Senior Data Engineer

Bristol, Darlington, London, Wolverhampton Job Summary At the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), we tackle issues that make a real difference to people’s lives—from tackling homelessness and supporting vulnerable citizens to creating sustainable communities and modernising local government. Our work sits at the heart of the political agenda. With around 3,500 staff across 20 offices nationwide, we have ambitious goals and are driving change that matters. If you’re considering joining us, there’s never been a more exciting time. The Vulnerable People Statistics Team delivers insights that inform policy for some of the most vulnerable in society. Central to this is the Homelessness Case Level Collection (H-CLIC)—a longitudinal dataset providing an unparalleled view of homelessness trends across England. This data underpins key publications, dashboards, and analysis that guide national policy and ministerial decisions. As a Senior Data Engineer, you will maintain and enhance the infrastructure powering H-CLIC. You’ll manage the end-to-end quarterly production of homelessness statistics—ensuring accuracy, reliability, and compliance with quality standards—while helping to drive improvements to data architecture for greater stability and efficiency. You will also maintain Power BI dashboards, automate pipelines, and develop visualisation tools to uncover insights into homelessness and extend the reach and impact of this flagship collection across government and society. This role is ideal for someone who enjoys working with complex datasets and innovative data solutions to deliver public value. Job Description As a Senior Data Engineer you’ll; • Maintain and optimise the internal platform for our case-level data collection and associated documentation • Lead data engineering and maintenance for H-CLIC systems, a SQL based data-infrastructure • Update and maintain Power BI dashboards to meet stakeholder needs • Support transition to API-based data collections • Extract and prepare data from HCLIC systems for FOIs and ad-hoc requests • Mentor and task manage team members to build capability and resilience. As a Senior Data Engineer you’ll; • Maintain and optimise the internal platform for our case-level data collection and associated documentation • Lead data engineering and maintenance for H-CLIC systems, a SQL based data-infrastructure • Update and maintain Power BI dashboards to meet stakeholder needs • Support transition to API-based data collections • Extract and prepare data from HCLIC systems for FOIs and ad-hoc requests • Mentor and task manage team members to build capability and resilience. Person specification As a Senior Data Engineer you’ll have; • SQL & Data Pipelines: Experience in designing and optimizing SQL queries, managing relational databases, and integrating them into efficient data workflows • Power BI & DAX: Skills in building and maintaining interactive dashboards, developing robust data models, and writing optimized DAX for large SQL datasets • Automation & Reporting: Proven ability to automate data workflows from XML to SQL to Power BI, delivering streamlined and reliable reporting solutions • Programming & Version Control: Experience in R and Python for data manipulation, statistical analysis, and visualization, with Git for version control and collaborative development • Data Ethics & Security: Familiarity of data ethics, privacy, and security frameworks, including experience with anonymisation and responsible data use • Communication & Collaboration: Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail, with the ability to lead technical discussions and clearly communicate complex concepts to non-technical stakeholders. Alongside your salary of £45,928, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £13,305 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. • At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Childcare Voucher and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here. Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use. Selection process details Application and Selection The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles: Behaviours , Experience , Technical Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information. Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link. Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading. Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter) Experience & Technical: Your covering letter should be no more than 1 page referencing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description. In Your CV And Covering Letter, Please Include • why you are interested in the role; • how you meet the essential skills and experience required Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors. Stage 2: Interview • Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Changing and Improving • Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description. • Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description. Candidates will be asked to prepare a short presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview. Sift and Interview Dates Sifting is envisaged to take place the week commencing 19th January 2026 with interview dates to follow. All interviews will be conducted remotely. Group 1 Digital and Data roles MHCLG has implemented the Digital and Data capability framework for Group 1 roles. Applicants that are successful and have been offered a position will be required to complete a capability assessment after the interview. MHCLG will honour completed capability assessments for this role from other Government Departments for existing civil servants on level transfer only. Please provide a copy of your capability assessment to the Hiring Manager when applying. If you have any queries on pay, please contact the Hiring Manager. Each experience or technical skill is assessed between 1-3, representing working towards, at or above the job level requirements. You are awarded a proficiency level accordingly, and you will be given opportunity to annually re assess your capability and potentially increase your overall remuneration, through payment of allowances, depending on level of assessed capability. Candidates moving from another government department have the option to retain their current basic pay if this is within our pay band for the relevant grade. GRADE Group 1 Digital and Data Salary • The basic pay for this role will be between £49,548 - £60,110 (London), £45,928 - £56,630 (National).   Candidates will usually be recruited to the median of the payscale. • A digital allowance may also be payable depending on the level of assessed capability, in order to meet the MHCLG overall targeted remuneration rate for the specific grade, location and capability rating. • For applicants in receipt of existing allowances, we will assess each case individually, but we would seek not to exceed the MHCLG overall targeted remuneration rate for the specific grade, location and capability rating for existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply, subject to the statements above. How We Recruit Find out everything you need to know before applying here.. • Applying • Sifting • Interview • Interview Results & Feedback • Reserve List • Near Miss • Civil Service Grades • We are a DCS, RIS & GPTWV employer • Reasonable Adjustments How To Apply What you need to know before applying. You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly. • Security Clearance Requirements • Civil Service Nationality Requirements • Right to Work • Artificial Intelligence • Civil Service Code and Recruitment Principles • CV Declaration • Sponsorships • Salary and Grade • Existing Civil Servants • Conflict of Interest • Location and Flexible Working • Fixed Term Contracts • Internal Fraud Database - Internal Fraud Register • Appeals and Complaints • Conflict of Interest Security Clearance Requirements National Office: BPSS London Office: BPSS + CTC Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window). People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks. Nationality requirements This Job Is Broadly Open To The Following Groups • UK nationals • nationals of the Republic of Ireland • nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window) • nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) • individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020 • Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window) Working for the Civil Service The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window). The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria. The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy. Diversity and Inclusion The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window). Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records. Contact point for applicants Job Contact • Name : Digital Data Jobs • Email : digitaldatajobs@communities.gov.uk Recruitment team • Email : digitaldatajobs@communities.gov.uk