Senior Data Collection Engineer - MHCLG - SEO

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), we work on things that make a real difference to people’s lives. 

Whether it's through the homes we live in, the work of our local councils, or the communities we’re all part of, our work is at the top of the political agenda. We have ambitious and far-reaching outcomes to achieve this year and, if you’re thinking of joining us, there’s never been a more exciting time. 

We have over 3,500 staff who are based in 20 offices across the UK. 

The successful candidate will be a part of the Delta Team that sits in the Data Analytics and Statistics division of the Analysis and Data Directorate. The successful candidate will also be responsible for supporting teams across the whole of MHCLG and other government departments in the development and smooth running of data collections from local authorities on Delta, MHCLG’s data collection application. You will provide training, technical support and advice to assist teams to collect high quality statistical and management data. You will also report to a G7 Statistician, head of the DELTA and Housing & Planning data collections team and will be supporting a range of Departmental priorities. The role requires someone with excellent planning and communication skills, strong technical skills, the ability to communicate technical issues to a non-technical audience and someone who works well within a close working team.

We particularly welcome candidates from an ethnic minority background and other underrepresented groups to apply, as we work to continually improve our ability to represent the places and communities we support through our work. 

Find out more about what it's like to work in a digital, data and technology role at MHCLG  including our culture, ways of working, career progression and staff benefits. You can also read the MHCLG Digital blog to learn about the work we're doing. 

Job description

As a Senior Data Collection Engineer, you'll:

• support a range of data collections from start through to completion, working closely with policy and analysis teams throughout MHCLG to ensure they can run successful data collections on DELTA
• oversee technical troubleshooting of data collection issues, raising these with our technical support team as JIRA support tickets, ensuring issues are prioritised and working with the support team through to resolution to minimise disruption to DELTA users
• arrange and provide training and support on DELTA and in Orbeon Forms and Xpath to colleagues in MHCLG
• use excellent planning skills to work with teams and colleagues to ensure that new data collections are set up, tested and communicated to data providers in good time before the collection window opens
• support the DELTA system which is currently going through a large program of work to improve the end-to-end experience for both MHCLG and external users
• have an important role in working with with the MHCLG Digital Delivery team to identify areas for improvement in DELTA, providing input in specifying the user journeys, providing feedback on designs and testing the improvements in the Delta staging site
• show awareness of IT and personal data security issues, in particular GDPR, and to ensure that collections and enhancements to the system adhere to these principles
• use excellent communication skills and act as a team player to help colleagues in both the DELTA team and the Housing and Planning data collection team through busy periods and difficult issues
• take on some line management responsibilities

Person specification

We will use the essential criteria below to evaluate you during the recruitment process. Make sure your CV and cover letter details how you meet the criteria.

As a Senior Data Collection Engineer, you'll have:

• strong organisational skills, with willingness to work pro-actively and take ownership of work
• an ability to take an analytical approach to problem solving and data collection
• an ability to recognise change as an opportunity to deliver efficiency and innovation acting as an agent for change when you identify opportunities to improve systems and add value
• experience of the data development process;
  • design, build and test data products that are complex or large scale
  • build teams to complete data integration services
• experience programming and building (data engineering);
  • use agreed standards and tools to design, code, test, correct and document moderate-to-complex programs and scripts from agreed specifications and subsequent iterations
  • collaborate with others to review specifications where appropriate
• sound ability to communicate between the technical and non-technical stakeholders;
  • communicate effectively with technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • support and host discussions within a multidisciplinary team, with potentially difficult dynamics
  • be an advocate for the team externally, and can manage differing perspectives
• adept technical understanding;
  • understand the core technical concepts related to the role, and apply them with guidance