19416 - Senior Data Scientist (National)


Company:	Ministry of Justice
Salary:	£42,914 - £53,081
Hours:	Full-time
Location:	National, NP10 8FZ
Working pattern:	Hybrid - 3 days remote
Job type:	Permanent
Posting date:	29 Jul 2026
Closing date:	2 Aug 2026

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Summary

Senior Data Scientist

Location: National*

Closing Date: 31st July 2026

Interviews: Rolling – from 10th July to 14th August

Grade: SEO

(MoJ candidates who are on a specialist grade, will be able to retain this grade on lateral transfer)

Salary**:

National: £42,914 - £46,182 (Which may include an allowance up to £9,424)

London: £49,325 - £53,081 (Which may include an allowance up to £7,440)

Working pattern: Full-time, Part-time, Flexible working,

Contract Type: Permanent

Number of vacancies: 12

Vacancy number: 19416

*We offer a hybrid working model, allowing for a balance between remote work and time spent in your local office. Office locations can be found ON THIS MAP

Please note that unless you are an existing member of staff at Justice Digital, Data and Science, the only London location being recruited to is 10 South Colonnade, E14 4PU. We are no longer recruiting to 102 Petty France, SW1H 9AJ.

The Role

Please note this role requires you to pass Security Check clearance. Please click on the link for details.

We’re recruiting for Senior Data Scientists here at Justice Digital, Data and Science to be part of our warm and collaborative Data Science & AI teams.

This role aligns against Data scientist from the Government Digital and Data Framework

These roles sit within Justice Data. We exist to ensure that high quality data, algorithms and tools, are available, trusted, and effectively used to improve decision making across the justice system. We play a critical enabling role in delivering the department’s strategic, operational, and transformation priorities by turning complex and fragmented data into meaningful insight and practical tools.

The Data Science community at MoJ has around 80 members of staff providing data science support across a diverse and exciting agenda. We create a culture in which people are empowered by data and information to make better decisions using cutting edge tools and put evidence at the heart of the justice system.

We have a track record of delivering services to front line staff using wide ranging data science techniques, including the award-winning safety diagnostic tool, which helps our staff tackle violence in prisons (including machine learning features), and the public-facing Criminal justice system (CJS) delivery data dashboard. We also created Splink, used across the public sector, private sector, and academia. We regularly deliver insights that directly influence corporate, operational and policy decisions. Our projects span the data science spectrum including generative AI, machine learning, natural language processing, semantic embedding models, traditional statistics, and operational research techniques.

You’ll receive a range of excellent benefits when you join our department, including:

A generous employer pension contribution of 28.97% through the Civil Service Pension Scheme.

25 days of annual leave, (increasing to 30 days once you have reached 5 years of service), plus 8 bank holidays and a privilege day for the King’s birthday.

Flexible working arrangements including hybrid working, working part time or compressed hours. Designed to support a positive work–life balance.

Employees are allocated 10% of their working time for personal and professional development.

A £1k per person learning budget is in place to support all our people, with access to best-in-class conferences and seminars, accreditation with professional bodies, fully funded vocational programmes and e-learning platforms.

Compassionate maternity, adoption, and shared parental leave policies, with up to 26 weeks leave at full pay, 13 weeks with partial pay, and 13 weeks further leave. And maternity support/paternity leave at full pay for 2 weeks, too!

You can find more details of the Benefits we offer here. To help picture your life at MoJ Justice Digital, Data and Science please take a look at our blog.

How to Apply

In Justice Digital, Data and Science, we recruit using a combination of the Government Digital and Data Profession Capability and Success Profiles Frameworks. We shall assess a combination of your Experience, Technical skills and Behaviours during the assessment process.

Stage 1 - Application and sift:

To apply for this position, you must submit the following as part of your application:

A CV detailing your career history (including any relevant qualifications). Your CV will be assessed against the essential criteria outlined within the Person Specification of this advert.

A Personal Statement (no more than 750 words) which should outline your experience and skills, giving clear examples of work undertaken. It should specifically address the following criteria listed below, using a separate paragraph for each.

Experience of applying analytical or data science techniques / foundation in probability and statistics

Experience in writing high-quality code in Python (or significant experience with other programming languages and ability to learn Python quickly)

A diverse sift panel will review the information in your CV and Personal Statement to assess the sift criteria specified above. We operate an anonymous shortlisting process. Please ensure your CV and Personal Statement do not include your name or any other identifying details.

Should we receive a high volume of applications, a pre-sift based on experience of applying analytical or data science techniques / foundation in probability and statistics will be conducted before the sift.

Please access the following link for guidance on how to apply - Application Guidance

Stage 2 - Interviews:

Successful candidates who meet the required standard will undertake a technical test, if you pass the test, you will then be invited to a panel interview held via Microsoft Teams. At interview stage, you will be assessed against the following Success Profile elements - Experience, Technical and the following Behaviours:

• Communicating and Influencing

• Working Together

Appointments are made strictly in merit order. In the event that two or more candidates receive identical interview scores, the Communicating and Influencing behaviour will be applied as the primary lead criterion to determine the final merit order.

Should you be unsuccessful in the role that you have applied for but demonstrate the capability for a role at a lower level, we reserve the right to discuss this opportunity with you and offer you the position without needing a further application.

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