Lead Data Linker - MoJ - G7

Job description

The national salary range is £54,358 - £61,585, London salary range is £58,847 - £66,670. Your salary will be dependent on your base location. London: may include an allowance of up to £20,466 National: may include an allowance of up to £20,167

Overview

We have 1 permanent role at Lead Data Scientist (Grade 7), in our Data Science Hub within the MoJ Data & Analytical Services Directorate, subject to qualifying conditions being met.

The successful candidate will have the option to be based in London (10 South Colonnade and 102 Petty France) or Leeds (5 Wellington Place) or in satellite offices throughout the UK (for more details see appendix).

What we offer

Your salary will be at least £54,358 and up to £66,670, with an allowance up to £20,466 depending on your skills, expertise and location. You will also receive great benefits including:

• 26 days leave (plus bank holidays) plus 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service
• up to 5 days paid volunteering leave
• a generous civil service pension, with employer contributions of 26-30% depending on your salary
• flexible and home working
• flexible office locations
• time off in lieu if at any point you work more than your contracted hours
• bike loans of up to £2500 through the cycle to work scheme and secure bike parking
• quarterly reward and recognition scheme
• wellbeing support, including access to the Headspace app
• access to subsidised onsite gyms at some office locations
• season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers

The Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. We work to protect and advance the principles of justice. Our vision is to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone in society. We are passionate about improving justice outcomes through innovative research, data and analysis.

The Data Science Hub

We are a multi-disciplinary team of around 70 staff that sits at the heart of the Ministry of Justice providing data science support across a diverse and exciting agenda. We work in a dynamic and fast-paced context and our skills are in heavy demand across the Ministry of Justice. Our collaborations beyond government are seen as ground-breaking.  We create a culture in which people are empowered with the data and information to make excellent decisions using cutting edge tools, techniques and collaboration and putting evidence at the heart of the justice system.

We have a track record of delivering digital services to front line staff using wide ranging data science techniques, including the award-winning safety diagnostic tool, which helps our staff tackle violence in prisons. We regularly deliver insights that directly influences corporate, operational and policy decisions. Our projects span the data science spectrum including machine learning, natural language processing, automation, advanced visualisation and optimisation.

What you’ll do

You will lead delivery record linkage projects, focussing initially on Core Person Record, a project to operationalise record linkage for use in frontline services across HMPPS. This work has the potential to deliver a step change in data quality and make work easier for frontline staff.

You will be working within a multidisciplinary team to build a digital service. The majority of your work will be contributing to codebases in Github using Python, SQL and CI/containerisation technologies on AWS cloud infrastructure. You will work closely with other data scientists, the Data Engineering Hub (which builds the tools, services and pipelines that make data available on the Analytical Platform) as well as other data, digital, policy and operational colleagues.

The role

The postholder will lead on projects within the Data Linking team. They will be responsible for delivering state of the art record linkage solutions using Splink, the department's open source record linkage software.   

This work will initially focus on using and improving Splink for use in operational scenarios where low latency performance is essential. You will work closely with the technical architect and development team to align solutions to the wider software architecture, offering technical expertise on data linking to influence decisions.

You will work also closely with the wider data linking team to align your work to the wider programme of data linking, and contribute to the team’s overall strategy for data linkage across operational and analytical uses.

Key responsibilities

• Responsible for the delivery at pace of high quality, performant record linkage solutions
• Act as a technical specialist and coach, developing team capability, supervising other data scientists, setting coding standards for the team and championing the adoption of best practice in data science
• Understand a broad range of architectures and collaborate with data engineering to design and deliver organisational products effectively
• Effectively communicate with and influence senior stakeholders, working with them to remove blockers so that the team can deliver efficiently
• Play an active role in making the Data Science Hub an inclusive and vibrant place to work.

Who you are

We’re interested in people who have:

• Experience contributing high quality code to complex codebases using professional software development practices such as collaborative version control, automated testing, CI/CD and code review
• Strong knowledge of data science (e.g. big data, machine learning and/or statistical modelling) and experience leading teams to deliver data science projects / products, ideally in cloud computing environments
• Experience or a strong interest in record linkage (entity resolution)
• Strong programming knowledge, with experience using Python and SQL
• Strong strategic thinking and problem solving to support organisational objectives, with ability to identify opportunities for data science and promote adoption and learning of new tools and techniques
• Ability to effectively communicate with and influence diverse stakeholder groups to deliver data science projects / products, including being able to explain data concepts and practices to both technical and non-technical stakeholders

How to apply

You’ll need to submit an anonymised CV and Statement of Suitability as part of your application. You will not be considered if you do not provide both.

Your CV should be no more than 2 pages long and should show us your work history and previous experience. It should be well structured, succinct and written in clear language. Try to avoid just listing technology keywords; we are interested in how you have used different tools to solve problems.

Your Statement of Suitability should be no more than 750 words and should give us examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Consider giving an example for each bullet point, in the skills requirements ‘Who you are’ section and use work you have completed to demonstrate how you meet each one.

All these requirements are important for the job, however we do not expect candidates to be expert in all of them. Just give as much evidence as you can for each and make sure you cover ‘how’ you demonstrated the requirements and the impact of your work, as well as ‘what’ you did. Again, if you are interested in applying but are not sure you have all the skills listed, please do apply and give us the opportunity to consider you as a candidate.

Selection process

There will be an initial sift of applicants through comparing submitted evidence against the ‘Who you are’ bullets. This usually takes two weeks, depending on the number of applications.

Applicants invited for interview

Those who make it through the initial sift will be invited to a Civil Service Success Profile interview. In the Civil Service we use Success Profiles to help us find the right person for the job. We will be using a mixture of methods to assess your abilities, strengths, experience, technical skills and behaviours. We highly recommend learning about Success Profiles and using the Situation, Task, Action, Result and Reflection (STARR) framework when structuring your answers.

The highest scoring candidates that pass the interview will be offered the roles. The whole process can take a month. Other candidates that pass the interview will be kept on a merit list for 12 months.

Presentation

At the interview we will be asked to give a five-minute presentation on a data science project you have delivered. Details of this will be sent to candidates before the interview.

Behaviours

The following behaviours will be tested:

• Delivering at pace – tell use when and how you have taken responsibility for delivering timely and quality results with focus and drive.
• Changing & improving - tell us when and how you have driven a change in your workplace culture or practices.
• Managing a quality service – tell us when and how you have worked with colleagues to set priorities, objectives and timescales under challenging circumstances.

In your examples you should include evidence on ‘how’ you demonstrated the requirements and the impact of your work, as well as ‘what’ you did.

Technical – Data science skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• data science expertise
• working practices
• programming and coding skills

Technical – Analytical Competency

As well as the three civil service behaviours and Data Science skills stated above, you will be assessed on your analytical knowledge, experience and abilities, and the impact of your analytical work.

Further Information and Appendix

We welcome applications from candidates based across the UK. Candidates will have the option of being based in the Leeds or London HQ offices (with flexible working arrangements available) or your nearest Justice Collaboration Centre or Justice Satellite Office. These are in Liverpool, Leeds, South Tyneside, Manchester, Bristol, Nottingham, Cardiff, and Brighton, Ipswich, Wolverhampton, Sheffield. Alternative locations may be available and will be discussed and agreed on the completion of background checks.

Interviews are likely to take place in November 2024 and will be held via MS Teams. We will keep a merit list for a year for those who successfully pass the interview board but who are not offered a post. If you require any additional information about the role, please contact: Data & Analysis Recruitment Team: DataAndAnalysis.Recruitment@justice.gov.uk .

Appendix

Examples of MoJ Data Science Hub work and ways of working:

• https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/joined-up-data-in-government-the-future-of-data-linking-methods/splink-mojs-open-source-library-for-probabilistic-record-linkage-at-scale
• https://mojdigital.blog.gov.uk/2018/04/05/pushing-the-boundaries-of-data-science-with-the-moj-analytical-platform/
• https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2058802X.2020.1726654
• https://towardsdatascience.com/fuzzy-matching-and-deduplicating-hundreds-of-millions-of-records-using-apache-spark-93d0f095001f
• https://dataingovernment.blog.gov.uk/2019/11/06/fostering-a-data-science-innovation-culture/
• https://dataingovernment.blog.gov.uk/2019/10/30/engineering-the-data-of-the-future/
• https://github.com/moj-analytical-services
• https://criminal-justice-delivery-data-dashboards.justice.gov.uk/

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Changing and Improving
• Managing a Quality Service

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Technical (1) Data Science Expertise As well as the three civil service behaviours and Data Science skills stated above, you will be assessed on your analytical knowledge, experience and abilities, and the impact of your analytical work.
• Technical (2) Working Practices As well as the three civil service behaviours and Data Science skills stated above, you will be assessed on your analytical knowledge, experience and abilities, and the impact of your analytical work.
• Technical (3) Programming and Coding Skills As well as the three civil service behaviours and Data Science skills stated above, you will be assessed on your analytical knowledge, experience and abilities, and the impact of your analytical work.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £54,358, Ministry of Justice contributes £15,747 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• 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) (opens in a new window)
• 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

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

Diversity and Inclusion

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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).