91035 - Lead Data Linker - Data Science Hub, Data Directorate, Ministry of Justice

The national salary range is £54,358 - £61,585, London salary range is £58,847 - £66,670. Your salary will be dependent on your base location. London: may include an allowance of up to £20,466 National: may include an allowance of up to £20,167, You will be working within a multidisciplinary team to build a digital service. The majority of your work will be contributing to codebases in Github using Python, SQL and CI/containerisation technologies on AWS cloud infrastructure. You will work closely with other data scientists, the Data Engineering Hub (which builds the tools, services and pipelines that make data available on the Analytical Platform) as well as other data, digital, policy and operational colleagues.

The role

The postholder will lead on projects within the Data Linking team. They will be responsible for delivering state of the art record linkage solutions using Splink, the department's open source record linkage software.

This work will initially focus on using and improving Splink for use in operational scenarios where low latency performance is essential. You will work closely with the technical architect and development team to align solutions to the wider software architecture, offering technical expertise on data linking to influence decisions.

You will work also closely with the wider data linking team to align your work to the wider programme of data linking, and contribute to the team's overall strategy for data linkage across operational and analytical uses.

Key responsibilities

Responsible for the delivery at pace of high quality, performant record linkage solutions
Act as a technical specialist and coach, developing team capability, supervising other data scientists, setting coding standards for the team and championing the adoption of best practice in data science
Understand a broad range of architectures and collaborate with data engineering to design and deliver organisational products effectively
Effectively communicate with and influence senior stakeholders, working with them to remove blockers so that the team can deliver efficiently
Play an active role in making the Data Science Hub an inclusive and vibrant place to work.

Your salary will be at least £54,358 and up to £66,670, with an allowance up to £20,466 depending on your skills, expertise and location. You will also receive great benefits including:

26 days leave (plus bank holidays) plus 5 additional days of leave once you have reached 5 years of service
up to 5 days paid volunteering leave
a generous civil service pension, with employer contributions of 26-30% depending on your salary
flexible and home working
flexible office locations
time off in lieu if at any point you work more than your contracted hours
bike loans of up to £2500 through the cycle to work scheme and secure bike parking
quarterly reward and recognition scheme
wellbeing support, including access to the Headspace app
access to subsidised onsite gyms at some office locations
season ticket loans, childcare vouchers and eye-care vouchers

The Ministry of Justice

The Ministry of Justice is a major government department, at the heart of the justice system. We work to protect and advance the principles of justice. Our vision is to deliver a world-class justice system that works for everyone in society. We are passionate about improving justice outcomes through innovative research, data and analysis.

The Data Science Hub

We are a multi-disciplinary team of around 70 staff that sits at the heart of the Ministry of Justice providing data science support across a diverse and exciting agenda. We work in a dynamic and fast-paced context and our skills are in heavy demand across the Ministry of Justice. Our collaborations beyond government are seen as ground-breaking. We create a culture in which people are empowered with the data and information to make excellent decisions using cutting edge tools, techniques and collaboration and putting evidence at the heart of the justice system.

We have a track record of delivering digital services to front line staff using wide ranging data science techniques, including the award-winning safety diagnostic tool, which helps our staff tackle violence in prisons. We regularly deliver insights that directly influences corporate, operational and policy decisions. Our projects span the data science spectrum including machine learning, natural language processing, automation, advanced visualisation and optimisation.

What you'll do

You will lead delivery record linkage projects, focussing initially on Core Person Record, a project to operationalise record linkage for use in frontline services across HMPPS. This work has the potential to deliver a step change in data quality and make work easier for frontline staff.