Senior Data Scientist (Band 3/ SEO)

Job summary

This pivotal role will significantly contribute to HSE’s mission to prevent death, injury, and ill-health in Great Britain's workplaces.

As a Data Scientist, you will be instrumental in developing robust analytical data sources and creating tools to help synthesise health and safety data. You’ll be part of an analytical team working closely with HSE's technical and regulatory specialists. You’ll be part of an analytical team that works alongside other HSE technical and regulatory specialists to ensure that HSE is able to access and synthesise data from several text rich data sources. This work helps to generate and enhance the available evidence to support decisions made in health and safety across a wide range of industry sectors.

This is an exciting opportunity to support innovative work within government. Together with the widest range of health and safety specialists in Britain, you’ll be helping to protect thousands of people, whilst working in an inclusive environment where all our people can thrive and be themselves.

Working Pattern

Part time working hours are available for this role. We can accept part time applicants who can commit to working a minimum of 30 hours per week.

Travel

This post can be based in any of the advertised HSE locations. However, there is the expectation that you will travel to other HSE offices across Great Britain periodically with some overnight stays for team meetings and to meet business need.

For details of HSE locations please see hereHSE Offices.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Designing, developing, and refining Natural Language Processing (NLP) applications
• Developing and refining analytical data sources to support decision-making within the Health and Safety Executive.
• Creating tools and techniques to extract, transform, and load data from various sources into analytical formats
• Working closely with programme leads and stakeholders to ensure that analytical approaches are sensible, and outputs are aligned with end-user expectations.
• Presentation, documentation, and visualisation of findings to key decision-makers.
• Contributing to an overall strategy for data analysis and evidence generation within HSE.

Person specification

Essential Skills and Criteria

• Extensive knowledge of Python and Python text analysis libraries
• Experience in designing and executing quality assurance, benchmarking, and evaluation frameworks for Machine Learning and Large Language Models (LLMs).
• Experience of developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) workflows
• Previous experience as a text analyst, data scientist, or other similar role
• Experience leading a project team
• Ability to communicate at all levels to both technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to successfully work as part of a project, defining and working to agreed deliverables and timeframes.
• Proficiency with Machine Learning frameworks and libraries (e.g., PyTorch, Keras, scikit-learn) and integration of open-source models (e.g., Hugging Face).

Hybrid Working

At HSE, we are proud to be able to offer our people the opportunity to work in a hybrid way which combines working from home and the office. This is a voluntary, non-contractual arrangement, and your allocated office will be your contractual place of work.

There will be a requirement to travel to the office for various activities, e.g., collaborative working, supporting and training colleagues. If hybrid working is suitable for you and your role, you will be expected to attend the office, or other business-related site, for 60% of your working week. The arrangements will be determined primarily by business need, but personal circumstances and other relevant circumstances will also be taken into account.

Therefore, we would encourage candidates to consider if the commute from home to the office is a feasible distance to travel before making an application. Please note that if you are successful, hybrid working will be discussed prior to taking up the post.

Qualifications

To be considered for this role, you must have ONE of the following:
- A first or second class honours degree in a numerate discipline, computer science, computational linguistics or IT equivalent which demonstrates core statistical skills
- A higher degree, e.g. an MSc or PhD, in Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics,
Physics (this is not a definitive list)
- Extensive experience working in a data science field.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework - Applied Maths, Statistics and Scientific Practices (expert)
• Government Digital and Data Profession Capability Framework - Data Engineering (expert)

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,686, Health and Safety Executive contributes £13,814 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

We invest in our people with;

• Competitive rates of pay
• Access to the highly competitive Civil Service Pension Scheme to which HSE contribute 28.97% far more than in the private sector.
• Family friendly policies and working hours to help balance your home life and career
• Carer friendly policies to help create a supportive working culture
• 185 hours annual holiday increasing to 222 hours after 5 years' qualifying service, plus public holidays and 1-day Civil Service privilege leave (recorded as 7.4 hours in addition to your annual leave balance)
• Parental leave benefits
• As a member of HSE you will gain access to a wide range of fantastic benefits that you can take advantage of such as the Cycle to Work Scheme, E-Gift Cards, and Vouchers via our partner EdenRed.

Things you need to know

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.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Information

As part of your application, you will be invited to complete an