Cogent Skills
Data Manager
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Data Manager
Cogent Skills has an amazing opportunity as a Data Manager to support the design, improvement, and delivery of high-quality data processes and analytical outputs that underpin Cogent Skills’ research and workforce intelligence functions. The role combines technical expertise in data handling, statistical analysis, and visualisation, contributing to projects such as the Nuclear Workforce Assessment alongside the wider research team. Working across teams and with external stakeholders, the Data Manager helps ensure that robust, insightful, and accessible data supports policy, planning, and skills development across priority sectors.
Package
- £42,000 - £44,000
- Full time permanent role
- Pension – employee contribution 6%
- Life Assurance
- 29 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (FTE)
- Opportunity to buy-back 5 extra days annual leave (FTE)
- Day off for your birthday
- Optional Private Health Care package
- Remote - with occasional travel to office.
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Bonus Scheme
- Aspire Values Award Scheme
- Annual Values Awards
- Long Service Awards
- Annual Company Events
- Gym Discount
- Access to Training & Development Opportunities
Key Accountabilities
- Support the Head of Research in delivering the Nuclear Workforce Assessment (NWA), contributing across the full cycle from data collection and analysis through to dissemination of findings, and managing stakeholder inputs and timelines.
- Help to design, build, and run the data collection and processing pipeline — including ETL tools and workflows — alongside the Head of Research, keeping data accurate, consistent, and analysis-ready.
- Conduct rigorous statistical analysis to identify trends, patterns, and anomalies relevant to workforce intelligence.
- Turn analysis into clear, accessible outputs — interpretation, visualisations, dashboards, and reports — that help internal and external stakeholders understand and act on findings.
- Build and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders (sponsors, sector bodies, data providers), acting as a point of contact and translating their needs into deliverable data work.
- Coordinate and triage requests through the internal research request system, agreeing allocation and priorities with the Research Manager.
- Work with the Research Manager to develop data-led solutions across the wider labour market intelligence (LMI) portfolio, sharing insights across sectors to support workforce and policy engagement.
- Maintain and improve standards for data governance, analytics quality, and operational efficiency.
- Document data sources, methods, code, and workflows so that analytical processes are transparent, reproducible, and resilient to staff changes.
- Oversee and guide external consultants, ensuring alignment with Cogent’s standards and objectives.
- Contribute to the successful delivery of research projects, maintaining high analytical standards and achieving positive feedback from clients and partners.
- Support bids and proposals for commissioned or commercial research aligned with strategic goals.
- Monitor developments in data science and labour market analysis to keep the function current and forward-facing.
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Key Performance Indicators
- Deliver assigned NWA data workstreams to the quality standard and milestone dates agreed with the Head of Research, raising any risk to those dates early enough to be managed.
- Data underpinning published outputs is checked and validated before release, with corrections after publication remaining rare and any that do arise addressed promptly.
- Research and data requests are acknowledged promptly, realistic timescales are agreed with the requester, and those timescales are met in the large majority of cases.
- Agreed outputs such as dashboards, visualisations, and reports are delivered to the standard and deadline agreed with the requester, with missed deadlines rare and flagged in advance.
- Working with the Research Manager, introduce at least one significant new or improved data tool, workflow, or LMI solution each year, with a clear benefit to efficiency, accessibility, or analytical value.
- Complete the agreed annual CPD plan and apply at least one resulting improvement to team practice, reviewed at year-end.
Knowledge, Skills, and Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline such as data science, statistics, computer science, mathematics, or economics; a Master’s degree is desirable.
- Proven experience in a data-focused role (e.g. Data Analyst, Data Operations Lead), with a strong track record of managing, analysing, and interpreting complex datasets.
- Experience designing and maintaining ETL processes.
- Strong working knowledge of data analysis tools and statistical programming languages such as Python, R, or SPSS.
- Experience using data visualisation platforms (e.g. Tableau, Power BI) to produce clear, accessible, and meaningful outputs.
- Solid understanding of core statistical methods, forecasting techniques, and the ability to apply appropriate models to support workforce and labour market analysis.
- Ability to design effective data collection instruments that balance usability, granularity, and analytical value.
- Familiarity with system dynamics approaches and machine learning concepts is advantageous.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present technical information clearly to non-technical audiences.
- Experience managing relationships with external stakeholders, including clarifying requirements, managing expectations, and communicating technical issues or limitations.
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Application Process
Cogent is an inclusive employer and we value the diversity our workforce brings. We welcome applications from all candidates and will consider all applications equally and fairly.
To apply please click on the link: https://www.cogentskills.com/about/work-for-us/
Please complete the Application Form and send together with a letter of application and your CV to human.resources@cogentskills.com by 21st August 2026 outlining your suitability for this post and how you would ensure success.
If you have additional needs that you would like us to consider during the application and interview process please contact Denise Bentley on 01925 515222 to discuss ways that we can support your application.
If you haven’t heard back from us within 21 days of your application, it means that unfortunately your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion.
Websites: www.cogentskills.com
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