Optima Partners
Head of Data Science and Analytics
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Head of Data Science – Optima Partners
Optima Partners is a fast-growing professional services firm helping leading organisations transform customer engagement at the intersection of marketing, technology, and data. As we scale from 100 to 300 people, we’re growing our Advanced Data Practice team through the appointment of a Head of Data Science to drive both client impact and team growth.
About the Role
In this role, you will shape and deliver the data science agenda, ensuring machine learning and analytics solutions are not only technically robust but deliver real, measurable business outcomes for clients. You will act as the bridge between strategy, delivery, and leadership, building a high-performing team while helping clients unlock value from advanced data and decisioning.
What You Will Be Doing
- Lead and grow a multi-disciplinary data science team, including data scientists and analysts
- Define and embed a best-practice operating model for scalable and commercially viable data science solutions
- Provide technical oversight and ensure delivery assurance across client projects
- Support business development by shaping solutions for proposals and engaging with clients
- Partner with delivery teams and engagement managers to establish consistent working practices and repeatable approaches
- Drive adoption of machine learning solutions, ensuring sustained client value
- Build strong relationships with partners such as Databricks, Pega, and Adobe, and contribute to client account growth
- Line manage team members, supporting performance development and wellbeing
- Contribute to recruitment strategy and scaling the data science capability
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What We Are Looking For
- Proven experience leading data science teams, ideally within a consulting or client-facing environment
- Strong expertise in machine learning, advanced analytics, and statistical modelling
- Experience delivering data science solutions in commercial environments with measurable impact
- Ability to translate complex business problems into data modelling and decisioning solutions
- In-depth understanding of modern data science tooling and ecosystems, including Python, R, SQL, MLOps, and Databricks
- Commercial acumen and the ability to identify and shape high-value use cases
- Excellent stakeholder engagement skills, including working with senior and C-suite clients
About You
- Strategic, outcome-focused, and commercially minded
- A natural leader, coach, and mentor who enjoys developing others
- Collaborative, with ease working across multi-disciplinary teams
- Pragmatic, prioritising delivery, adoption, and impact over theory
- A strong communicator who can bridge technical and business stakeholders
- Passionate about building a high-performing, people-first data science culture
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Why Join Optima?
At Optima Partners, we combine customer strategy design with advanced data science to help leading brands unlock real business value. As Head of Data Science, you’ll play a pivotal role in shaping our data science capability and growth, working with major UK and global clients in financial services, telecoms, energy, and life sciences.
This is an opportunity to:
- Join a fast-growing consultancy and influence its leadership team
- Build a data science function that sets the standard for delivery and innovation
What We Offer
- Competitive salary, plus 15% discretionary bonus
- Hybrid working, with a regular office presence
- Private medical insurance, life, and income protection
- Pension scheme
- Access to a wide range of employee perks
- Continuous learning, training, and career development
- The chance to shape and grow a high-impact data science practice
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