
You will implement improvements in how we collect, manage and exploit data across Defra’s major projects. We work with teams to improve the identification and exploitation of their critical data assets.
Your day-to-day work will be diverse. One day you could be scoping a new data architecture to improve the data quality within the business, another day you could be utilising modern analytical techniques to improve a business process.
You will be part of a small team of specialists. You will thrive in a fast-paced, changing and complex environment. You see opportunity in ambiguity, re-prioritise with relish, be agile in all that you do, fail and learn in the open, and ultimately get stuff done. You are a friendly and inspiring team player, a strong communicator, and comfortable operating with ambiguity and change. You will do so as part of a team that prides itself on being friendly, ambitious and fun.
We are:
- Data-centric, helping embed data in all areas and stages of project activity.
- Problem focused, thinking about, defining and collaborating to solve business problems with data.
- Capability obsessed, always working to learn and expand our own skills & capabilities.
Passionate about democratising data, making data a core part of everyone’s jobs.
Person specification
To do this, you’ll be an established analyst with a diverse skillset or a data scientist looking for their next challenge. You'll be joining at a critical time, with the chance to influence how data science shapes the department's impact in a still-evolving landscape. We have a vision for how data science can help shape the impact the department has, but we want you to be a part of shaping that vision.
Essential
Technical skills
- Programming Languages: Proficiency in languages such as Python and R for data analysis, statistical modelling, and machine learning. Knowledge of SQL for database management is also crucial.
- Statistical Analysis and Mathematical Skills: A strong foundation in statistics and mathematics to understand and apply various data analysis techniques.
- The ability to communicate technical concepts to non-technical audiences.
- Ability to approach problems analytically, eagerness to explore the depths of data science and engineering challenges.
- Motivated by the potential of your work to lead to significant, positive changes, driven to see projects from concept to impact.
Comfortable with ambiguity, ready to pivot as needed, and enthusiastic about exploring new methodologies in data science.
- Cloud Computing: Familiarity with cloud services (AWS, Google Cloud Platform, Azure) for data storage, computing, and machine learning services.
- Data Wrangling: Ability to clean, preprocess, and transform data to get it into a usable state, using libraries such as Pandas (for Python) and dplyr (for R). Data Visualization: Proven skills in using advanced data visualization tools and libraries to convey insights to stakeholders
Non-Technical skills
Does this sound only partially, not wholly like you? Don’t tune out now! You’ll be assessed on the evidence you bring from your previous experience in your written application and (if selected) at interview stage. If you have any technical skills in the data space, we’re not boxing the job adverts into ‘data scientist’ or ‘data engineer', instead, please tell us about your relevant experience and the skills and enthusiasm you can bring to the role – we’re looking for people who are excited about the opportunity to shape the team with us.
As an SEO you’ll be expected to lead your own projects, as well as support colleagues on other projects. You’ll be proficient with coding and relevant data science techniques when you join us. All team members, regardless of grade, will be encouraged to think creatively about data science opportunities within the department and feel confident to suggest ideas to the team.
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- What is the most complex data science project you’ve worked on? What made the project complex? How did you contribute to the project?
- You will be asked three technical questions at your interview. We will also assess technical skills via a short technical exercise. Details of the questions and exercise will be shared with you if you are invited for interview.
- Details of the questions and exercise will be shared with you if you are invited for interview.
- Details of the questions and exercise will be shared with you if you are invited for interview.
We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:
- What is the most complex data science project you’ve worked on? What made the project complex? How did you contribute to the project?
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £39,439, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £10,648 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
A career in the Civil Service is like no other. If you’re looking to join a world class team and develop your career with us, then the Civil Service is the place for you! You might be wondering, “what’s in it for me”? Take a look below at some of the benefits available to you as a civil servant in Defra.
Portfolio Directorate Benefits
Learning and Development
Everyone in Defra is supported to develop their skills and capabilities. When you join the Directorate, you will be welcomed into your new team through an induction programme that will provide you with helpful information on the civil service, Defra, our work and our policies. Your line manager will also work with you to establish your priorities for the year, developing a performance, learning and development plan tailored to you and your role, while also working with you to connect you with a civil service mentor to help empower you in your new role with the opportunity to benefit from paid for coaching.
Most importantly, we’re keen to invest in you! As a civil servant, you will also have access to Civil Service Learning where you can participate in professional development programmes across a wide spectrum of subjects and professions.
Department Benefits
Technology
We’re a firm believer in agile and flexible working. When you join Defra, we’ll kit you out with a new Windows 10 Laptop, smartphone and rucksack to make sure that you perform your best wherever you are.
Leave
25 days' paid leave per annum rising to 30 days after five years’ service, in addition to eight public holidays and the King’s Birthday privilege day. We also offer
- Competitive maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave;
- Study leave for the pursuit of academic studies;
- 3 days paid leave for volunteering per annum;
- 15 days paid leave per year for reservist training; and,
- Generous paid sick leave.
Cycle to Work Scheme
Defra loans you a bike for your commute as a tax-free benefit. At the end of the loan period, you have the option to buy the bike, saving 30% of the original cost.
Season Ticket and Bicycle Loan
We offer interest-free season ticket loans, to all Defra employees with more than three months’ service, for purchasing train and bus season tickets, as well as station car parking. For those unable to take advantage of tax-free benefits, we also offer an interest-free bicycle loan to enable the purchase of a bicycle for commuting.
Gym, Social and Sports Activities
Our offices have a range of different onsite facilities, including gym, fitness facilities, games room, showers and cycle storage. There are also a variety of networks and social groups to join. Ask your line manager for more information.
Restaurant and Café Facilities
A range of our offices offer onsite restaurant and café facilities.
Civil Service Benefits
Pension
Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package, and you will be given the chance to join one of three different pension plans. You can find more information on the Civil Service Pension on the MyCSP Website at www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk
Civil Service Sports Council
The Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) organises a wide choice of activities throughout the UK, from art, gliding, abseiling and orienteering to cabaret weekends and quiz and curry nights. Your CSSC membership will provide you with FREE access to hundreds of national and local sites, in addition to savings at many high street stores, cinemas, restaurants and historic houses.
Things you need to know
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Experience and Technical skills.
Application Process
As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, Personal Statement and 1 Technical Question.
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 Technical Question
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Sifting is likely to be occur w/c 22nd July with interviews likely to take place 19th August. These dates are indicative only.
Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on 3 Technical Questions.
Candidates invited to interview will be asked to complete a short technical exercise. Details of the exercise will be shared with candidates ahead of their interview.
Interviews are expected to last no longer than 60 minutes.
Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.
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 Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes.
Successful applicants currently employed by the hiring Defra 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.
