DATA ANALYST / DATA SCIENTIST

Actica is currently accepting applications for a Data Analyst / Data Scientist

About Actica

Actica is a fast-growing Digital Transformation consultancy working primarily in the UK Public Sector. We deliver high-quality, high-impact, independent, client-side advisory services to customers including MoD, Home Office, Ministry of Justice, Blue Light, National Security and other government agencies. Our diverse team of highly skilled and experienced consultants deliver complex projects to limited timescales, providing a varied range of services including business consultancy, enterprise architecture, cyber security consultancy, technology consultancy, data analytics/data science, strategic planning, and procurement support.

Role Profile

As a Data Analyst or Data Scientist at Actica, you will have the opportunity to use and develop your data skills to unlock business problems for a wide range of high-profile UK public sector organisations. Your help will enable them to get the maximum benefit from their investments in technology, information and facilities, and in doing so, play a key role in nationally critical projects which make a real difference to people’s everyday lives.

Actica recognises that Data Analytics and Data Science are different disciplines, though closely related. When we talk about Data Analytics, we think primarily of exploiting existing data to generate deeper insights and support faster, more assured decision-taking. When we talk about Data Science, our focus is on scoping, designing, and developing innovative ways to capture and exploit new or previously unexploited data. Actica colleagues tend to move between the two, depending on experience, interest, and client requirements. In either role, you would be expected to translate business problems into data queries, applying data standards and principles to add fresh understanding. You should be able to provide advice on how best to set up data exploitation to assure success, including consideration of a range of different languages and toolsets. You will need to relate your work to the clients’ wider data environment, so understanding of some of the key principles of data architecture is also important.

This role will require you to work flexibly as part of teams of varying sizes and compositions – including data specialists and others with different skillsets. Over time, you may move on to leading assignments and take responsibility for supervising direct reports whilst ensuring the overall success of the engagement.

Our work is often ‘client-side’, working alongside and integrated closely with client staff. This means that your role will involve significant stakeholder engagement, dealing directly with the client, including in resolving day-day issues involved in assignment delivery, so strong interpersonal and influencing skills are very useful.

While Guildford is our home base, consultants typically spend their time working remotely. For most clients, consultants spend 2-3 days working remotely and 2-3 days co-located with colleagues at a client’s site or our office in Guildford. For some projects, there will a requirement to work up to 5 days a week co-located with colleagues. All work is team based, with a high level of engagement with other Actica and client team members. Consultants are encouraged to get involved in internal activities and to attend company team events whenever possible.

Career Development

You will be given the opportunity to further your career in data, specialising in the application of a broad range of methodologies and technical specialisations to a wide range of business problems.

You will have a performance and development manager, who will hold six monthly reviews (while at Consultant and Senior Consultant grades) of your progress, aspirations, objectives and training needs. In addition, a career mentor independent of your line management, will provide support and guidance throughout your journey with Actica.

We provide substantial training, tailored to the individual. This includes online, classroom and in-house courses, leading to nationally recognised qualifications in relation to specialisms such as Programme and Project Management; Business Change / Transformation; Agile Delivery and Procurement; Security Assurance; Governance, and; Technology Procurement. We provide structured career development pathways to help you gain responsibility and influence.

Responsibilities

Working either individually or – more usually – as part of a larger team, you will undertake assignments such as:

• • • Creating genuinely useful data outcomes to help deliver client goals in major business transformation programmes;
    • Hands-on analytics, including working with clients, users and other team members to address data availability and quality issues before they become blockers;
    • Carrying out ‘pre-discovery’ to establish which business problems, or which parts of business problems, are best addressed through data analytics / data science;
    • Translating business problems into data exploitation queries;
    • Specifying data analytics and data science environments;
    • Understanding data flows, i.e., which parts of the organization generate data, which require data to function, how data flows are managed, and how data changes in transition;
    • Collaborating and coordinating with multiple departments, stakeholders, partners, and external vendors.

Qualifications and Experience

We work predominantly within the UK Defence and Public Sectors so experience within those sectors is desirable, preferably in roles which have used data to solve business problems. The fast-moving nature of the Public Sector technology environment, together with the need to resource multiple, ad-hoc assignments, also requires our data analysts and data scientists to be quick thinkers, proactive and self-motivated – with the ability to apply a structured approach to often unfamiliar subject matter.

The following attributes and areas of experience will make you particularly suited to this role:

• • • Coding, e.g., expertise in Python or R;
    • Collaborative, team-based development;
    • Cloud analytics platforms, e.g., relevant AWS and Azure platform services;
    • Data visualisation tools, e.g., Power BI, Qlik Sense;
    • Data science approaches and tooling, e.g., Hadoop, Spark;
    • Data engineering approaches;
    • Database management, e.g., MySQL, Postgres;
    • Government Digital Service approaches, i.e., the Government Service Design Manual and the Service Standard;
    • Software development methods and techniques, e.g., Agile methods such as SCRUM;
    • Software change management, notably familiarity with git;
    • Public sector best practice guidance, e.g., ITIL, OGC toolkit.

You will also need to hold or be eligible to hold UK security clearance; more information about the clearances can be found here: United Kingdom Security Vetting: clearance levels – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Actica aims to nurture a diverse workforce through inclusive working practices, promoting equality in our recruitment activities, and employing candidates on the basis of merit and are looking for candidates who share these values.

To apply, please follow this link, alternatively, follow the instructions on the apply to us page.