Natural England
Higher Data Scientist - ( Ref : 6726 )
How your CV stacks up
Upload your CV to see how well it fits this job role
?%
East Midlands (England), East of England, London (region), North East England, North West England, South East England, South West England, West Midlands (England), Yorkshire and the Humber
Job Summary
This position is based Nationally
Job Description
Data Science Services (DSS) is part of the Analysis Directorate. We are a large, national team and have broad skills including data science, analysis and statistics. We are passionate about quality technical delivery and continuous improvement, using novel data science approaches to help everyone understand nature recovery. The roles would be initially based in our Marine or terrestrial geospatial analysis and data management team with potential to lead on data management projects, including standardisation, metadata and licensing.
Job Description
- Lead and oversee standard data and spatial analyses, carry out standard and complex analyses, to meet the evidence needs of a variety of Natural England, Defra group and other stakeholders
- Ensure project data standards, processes and systems are followed to ensure outputs are high-quality and robust (including through good documentation and automation) so that customer decisions and advice can be based on sound evidence and outputs can be reproduced.
- For projects where the role is leading, liaise with project managers and teams to establish project planning and resourcing so that projects are delivered efficiently, with appropriate resource and capability, to a high standard, and progress, risks and issues can be monitored.
Key Requirements
- People leadership skills / experience in either a functional or line management context (Essential)
- Experience of planning and leading the delivery of projects (Essential)
- Data analysis skills including:
- Data extraction/ingestion and preparation, exploratory data analysis, and data visualisation (Essential)
- Working with a range of large scale spatial and non-spatial data types in both structured and unstructured formats (Essential)
- Experience working with (preferably combining) a range of biological, geographical and social data (Essential)
- Experience of coding in Python, R and FME (Desirable)
- Experience in Machine Learning / Deep Learning applications (Desirable)
- Experience in GIS software (e.g. ArcPro, ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, QGIS) (Essential)
- Knowledge of relevant data/metadata standards (Essential)
- Understanding of good practice, ethics, and quality assurance for data analysis (Essential)
- Working with databases, web-based applications, open-source software and APIs (Essential)
- Experience of a range of statistical techniques and applications (e.g. SAS, SPSS, R) for identifying relationships between data and for inference, parametric and non-parametric analysis and methods for quantifying uncertainty. (Essential)
- Experience in designing or contributing to digital tools such as data‑collection apps, dashboards, or field‑data interfaces (Desirable)
Competencies
Competence 1
Professional competency
Reasons to use Rodeo
Start with a chat, not a search bar
Grad scheme, placement, apprenticeship? Not sure what you want yet — that's fine. Your agent talks it through with you and turns "I have no idea" into a shortlist.
It searches the market for you
Every day your agent scans the market matching roles against what actually matters to you, not just keywords on a CV.
Only hits
No noise. No "maybe this fits." Just roles with a clear explanation of why they're right — and where to focus when applying.
Detail
Technical/specialist knowledge Presentation
Description
- Problem solving (Essential)
- Data analysis skills including:
- Data extraction/ingestion and preparation, exploratory data analysis, and data visualisation (Essential)
- Working with a range of spatial and non-spatial data types (Essential)
- Experience working with biological, geographical and social data (Essential)
- Experience in geospatial software (e.g. ArcPro, ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, QGIS) (Essential)
- Knowledge of relevant data/metadata standards (Essential)
- Understanding of good practice, ethics, and quality assurance for data analysis (Essential)
- Experience of coding in R/Python, including use of GitHub for robust version control (Desirable)
- Working with databases, web-based applications and APIs (Desirable)
- Experience of a range of statistical techniques and applications. (Essential)
- Understanding of habitat data and classification approaches in a UK context (Desirable)
Competence 2
Professional competency
Detail
Work delivery
Description
- Handle data responsibly, understand your role in good governance and comply with delegations, policies and procedures (Practitioner)
- Manage and delivery your work to meet agreed targets and deadlines (Practitioner)
Competence 3
Professional competency
Detail
Personal Effectiveness
Description
- Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner)
- Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Practitioner)
- Apply new technology to improve the way we deliver our work (Practitioner)
Description
Be ambitious, identify and adopt ways to make improvements in your team and Natural England and inspire others to act (Practitioner)
Share expertise and knowledge with people and networks so that you can develop together (Practitioner)
Apply new technology to improve the way we deliver our work (Practitioner)
Person specification
Please Refer To Job Description
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £33,780, Natural England contributes £9,786 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
- A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Get help with your application
Your very own career expert that helps elevate your application to the next level.
Selection process details
Please Refer To Job Description
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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).
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in a new window).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact :
- Name : Lauren Bollom
- Email : lauren.bollom@naturalengland.org.uk
- Telephone : 07823852325
Recruitment team
Further information
“It took my CV and asked me questions relevant to understanding what kind of jobs to suggest for me. Suggestions were almost perfect. Jobs were exactly what I’ve been looking for.”
Jessica, London
Skills
Location