- Company Name
- Natural England
- Job Title
- Higher Data Scientist - ( Ref : 6301 )
- Job Description
-
**Job title**
Higher Data Scientist – National (Ref: 6301)
**Role Summary**
Lead end‑to‑end analytical, modelling and data science improvement projects within the Analysis Directorate of the Data Science Services. Manage project delivery, engage stakeholders, ensure high‑quality reproducible outputs, and build data science capability across the team. Apply advanced analytical and machine learning techniques to support nature recovery initiatives and broaden the evidence base.
**Expectations**
- Deliver robust, reproducible data science solutions that inform policy and decision‑making.
- Manage project scope, timelines, risks, and reporting to meet national standards.
- Foster continuous improvement and innovation in analytics methods and tools.
- Mentor and develop junior data scientists, ensuring resilience to absence and change.
- Identify opportunities for new projects, technologies, or evidence generation.
**Key Responsibilities**
- Design, implement and validate analytical models and machine‑learning pipelines.
- Coordinate project planning, progress monitoring, risk assessment, and stakeholder communication.
- Maintain adherence to data standards, quality assurance, documentation and automation processes.
- Deliver clear, actionable insights to customers and partners through visualisations and reports.
- Build and share technical capacity within the team and wider organization.
- Explore and propose new technologies, methods or datasets to enhance evidence and efficiency.
**Required Skills**
- Strong programming experience in R and/or Python for data science.
- Proficiency in statistical analysis, exploratory data analysis, visualisation and advanced modelling techniques (including ML).
- Experienced with Git and GitHub for version control, collaborative development, and reproducible research.
- Familiarity with quality assurance practices (verification, validation, analytical review).
- Ability to communicate complex findings in clear, audience‑appropriate language.
- Knowledge of environmental context, terminology, and data relevant to resilient landscapes and seas (basic to practitioner level).
- Project management skills: planning, risk handling, stakeholder engagement, and timely delivery.
**Required Education & Certifications**
- Bachelor’s degree in Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science, Environmental Science, or a related field (Master’s preferred).
- No specific certifications are mandated, but experience with data‑science workflows, version control, and reproducible research is required.