Junior Data Scientist

Working within the Healthcare (registries) division of NEC Software Solutions as part of the Data Science and Analytics (DSA) Team your duties feature a mix of maintaining existing applications, regular and bespoke report generation, dashboard creation, documenting code bases, cleansing datasets, identifying data quality issues in large databases and supporting the analytical requirements of clinical steering groups. Your responsibilities will include supporting the development and deployment of a unified reporting strategy, coordinate/standardise the production of reports, explore new opportunities for the application of machine learning and advanced statistical methodologies to health data and support the development and activities of the DSA team.

NEC’s Healthcare division specialises in medical registries and health screening. The company’s software has been used to screen millions of babies for hearing loss and other inherited conditions. It also supports national and local diabetic eye screening programmes. NEC is the largest clinical registry supplier in the UK and its customers include NHS England’s UK-wide Outcomes and Registries Programme (which will become one of the largest clinical registries in the world), as well as specialist registries such as for robotic and spinal surgery.

The focus of your work will be on data held in these clinical registries and issues regarding the safety and outcomes of patients who have undergone surgical or medical interventions, the activities of clinicians and performance of implanted medical devices. This role involves working closely with the DSA team, as well as clinicians and medical device manufacturers, to develop new registries and health data reporting procedures to support the work of the NHS and private UK healthcare providers. This is a full-time, home-based role that may require occasional attendance at external events and journeys to the head office in Hemel Hempstead.

Key responsibilities include:

• Assist in the creation and deployment of a unified reporting strategy for the team.
• Liaise with industry and academic partners to align and improve our statistical methodology and reporting strategy.
• Explore real-world-evidence data sets for registry-specific analytical opportunities.
• Coordinate and assist with the generation of regularly scheduled and bespoke reports, including the plotting of charts using standard libraries.
• Take charge of data cleansing, quality assurance and supporting integration.
• Contribute ideas to improve productivity and delivery.
• Liaise with members of the data quality, development, business analyst and business consultant teams to deliver collaborative outputs.
• Build an extensive clinical knowledge base through meeting regularly with clinical steering groups.
• Work closely with clinicians to understand and support their reporting and analytical needs.

Mandatory qualifications and experience:

• A degree in computer science, statistics, or a related quantitative discipline.
• Proficiency with R (R Studio) and relevant packages for the purposes of data manipulation/cleaning, report generation, visualisation of data, statistical analysis, and modelling.
• Proficiency with SQL (Azure) for data manipulation, extract creation and aggregation of data from disparate sources.
• Proven experience cleansing, processing, and managing large data sets.
• Proven experience responding creatively to analytical briefs.
• Experience with data warehouses and open database connectivity.
• Statistical expertise (including survival analysis and predictive modelling).
• The ability to deliver under pressure and without regular supervision.
• Proven problem-solving skills and ability to work to deadlines.
• Self-motivation and a flexible approach to work.
• The ability to thrive in a collaborative team environment.

Desirable qualifications and experience:

• Postgraduate degree or professional IT certificate.
• Advanced Excel skills, including knowledge of VBA.
• Experience working with health data including clinical data registries.
• Experience working with ‘unclean’ data and free text.
• An interest in the application of machine learning, NLP, and AI to solve problems related to health data and patient safety.

We pride ourselves in offering an excellent benefits package, including an above average pension scheme. When you join the team at NEC Software Solutions, you are provided with the following:

• Private Medical Cover funded by NEC for Employees (with the option to add family members at an additional cost)
• 25 days paid holiday with the option to buy/sell
• 4 x basic salary life assurance cover funded by NEC (with the option to increase cover at an additional cost)
• A Group Pension Plan with fantastic employer contributions up to a maximum of 8.5%
• A selection of flexible benefits to suit your individual needs

Candidates must be able to demonstrate a pre-existing right to work and travel within the UK. Documentary evidence will be required.

All offers are subject to satisfactory vetting and reference checks. Depending on the nature of the role a Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check may also be required.

NEC Software Solutions is an equal opportunities employer, welcoming applications from all communities. If you require any reasonable adjustments or have specific accessibility needs during the recruitment or interview process, please feel free to share these with us. We are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accommodating experience for all candidates.