Data Scientist

Ref Number B02-09400 Professional Expertise Research and Research Support Department School of Life & Medical Sciences (B02) Location London Working Pattern Part time Salary £43,981-£52,586 Contract Type Fixed-term Working Type Hybrid Available for Secondment No Closing Date 21-Sep-2025 About us Our mission is to maximise and advocate for the holistic health of all children, young people and the adults they will become, through world-class research, education and public engagement. The UCL GOS ICH, together with its clinical partner Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, forms the largest concentration of children’s health research outside North America. The 2024-29 GOS ICH strategy focuses on its five scientific programmes. GOS ICH’s activities include active engagement with children and families, to ensure that our work is relevant and appropriate to their needs. GOS ICH generates the funding for our research by setting out our proposals in high quality applications to public, charitable and industrial funding bodies and disseminates the results of our research by publication in the medical and scientific literature, to clinicians, policy makers and the wider public. The Institute offers world-class education and training across a wide range of teaching and life learning programmes which address the needs of students and professional groups who are interested in and undertaking work relevant to child health. GOS ICH holds an Athena SWAN Charter Gold Award. Please only attach relevant documents to your application (qualifications, cover letters, supporting statements) and avoid attaching large files e.g. research papers, thesis, publications etc. About the role The work has a particular focus on quantifying inequalities in utilisation of services related to mental health for adolescents and their families. The post-holder will conduct analyses of national administrative databases including healthcare data (eg hospital episodes statistics) and the enhanced ECHILD database. The post is nested within the NIHR Children and Families Policy Research Unit (CPRU), which aims to conduct high-quality research to support the development of evidence-based policy to improve the health of children and families and to develop methods and data resources to improve the quality and timeliness of evidence for policy. The post-holder will also work collaboratively with the Child Health Informatics Group and other institutions collaborating with UCL as part of the CPRU programme. The postholder will take responsibility for for advancing the CPRU Economic and Data Resource by: i) facilitating and conducting research for CPRU using administrative data; ii) managing access to administrative data for research relevant to CPRU, but implemented by other researchers within the Child Health Informatics Group (CHIG); and iii) working collaboratively with data scientists managing data holdings within CHIG, such as ECHILD, primary care and family justice data. Primary tasks will include research facilitation and management of access to health and social care administrative datasets, taking responsibility for adherence to disclosure protocols, preparation of reports and queries, and acting as the first point of contact for inquiries about administrative data relevant to CPRU. The post holder will also take the lead for information governance and compliance documentation and training as well as having broader oversight of data use approvals and expiry dates, initiating extensions or amendments where necessary. The role also includes the conduct of research using administrative data in line with appropriate policy questions and methods development, as agreed with the CPRU Co-Directors. This role is eligible for hybrid working with a minimum of 20% (one day a week) on site. We will consider applications to work on a flexible and job share basis wherever possible. This post is funded until 31/12/2028 in the first instance. About you It is essential to have experience in the following: • MSc in relevant discipline (e.g. epidemiology, statistics, health informatics) or equivalent experience • Large and longitudinal administrative dataset data management and curation (e.g. Hospital Episodes Statistics, National Pupil Database, Mental Health Services Data, Clinical Practice Research Database) • Knowledge of data linkage, extract, transform, and load (ETL) practices, and statistical methods and techniques • Knowledge or experience of data management tools, software and processes for administrative data • Knowledge or experience of information governance requirements when using administrative data would be an advantage Required skills: • Ability to prepare data extracts using standard software and scripting languages (e.g. Stata, Python, R, SQL) • Advanced organisational skills and a methodical and accurate approach to work, with attention to detail • Excellent written and verbal communication, including documenting work and communicating technical and/ or scientific information to a wide range of scientific and lay audiences • Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to promote good working relationships and resolve difficult situations What we offer As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents we also offer some great benefits some of which are below: 41 Days holiday (including 27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days) Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE) Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan On-Site nursery On-site gym Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service Discounted medical insurance Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women. You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here : https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/