Data Scientist: Sponsorship Available

NHS Dorset

Job summary

Data Scientists play a key role in using data, stats & machine learning to solve problems & improve decision-making. They will develop & evaluate statistical &
machine learning approaches, focus on applications such as population health
analysis, risk stratification, forecasting, segmentation & predictive
modelling. Bringing together complex datasets, identifying appropriate
modelling approaches, evaluating performance & ensuring outputs &
limitations are understood. Strong focus on moving data science beyond one-off
analysis. Develop reproducible analytical pipelines & production-ready
analytical workflows, working with engineering colleagues to integrate models &
analytical capabilities into data products & operational services. Use
modern collaborative development practices including Git, automated testing,
DevOps pipelines & CI/CD, helping ensure analytical code & models can
be developed, tested, deployed & updated in a controlled & reproducible
way. Emphasis placed on discovery, experimentation & rapid prototyping,
testing hypotheses & modelling approaches early, evaluating whether they
provide meaningful value & iterating based on evidence & user feedback.
Ensure solutions are robust, reproducible, explainable & appropriately
validated, consideration given to model performance, uncertainty, bias,
clinical & ops context, info gov & the implications of using predictive
models.

Main duties of the job

Work to understand complex problems & user needs, translate these into
appropriate data science questions, hypotheses & analytical approaches. Develop, test & evaluate risk stratification & predictive models to support
population health management, service planning & operational
decision-making. Apply appropriate statistical & machine learning
techniques. Explore, manipulate, link & analyse complex health & care
datasets, assessing data quality, completeness, bias, suitability &
limitations.
Undertake discovery, experimentation & rapid prototyping, testing different
modelling approaches & using evidence to determine which ideas are developed.
Evaluate models using appropriate statistical & machine learning
techniques, considering performance, generalisability, uncertainty, bias,
explainability & potential impact within the clinical or operational
context. Develop reproducible analytical pipelines (RAP) & automated
analytical workflows, ensuring analysis can be reliably repeated, tested &
maintained. Use development practices, produce well-structured, documented, reusable analytical code, participating in code review & quality assurance. Develop practices for data science, automating appropriate testing, validation & deployment processes so that analytical models & code can move from development to production.

Person Specification

Skills, abilities and Knowledge

Essential

  • Ability to analyse and interpret information, pre-empt and evaluate issues, and recommend and appropriate course of action to address the issues.
  • Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
  • Strategic thinking ability to anticipate.
  • Attention to detail combined with the ability to extract key messages from complex analysis.
  • Independent thinker with demonstrated good judgement, problem-solving and analytical skills.
  • Takes decisions on difficult and contentious issues where they may be a few courses of action.
  • An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust.
  • Used to working in a busy environment.
  • Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change.
  • Commitment to continuing professional development.
  • Professional calm and efficient manner.
  • Effective organiser.
  • Demonstrate a strong desire to improve performance and make a difference by focusing on goals.

Qualifications

Essential

  • Educated to degree level in relevant subject or equivalent level of experience of working at a similar level in specialist area.
  • Further training or significant experience in project management, financial management or supporting change management processes.
  • Comprehensive knowledge of project management and/or health information systems development.
  • Workforce development knowledge and experience.
  • A good understanding of the health and social care environment and roles and responsibilities within it.

Experience

Essential

  • Ability to engender trust and confidence and demonstrate integrity in the provision of advice and support.
  • Skills for managing projects ensuring they meet financial targets.
  • Ability to work on own initiative and organise own workload without supervision working to tight and often changing timescales Previous experience in project management and planning.
  • Experience and understanding of evaluating and measuring the performance of health services.
  • Experience in communications and stakeholder management.
  • Previous experience in similar role in public sector.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Closing Date: 13 September 2026

To apply for this job please visit www.jobs.nhs.uk.