Senior Data Scientist in London

West and North London Integrated Care Board (WNL ICB) are recruiting two Senior Data Scientists to join our growing in-house data science capability at an exciting time in our development. Through our investment in One London, we hold linked, person-level data spanning primary care, hospitals, mental health, community and social care for our population - a rich asset to get hands-on with in our new cloud-native stack (Snowflake).

As an experienced technical expert and researcher, you'll lead on individual projects that apply advanced predictive and prescriptive methods (such as causal inference, stochastic simulations, Bayesian hierarchical modelling, machine learning and more) to real-world operational and strategic questions such as identifying which interventions are likely to give the greatest return on investment, building risk models to identify who could benefit from proactive care, and evaluating whether our investments are having the intended effect. Working closely with the Head of Data Science and Lead Data Scientist you'll turn your work into real, actionable tools in production that will impact operational service delivery and enhance strategic and clinical decision-making. You will play a key role in ensuring data and new technologies are used responsibly and ethically to ensure innovation does not perpetuate existing health inequalities so must feel confident promoting these principles.

Main duties of the job

• Independently developing data science solutions that produce actionable insights or tools, considering user needs, data quality and management, user experience and engagement and making best use of statistical modelling and/or machine learning methods and working with other team members to deployment and maintain these.
• Use open-source analytical tools (including R or Python) in an open and collaborative way using Git to code collaboratively ensuring work follows industry standards such as Reproducible Analytical Processes (RAP).
• Maintaining a knowledge of a broad range of advanced statistical methodologies to identify and apply the most appropriate technical solution to a given problem, alongside a modelling specialism in line with the seniority of the role.
• Working with stakeholders to understand the underlying business need and applying your knowledge and influencing skills to co-design appropriate project plans (including problem articulation, project scoping and design, modelling, communication, deployment and evaluation).
• Communicating relevant, compelling stories using the most appropriate medium providing complex, actionable recommendations at a tactical and strategic level.
• Identifying development opportunities for yourself and adopting innovative practices learned from the wider analytics community.
• Mentor analysts within the team to develop technical skills in their work.
• Upholding high ethical standards across the data science lifecycle.

About us

We are NHS West and North London. We are the main commissioning NHS organisation for planning and funding health services across our area. Our job is simple: to help people stay healthy and to make sure everyone can get good care when they need it.

Our strategy includes:

• Reducing inequalities
• Investing strategically to prevent ill health
• Better supporting people with the greatest needs, so everyone stays well
• Make care more local and easier to access
• Empowered local people that feel more confident about their health and wellbeing

Details

• Date posted: 11 September 2026
• Pay scheme: Agenda for change
• Band: Band 8a
• Salary: £66,274 to £73,496 a year per annum Including HCA
• Contract: Permanent
• Working pattern: Full-time
• Reference number: 807-ABDS-B8A-AA
• Job locations: Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JD, United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

As a proactive member of data science communities, you will collaborate with local academic and nationwide NHS partners, applying your findings locally and contributing to the teams technical standards. You'll have scope to grow your specialism, independently learn and apply new methods, and support colleagues across the analytics team as they build their advanced analytical skills. If you would enjoy applying your advanced technical skills to solve real-world problems using a rich linked dataset, and are interested in creating ethical, innovative and actionable insights that influence operations, strategy and population health, we would be keen to hear from you.

Please see the attached Job Description and Personal Specification for full duties and responsibilities. For further information or an informal discussion about the role, please contact: Emily Baldwin, Head of Data Science, Emily.baldwin20@nhs.net

Closing date: 27th September 2026

Task release: w/c 19th October 2026 (approximate)

Date of Interview: w/c 2nd November 2026 (approximate)

Person Specification

Education/ Knowledge and Qualifications

• Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working in an analytical role.
• Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development.
• An active member of relevant professional body and/or wider analytical networks.

Experience

• Expert in open-source scripting languages, such as Python/R.
• Demonstrated experience in one or more of:
• Simulation methods, such as Discrete Event Simulation, System Dynamics, and MCMC.
• Regression modelling, generalised linear models such as logistic or Poisson, multilevel models, Analysis of Variance.
• Bayesian approaches to modelling.
• Causal inference.
• Machine Learning / predictive models: regression/classification trees, random forests, boosting, neural networks.
• Experimental design and applying the appropriate testing framework to analytics.
• Experience improving decision quality, working with system leaders to ask the right questions.
• Experience using the tools of reproducible analytic pipelines, such as git, GitHub, documentation, automation, and code review.
• Experience supporting team members to develop professionally.

Skills & Abilities

• Expert knowledge of predictive, prescriptive and/or evaluative analytical techniques.
• Expert in delivering actionable insights using static and/or interactive data visualisation where appropriate.
• Able to scope several solutions to a business problem and triage to propose the most appropriate solution within the operational constraints and resolution needed to make a decision.
• Proven skills in working collaboratively.
• Evidence of delivering results through others using a range of levers in the absence of direct line management responsibility.
• Problem solving skills and ability to respond to sudden unexpected demands.
• Demonstrable knowledge in relevant analytical fields, their associated methods, and their potential for application within epidemiology, data science, econometrics and operational research.
• Knowledge of the role of analysis in improving decision quality and be capable of supporting advanced decision-making methods (e.g. multicriteria decision analysis).
• Good understanding of advanced analytics, including one or more of machine learning, simulation and causal inference. Knowledge covers modelling, best practices in training, deployment, and monitoring.

Communication

• Ability to explain the principles, results, implications, strengths and limitations of analytical methods to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Provide and receive highly complex, sensitive and contentious information, negotiate with senior stakeholders on difficult and controversial issues, and present complex and sensitive information to large and influential groups.
• Persuade team members and stakeholders of the respective merits of different options, innovation and new tech opportunities.
• Able to communicate findings and clear actionable insights to non-analyst colleagues.

Effort factors

• Capable of managing own workload and making informed decisions in the absence of required information, working to tight and often changing timescales.
• Proactively identifies areas for professional development and able to independently learn technical skills.
• Able to make decisions autonomously when required and appropriate.

Values and Behaviours

• Commitment to the values and principles of system working agreed across WNL.
• Ability to actively promote equality, diversity and inclusion within all areas of responsibility and challenge processes and approaches that may promote inequalities.
• Demonstrates a strong desire to improve outcomes and make a difference by focusing on goals.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name: West and North London ICB

Address: Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5JD, United Kingdom