Senior Data Scientist

Working at HM Treasury puts you at the heart of government, making a difference to the UK economy and ultimately to people’s lives right across the UK.

Jobs at the Treasury are fast-paced, fun and can offer unparalleled perspective – not least the opportunity to advise Ministers on the decisions which directly determine the UK’s prosperity. Deep in our DNA is a commitment to empowering our people: maximising individual and collective impact, with interesting work no matter your role or seniority.

Day-to-day you could be supporting Ministers to decide the right level of a specific tax or line of government spending; helping maintain the stability of financial markets; analysing the long-term trends impacting the future of the economy; or enabling this work as part of our vital corporate functions.

We are a high-performing department and proud to have outstanding staff from a wide range of backgrounds. We are also a friendly, inclusive and sociable workplace that prides itself on fostering great team spirit. Our two largest offices are 1 Horse Guards Road in London, opposite St James’ Park, and the Darlington Economic Campus, which also contains eight other departments. We work seamlessly across all our sites, including Norwich, Birmingham and Leeds, as one Treasury.

We are both a 1,000-year-old institution and dynamic, forward-looking economics and finance ministry, with a strong direction set by our organisational strategy, the Future Treasury Vision. The 21st century offers huge opportunities and poses new challenges for the UK. Working at the Treasury is your chance to help the country chart the right course

NISTA

The Prime Minister has called for reform of the British state, seeking to go further and faster on renewal, and to ensure a more active government. To support these aims, the government has established the National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) as its centre of infrastructure expertise, harnessing the policy and strategy insight of the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) and the delivery specialism of the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) and bringing them together to create a new, stronger and more powerful organisation capable of delivering these goals. NISTA has six objectives:

• Overseeing the government’s 10 Year Infrastructure Strategy
• Identifying and coordinating infrastructure needs
• Unblocking barriers and streamlining delivery of the government’s major projects
• Setting standards and improving the government’s project delivery capabilities
• Providing effective assurance for the government’s priority projects
• Leading expertise on private finance

About the team

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to join a friendly and ambitious team who are always finding new ways to drive better use of data, right in the heart of central government?

The NISTA Data & Insight Team brings together data scientists, engineers, analysts and digital professionals who genuinely care about learning from each other, sharing ideas and making things happen. Together we turn rich, high-value project data into analysis, insights and tools that support people across government, from project delivery teams to senior leaders in HMT, the Cabinet Office and No10, to make decisions that shape how the UK delivers its biggest and most complex projects. Working with the Government Major Projects Portfolio, the 10‑year Infrastructure Pipeline and other project delivery data, your work will directly influence how major programmes are planned, delivered and improved.

Over the last two years, the team has undergone a significant transformation, digitising large-scale project data collection and overhauling our digital and data infrastructure. This enables us to create high-impact dashboards and analytics as well as drive the development of AI tools. It means we can develop and share quickly, resulting in rapid iterative development with our users. And we continue to evolve, improve our capability and develop our skills.

In this role, you’ll be joining a supportive, inclusive and collaborative environment, where you can grow your skills, tackle meaningful challenges and make a real impact on the future of government delivery.

As a Senior Data Scientist within NISTA's Data and Insight team, you will balance technical expertise with strong communication skills to develop bespoke data science products used across NISTA, HM Treasury, the wider UK government, and the private sector. Working closely with colleagues across NISTA's Data and Insight team, you will support junior team members, generate insight, and develop AI-enabled capabilities.

You will bring strong technical expertise in developing data science products across their full lifecycle, from initial development through to deployment and maintenance. This includes strong coding ability in Python, a solid understanding of version control using Git, and the ability to model best practice in these tools for junior colleagues. You will also collaborate with Data Engineers and Infrastructure Engineers to deploy these products, ensuring they are robust and scalable.

Working closely with subject matter experts across NISTA, wider Treasury and the Project Delivery Function, you will ensure the insight products we generate are high quality, relevant and user centric. This includes communicating the outputs clearly and engagingly, turning complex analysis into stories that help leaders make confident, evidence-based decisions and increase the value we deliver to decision makers across government.

You will be embedded within a Data Science team, supervising the work of junior colleagues, providing advice and steer to help them develop their skills and improve our product offering. As part of this, you will actively encourage a culture of data science experimentation and learning, supporting innovation days and Python clubs to upskill more junior colleagues. The role also offers significant opportunity to deepen your own expertise, both technically and in developing your project management skills, within a supportive, ambitious and forward-thinking environment.

Key Accountabilities for this role include:

• You will lead and develop your own products as part of our insights workstream: Maintaining and developing a range of data science products (including Python Plotly Dash apps, Next.js apps and advanced analytical tools using ML and AI)
• Mentor and support junior colleagues, enabling them to upskill their digital skills and empowering them to take ownership of tasks.
• Work with a range of partners, including colleagues across multiple departments, to ensure our products are user-centric from the outset.
• Working to expand and develop our advanced analytical offering for the Project Delivery Function, including building and embedding advanced AI tools across government
• Providing guidance to team members on best practices in coding, analysis, and usage of data, including use of Git for version control.
• Fostering a culture of experimentation and learning, working within the team to upskill non-analytical colleagues and encourage innovation.
• Communicate complex data science outputs to senior leaders across government with confidence, enabling data-driven decision making.

The hiring manager will be running a candidate drop-in session to give you greater insight about the role and HM Treasury, and ask any questions you might have. If you would like to join us, use the link below to join the call at the right time.

Monday 14th September 13:00-14:00

Join: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/352732520262642?p=DhgLx5BjTZxl0iLwYe

Meeting ID: 352 732 520 262 642

Passcode: rv33db7e

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date, please contact Harry Woolnough harry.woolnough@nista.gov.uk

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Candidate Guidance

Please review the candidate guidance for an overview of the Success Profiles and STAR approach, along with top tips for applications and interviews.

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 20th September 2026
• Shortlisting: w/c 21st September
• Interviews: 1st/2nd October 2026

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.

Reserve Lists

You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a role immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to provide your location preference on your application form. Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer.

If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Those on the reserve list may also be approached for similar roles at a lower grade. If you are offered a role at a lower grade and choose to decline, you can remain on the reserve list.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Candidates cannot apply to roles in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Successful candidates will be subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database. This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This also applies to those who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the database will be refused employment.

National Security Vetting

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, successful candidates will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Security Check (SC).

To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. You will be asked to provide residency information within your application form, and eligibility for national security vetting will be checked once the advert closing date has passed. In certain circumstances, for example if you have been working abroad on a government posting, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis once the advert closing date has passed.

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