Head of Enterprise Data Science and AI Platforms - FCDO - G6

Location

London, Milton Keynes or East Kilbride - You will be required to work from this location in line with FCDO policies on Hybrid Working (minimum 60% in the office).

About the job

Job summary

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office pursues our national interests and projects the UK’s role in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values, reduce poverty and tackle global challenges with our international partners. We employ more than 17,000 staff in 179 countries and territories, across our diplomatic and development offices worldwide, which consists of 282 officially designated Posts. Our UK-based staff work in King Charles Street, London, Abercrombie House in East Kilbride and in Milton Keynes.

Information and Digital Directorate (IDD) is responsible for delivering the Foreign Secretary’s ambition to make the FCDO the most technologically integrated and innovative foreign ministry globally. This means harnessing digital, data, technology, IT security and information management to support the FCDO and UK Government partners on our platform to deliver our diplomatic, development and consular aims. All while keeping our people and information safe, especially from hostile actors.

The work we do is varied – from historical analysis and library services to cyber protection, from information rights to global network management, from supporting staff in using the latest Microsoft toolsets, to creating corporate applications, harnessing AI and much more in line with the FCDO Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Strategy.

The Directorate is made up of a wide range of talented staff and experts including specialist, contractors, home civil servants and diplomats who have served overseas.

Job description

This position offers the exceptional opportunity of coordinating the FCDO’s use of interesting new data science, AI, mathematical and computing techniques, helping improve the use of data to inform decisions in everything it does, as well as leading our approach to how we deliver analytics to users. 

The role is part of the Government Digital and Data (GDD) Profession, formerly known as the Digital, Data and Technology (DDaT) Profession.  You will be responsible for guiding strategy, personal development and specific technical approaches for Data Scientists across the whole of the FCDO. You will also lead our enterprise Power BI team who are responsible for the management and governance of the Power BI service and delivering innovative analytical products. 

Working within the Enterprise Data Service will help you achieve common goals, making sure that your team and the wider FCDO enjoys data infrastructure and architecture that easily feed useful data into your algorithms, while also letting your Data Scientists focus their expertise by serving non-analytical data automation needs (like dashboarding) through its Data Analysts. 

 Roles and Responsibilities 

The successful candidate will: 

• Set direction, build capability and support the professional development and specific technical approaches for Data Scientists across the whole of FCDO. 
• Promote digital development best practices (coding standards, version control, automated deployment) for the team and the wider Data Science community.
• Work with peers in the Enterprise Data Service to provide suitable infrastructure platform resources and expertise to achieve all goals. 
• Plan, manage and run agile data science projects using appropriate techniques. Develop an approach to managing and prioritising demand from the organisation while also developing the data science offer in support of FCDO’s strategic aims.  
• Deploy the team as internal entrepreneurs, to identify opportunities and pioneer Data Science initiatives across FCDO: coaching colleagues to automate their routine analyses while spotting opportunities to produce innovative new insights, using tools like R and Python. 
• Communicate and present data science effectively to ministers and senior leaders, explaining clearly the opportunities while balancing limitations, risks and ethics.  
• Work across UK Government and the international community to identify areas for collaboration and promotion of success.  
• Directly manage Data Scientists in the Enterprise Data Service and have professional oversight for the use of data science in novel analysis, operational automation and data exploitation, working with Data Scientists across the organisation. 

You will have many opportunities to learn, deepening your technical expertise, understanding how an international organisation works across diplomacy and development and building your own personal leadership.

The FCDO also operates an agile workforce. To facilitate this, you may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably require.

Candidates who secure a role that is considered specialist/technical, may be required to affiliate to the relevant specialist network, if not already a member.

You may be required to travel in the UK with possible travel abroad.  This will include visiting our teams in the UK at our London, East Kilbride and Hanslope Park sites, a few times a year. If International travel is required, it will be less frequent involving only short visits to some missions and embassies once or twice a year

Person specification

It is essential in your application that you provide evidence and proven examples in each of the following Minimum Criteria, Behaviours and Technical as far as you are able to do so. These responses will be further developed and discussed with those candidates invited for interview.

You must be a British Citizen at the time of application and, if invited to interview, you will need to bring proof of identity (British Passport/Driving Licence etc.) with you.

This role requires you to attain Developed Vetting (DV) security clearance.

For more information about this process, click here. Attaining DV will require you to have been resident in the UK for five of the last ten years. At least one year of this must have been a consecutive twelve-month period. Serving overseas with HM Forces, in some other official capacity as a representative of His Majesty’s Government or having lived overseas as a result of your parents’ or partner’s Government employment counts as UK residency for the purposes of security clearances.

Minimum Criteria

• Demonstrable track record of delivering the key skills outlined in the Head of Data Science role in the Profession Capability Framework at Expert level (Applied maths, statistics and scientific practices, Developing Data Science capability and Delivering business impact).
• Practical senior leadership experience and deep technical data science experience
• Experience of Data leadership role – leading data teams to deliver modern solutions for data-driven organisations.
• Ability to research, benchmark, scope, design, implement and evaluate project delivery to tight deadlines.
• Proactive approach and a focus on continuous improvement of self and service, with an appetite to work with others to simplify processes and improve efficiency.
• Experience of planning, prioritising and communicating the work of a small team to balance long-term and immediate demands.

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Changing and Improving
• Leadership

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• DDaT: Developing Data Science capability (Expert) https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/data-scientist#head-of-data-science
• DDaT: Applied maths, statistics and scientific practices (Expert) https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/data-scientist#head-of-data-science
• DDaT: Developing Data Science capability (Expert) https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/data-scientist#head-of-data-science
• DDaT: Delivering business impact (Expert) https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/data-scientist#head-of-data-science
• Presentation at the Interview and the topic will be sent to you in advance. The skills that will be tested in the presentation are: DDaT: Developing Data Science capability (Expert) Communicating and Influencing Behaviour

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

• DDaT: Developing Data Science capability (Expert) https://ddat-capability-framework.service.gov.uk/role/data-scientist#head-of-data-science