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Data Specialist
Data Specialist
About UCAS
UCAS is at the heart of connecting people to higher education. We provide application services for UK universities and colleges while delivering research, consultancy, and advisory services to schools, colleges, careers services, professional bodies, and employers. As a successful, fast-growing organisation, we help hundreds of thousands of people every year by delivering a first-class, customer-focused service.
Business Unit Description
The Digital Services business unit is central to UCAS’ technical innovation, leveraging data science, technology, and enterprise architecture to enhance digital products and services. We:
- Develop and improve customer-centric digital solutions
- Ensure seamless and secure online experiences
- Provide valuable data insights via intuitive dashboards (available free-of-charge)
- Support decision-making in the Higher Education sector
- Drive innovation through collaborative, multi-disciplinary teams
About the Role
Contractual Hours
35.00
Purpose
The Data Specialist will guide a customer-centric digital transformation programme, designing data architectures that enable:
- A unified Customer 360 view
- Personalised customer experiences across digital channels (web and email)
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Key Responsibilities include working with business, digital, and technology teams to ensure scalable, secure, and strategically-aligned data platforms.
Key Technical Requirements
Experience & Expertise
- Proven track record as a Data Specialist, Data Architect, or Senior Data Engineer
- Expertise in data modelling (specialising in customer, identity, and interaction data)
- Hands-on experience with Salesforce Data Cloud (Data360) for:
- Data unification from multiple sources
- Identity resolution and profile stitching
- Designing data architectures for personalised engagement (email, web, CRM)
- Activating unified customer profiles for analytics and engagement platforms
- Experience with Databricks for scaling analytics and event-driven personalisation
Additional Required Skills
- Strong SQL and knowledge of modern data processing (batch and stream)
- Experience with ETL/ELT, APIs, CDPs, and data integration
- Understanding of data privacy, security, consent, and access control
- Familility with:
- Customer 360, data warehouses, data lakes, and analytics architectures
- Data governance, quality, metadata, and data lineage
- Balancing personalisation, performance, and compliance
Soft Skills & Behaviours
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- Stakeholder engagement across teams (marketing, digital, CRM, product, technology)
- Ability to simplify complex data concepts for non-technical audiences
- Strong analytical thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making skills
Desirable Areas
- Big data/streaming architectures (e.g., Spark, Kafka)
- BI tools (e.g., Power BI, Tableau)
- Cloud or data architecture certifications
Qualifications
- Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, or related field (or equivalent experience)
Package
- Target salary: £58,000
- Benefits include:
- Purpose-driven work in a charity-led organisation focused on education access
- Internal training, mentoring, and certifications via development academies
- Hybrid working (35-hour week, flexible schedules)
- 30 days annual leave + 3 concessionary Christmas days + bank holidays (with extra optional leave)
- Wellbeing support (Perkbox discounts, mental health first aiders, employee networks)
- Onsite perks: subsidised gym, café, free parking at Cheltenham HQ
- Recognition & rewards: quarterly bonuses, ex-gratia payments for exceptional contribution
Working Arrangements
❌ Fully remote working is not an option. Hybrid and in-office flexibility is available.
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