About the job

Job summary

Here at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and 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.

This role is within the Spatial Data Unit (SDU) which demonstrates the power of data to inform place-based decision making across central and local government. The SDU sits within the Strategy Group that is supporting the priorities of the Deputy Prime Minister. We are looking for a Data Scientist to support a fast-paced team on delivering analytical requests for the top priorities of the Deputy Prime Minister and other senior stakeholders. We are seeking talented, curious and motivated individuals who have a passion for using data to make better decisions. 

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 data scientist, you will:

• support delivery of analytical commissions from Secretary of State, Ministers and other senior stakeholders to often tight deadlines
• support delivery of longer-term data science and analytical projects
• work with stakeholders, including Private Offices, to understand their data and analytical needs
• use a range of coding practices to manipulate data, including opportunities to do geospatial analysis using QGIS and other geospatial software, and rapidly build scalable data products for a range of users within a technology context
• help shape data-driven prototypes of creative solutions such as:

1. data analytics that find potential opportunities or problem behaviours previously unknown or unquantified
2. rapid prototypes of data-driven tools that test hypotheses with stakeholders and end users

• create and validate machine learning models that can be deployed within digital applications
• design innovative data visualisations and effectively exploit interactive visualisations techniques to create data packs and aid data story telling
• disseminate data-driven insights and recommendations to a range of technical and non-technical stakeholders
• ensure all work adheres to key quality, privacy, security and data protection principles
• potential line management of HEO Data Scientists and graduate data scientists

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 data scientist, you’ll have:

• experience working as a Data Scientist or Analyst and a passion for data and data science
• ability to successfully deliver data/ analytical outputs to tight deadlines
• ability to pick up new technologies relevant to the data manipulation, data analytics and visualisation domain
• an ability to think critically about analytical problems, be cognisant of the policy context and produce robust analysis
• an ability to communicate your analysis effectively, according to your audience’s needs
• good data manipulation skills and problem-solving skills to work around potentially messy data
• experience of using Python or R. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,466, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities contributes £11,465 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, Ability and Experience.

MHCLG want to bring in a diverse workforce at all levels.  

Our application system is designed to remove as much bias as possible from the recruitment system – this means that a hiring manager does not know your name, your details, see your whole application in one go (or have your CV at review stage unless stated otherwise).  

Your answers are randomised and chunked up. This means that each assessor views sets of responses to questions for example all candidates’ responses to ‘Seeing the Big Picture’ rather than seeing a candidate’s full application. The science behind this is that recruitment can be subject to ordering and fatigue effects and we want to reduce this as much as possible.  

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that each of your answers would be viewed by different assessors. 

When writing your application, remember: 

• The assessor won’t be reading your answers sequentially.  

• Do not assume that the same assessors will have read all of your answers.  

• If talking about something in your first answer, make sure that you write the second answer as if you had not written the first (and so on!) 

CV and Cover Letter Declaration 

We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called name blind recruitment. 

Please remove references to your: 

• name/title
• educational institutions
• age
• gender
• email address
• postal address
• phone number
• nationality/immigration status

You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document. When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter. 

Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors. 

At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing: 

• Technical
• Experience

In your CV and covering letter, please include: a. why you are interested in the role; b. how you meet the essential skills and experience required.

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements:   

• Technical
• Ability
• Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Delivering at Pace

Candidates who are shortlisted for interview may also be asked to do a presentation or additional tests. Further details will be provided following sift. 

In full the campaign will test the below Success Profile Elements: 

• Technical: Technical questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the person specification
• Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the person specification
• Ability
• Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Working Together, Delivering at Pace

We do not consider direct CV applications – you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs: 

Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign.

Group 1 Digital and Data roles 

MHCLG has implemented the Digital and Data capability framework for Group 1 roles. Applicants that are successful at the sift stage will be required to complete a capability assessment at interview.  

MHCLG will honour completed capability assessments for this role from other Government Departments for existing Civil Servants. 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. 

Salary is determined by performance at interview, within the range advertised. 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 opportunities at least once a year to re assess your capability and progress through the pay scale within your grade. An additional digital allowance may be payable depending on level of assessed capability. 

Candidates moving from another government department have the option to retain their current salary where the principle for implementation is there is no detriment where existing pay exceeds the indicative level. Where individuals are at a lower salary than their assessed level, they will receive an upward adjustment. 

SEO Group 1 Digital and Data salary 

• The salary for this role will between £45,813 - £49,417 (London), £42,466 - £46,199 (National) depending on the proficiency level assessment. 

• An additional digital allowance may be payable depending on the level of assessed capability up to £6,665 

• For applicants in receipt of existing allowances, we will assess each case individually and aim to match the digital allowance implemented with no detriment.  

• For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. 

 
Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation’s terms and conditions.   

Benefits 

Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018: 

Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk. 

For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack. 

Geographical Location: 

• London
• Wolverhampton
• Darlington*
• Manchester

There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role. 

*Please note: The Darlington Economic Campus is a pioneering new cross-government hub which will bring together people across departments and public organisations to play an active role in the most important economic issues of the day. The work of the Campus will make a real difference to people both across the UK and internationally. There will be substantial career opportunities and exciting prospects - a career at the Campus means you will be working at the heart of Government, with access to the benefits and fantastic opportunities offered by the civil service.  This role is based at MHCLG and we will be joined on the campus by: 

• HM Treasury  

• Department for International Trade 

• Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy  

• Office for National Statistics  

• Department for Education 

 

For further information on the DEC, please take a look at the attached DEC candidate pack. 

Sift and Interview dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place from Thursday, 1st of August with interview dates to be confirmed. All interviews are currently being held remotely via videocall.

Reserve List 

In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Due to the length of time CTC checks can take, our HR Shared Services team will contact reserve list candidates for London based roles to commence CTC checks. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@levellingup.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list. 

CTC (Counter-terrorism Clearance): 

Important note 

 
Successful candidates for roles based in our 2 Marsham Street building must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check and the process can take up to 8 weeks to complete. 
 
Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the CTC security checks – this requires you to have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years. Please refer to the MHCLG Notes on Security Clearance section of our Candidate Pack for further information on Counter Terrorism Clearance (CTC).  
 

Candidates should also note that with effect from 1st August 2018 the department will also check all applicants who are successful at interview, against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) held by the Cabinet Office. In accordance with the Civil Service Internal Fraud Policy, any applicant who is included on the IFD will be refused employment by MHCLG. Please see the Candidate Pack for further information on the Internal Fraud Database. 

Candidate Pack Information 

Please see attached Candidate pack for further information. 

Before starting your application it’s very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules 

 

Internal Fraud Database 

The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned. The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to MHCLG as a participating government organisations. MHCLG then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented.  

For more information please see- Internal Fraud Register 

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.