Data Scientist

Data Scientist Ref. 3411 Read the overview of this opportunity to understand what skills, including and relevant soft skills and software package proficiencies, are required. Location: Cheltenham, Manchester Closing Date - 23:00 PM on Tuesday 18th of February 2025 Department: Technology, Engineering & Research Salary: £34,663-£41,347 dependent on skills and experience. Opportunity to qualify for specialist skills payment ranging from £4,420-£18,720 Apply Description Flexible Working: We offer full-time and part-time opportunities with flexible working hours. Remote working may be possible, and there will be opportunities for some home working. It will be structured as 80% office-based and 20% from home, with one day a week dedicated to a combination of learning and working from home. About Us GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks and espionage. At GCHQ you’ll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork. The Role As a Data Scientist you’ll use the power of data to solve challenges, research new capabilities and support the key work being done by our analysts. You’ll analyse complex datasets, develop predictive models, and create data-driven insights. Working on mission-critical projects, you’ll collaborate with specialists and use your knowledge and experience to advance scalable AI, machine learning, and data science capabilities. There is a wide scope to this role, giving you the exciting opportunity to shape it to your strengths. This means you might be solving small automation issues, delivering complex analytics, or pioneering the integration of AI in unexplored areas. At other times, your work could include a larger research component, where you’ll spend time exploring literature, collaborating with academia, trialling ideas, and adapting methods, or developing new ones when needed. No matter what you do, you’ll always be generous with your knowledge, sharing valuable information, tools, and techniques that nurture the understanding of different teams and the broader data science community. About You You’re a problem solver, driven by results and the possibility of challenging, yet rewarding work. You excel in collaborative environments, working effectively within a team to deliver successful outcomes. Whether you already have practical experience in a data science field or are currently studying with the goal of attaining a STEM, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics or a related degree by the summer of 2025, you’re prepared to step into this role. Your expertise in data science allows you to interpret large data sets and apply machine learning techniques. You possess a foundational understanding of various aspects of data science and are always eager to learn and acquire new technical skills. Training and Development At GCHQ, we’re committed to giving you all the support and guidance you need to build a rewarding career at the heart of national security, and we’ll do this from the very start. From day one, you’ll have a comprehensive introduction to the organisation, plus a buddy on hand to support and mentor you as you get settled in. We understand that everyone learns differently, so we’ll tailor your development to suit your needs – whether that’s through books, studying, courses, or conferences. Additionally, we offer an internal Data Science learning pathway with a significant taught component. Successfully completing this pathway will open up a variety of other learning opportunities, aligned with ambitions, career direction, and our mission requirements. The programme includes modules on exploratory data analysis and visualisation, mathematics and statistics, machine learning, algorithms and graph theory, and big data technologies. Rewards and Benefits You’ll receive a starting salary of £34,663 - £41,347 depending on skills and experience. You might also qualify for a skills payment based on your expertise. Plus, you’ll enjoy other benefits, including:

• 25 days annual leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days of public and privilege holidays
• Opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• Interest-free season ticket loan
• Excellent pension scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Facilities such as a gym, restaurant, and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• Paid parental and adoption leave

Equal Opportunities At GCHQ, diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word, those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are underrepresented in our workforce such as women, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds. Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website. We’re Disability Confident GCHQ is proud to have achieved Leader status within the DWP’s Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain, and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a fair and proportionate number of person-to-person interviews to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:

• Practical experience in a data science field or currently studying with the goal of a attaining a STEM, Computer Science, Data Science, Statistics, or related degree by the summer of 2025 – assessed at application sift
• Strong motivation for the role and a genuine interest for working for the organisation – assessed at application sift

What to Expect Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

• CV and application question sift
• A competency based and technical interview – looking at your motivation for the role and your understanding of data science
• If successful, you will receive a conditional offer of employment

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process, to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6-9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you to continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer. Before You Apply To work at GCHQ, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. You can read our full eligibility criteria here. This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. You can find out more about the vetting process here. Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs, and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage. Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practice and will help you manage your application with us more discreetly. The role is based in Cheltenham and Manchester, so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs. Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member. Right to Withdraw Statement: Please be aware that, we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.