About the job

Job summary

fgem works on behalf of energy consumers to ensure that every household and business in the UK can rely on a safe and sustainable energy supply. We are playing a vital part in accelerating the transition to Net Zero and a carbon neutral energy system, a goal that everyone wants to achieve. Whatever your role, you’ll be playing your part in creating new energy solutions that are great for customers and for the environment.

We offer a diverse range of flexible working career opportunities: roles that are stimulating and rewarding, where you can get involved in ground-breaking work. And it’s important to us that we recruit from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds.

Effective use of data is at the centre of our work to bring about a Net Zero energy supply. As the energy sector becomes more digitalised we have a key role to play in ensuring that this is underpinned with best practice and regulation.

As a Senior Data Scientist you’ll be working in our dynamic and growing Analytics team. It’s a team that’s cross-functional, diverse and knowledgeable. You'll accelerate data driven decision making, digital transformation and enable self-service analytics across Ofgem. You’ll be responsible for designing, building and deploying data science models to answer strategic business questions using modern data science technologies such as Azure Synapse, Python, R, and Power BI.

In this new role, working closely with the Financial Supervisory team and with support from the wider Data Science team, you’ll apply data science techniques across a wide range of energy market data and processes. You’ll embed and launch Data Science models to help inform strategic decisions - assessing current software, architecture and capabilities, sourcing and preparing strategic data sets. You’ll also collaborate in the creation of Data Science Best practice and provide expertise to other Ofgem departments and external stakeholders. It’s a role that requires an understanding of strategic business initiatives and analysis, data assets, and Data Science product development as well as being able to use data visualisation and storytelling techniques to share conclusions and advise on impacts.

It’s essential that you can bring mathematical, statistical and analytical/research skills and your knowledge in the development of data science, machine learning, analytics or statistical data products should include a core data science language. Your professional expertise should be complemented by highly developed communication and presentation skills along with a methodical approach and a keen focus on quality.

Job description

The Data Scientist is a role within our Analytics team key to accelerating data driven decision making, digital transformation and enable self-service analytics across Ofgem. They design, build and deploy data science models to answer strategic business questions using modern data science technology e.g. Azure Synapse, Python, Power BI and Qlik Sense.  

This role is for a Data Scientist in the Financial Supervision team, in the Financial Resilience & Controls division that focuses on fostering financial resilience and undertakes supervision of domestic and non-domestic energy suppliers. The Senior Data Scientist will support the Supervision Team working closely with the Head of Data Science to deliver the strategic initiatives in our Data Science transformation roadmap. This includes: 

• Develop advanced analytics products. 
• Sourcing and preparing strategic data sets. 
• Assessing current software, architecture and capabilities. 
• Developing training, communities, standards or providing advisory services on Data Science to Ofgem. 

The goal will be to embed Data Science models and analysis into all strategic decisions where appropriate.   

Person specification

Key Responsibilities 

• Understand strategic business initiatives and analytical questions to answer. 
• Understand what data assets are available before sourcing, preparing and transforming the data required for the model. 
• Develop Advanced Analytics products that are accurate, appropriate and insightful to business users. 
• Use data visualisation and storytelling techniques to share the analytic conclusions reached and what their strategic impact is. 
• Designs and creates business intelligence reports and dashboards (aka data or insights products) to support the supervision activity and project management. 
• Supports data preparation from existing sources. 
• Sources and prepares data for supervisory analysis as well as team management and planning and performs analysis activities. 
• Uses visualisation products to design and create data or insights products. 
• Uses office productivity products as guided to embed data or insights products in digital platform or processes. 
• Select appropriate visualisation techniques from the options available. 
• Collaborate in the creation of Data Science best practice and training for the Data team and all staff across Ofgem. 

Key Outputs and Deliverables 

• Release Advanced Analytics models in Production through CI/CD pipelines, using the available MS Azure infrastructure. 
• Create Dashboards or data visualisations. 
• (Collaborate in producing) Development processes, standards, release mechanism and value monitoring. 
• Data Science training materials. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £45,614, OFGEM contributes £12,315 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Technical skills.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), and upload a copy of your CV anonymising all details where necessary.  

You will then be asked to answer 3 Technical Questions evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within these answers how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities. 

The Civil Service values honesty and integrity and expect all candidates to abide by these principles. Ofgem take any incidences of cheating very seriously. Please ensure all examples provided are of your own experience. Any instances of plagiarism or other forms of cheating will be investigated and, if proven, the relevant applications will be withdrawn from the process. 

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.