Job summary
- Main area
- Data Scientist
- Grade
- Band 8a
- Contract
- Fixed term: 12 months (8 hours a week)
- Hours
- Flexible working
- Other
- Job ref
- 350-TWS7466521
- Employer
- Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Knowsley Resource Centre, Whiston Hospital
- Town
- Rainhill
- Salary
- £55,690 - £62,682 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 05/10/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Data Scientist Mood Clinic
Band 8a
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Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust celebrates diversity and promotes equal opportunities; we are committed to challenging and eliminating racism and other forms of discrimination and advancing and promoting equality of opportunity in the provision of services and creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect.
We take positive action to support disadvantaged groups and also particularly encourage applications from ethnically diverse, disabled and LGBTQIA+ people that are under-represented in our workforce. Furthermore we welcome applications from reservists and ex-armed forces personnel as we recognise the benefits of the values, skills, training and experience that they bring to their work with us. We encourage all applicants to share their equality information with us.
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Job overview
Are you passionate about transforming mental health care and pioneering new treatments for mood disorders?
Step into a vital role at the Mood Disorder Clinic — a cutting-edge facility born from a unique partnership between Mersey Care and the University of Liverpool.
Reporting directly to the Mood Clinic’s Specialty Doctor and accountable to the Principal Investigator, you’ll apply your technical and analytical expertise to advance mood disorder treatments, support the development of sustainable, forward-thinking services that impact some of society’s most vulnerable individuals, and help shape the future of mood disorder treatment locally and beyond, influencing innovation and care delivery.
Main duties of the job
1. Conduct predictive modelling using statistical and machine learning techniques in order to build,
maintain, and improve on multiple real-time decision systems.
2. Interpret results from the analyses of Trust datasets, suggesting conclusions to be drawn.
3. Develop visualisations to facilitate the communication of results in a non-technical manner.
4. Develop, document andmaintain code using statistical andmachine learning software languages.
5. Identify novel uses of NHS data and implement solutions to deliver fresh insights.
6. Work effectively on your own and as part of the team - contributing innovative ideas and knowledge
to your colleagues.
Please see Job Description for a full view of main duties of the role.
Working for our organisation
Mersey Care is one of the largest trusts providing physical health and mental health services in the North West, serving more than 1.4 million people across our region and are also commissioned for services that cover the North West, North Wales and the Midlands.
We offer specialist inpatient and community services that support physical and mental health and specialist inpatient mental health, learning disability, addiction and brain injury services. Mersey Care is one of only three trusts in the UK that offer high secure mental health facilities.
At the heart of all we do is our commitment to ‘perfect care’ – care that is safe, effective, positively experienced, timely, equitable and efficient. We support our staff to do the best job they can and work alongside service users, their families, and carers to design and develop future services together. We’re currently delivering a programme of organisational and service transformation to significantly improve the quality of the services we provide and safely reduce cost as we do so.
Flexible working requests will be considered for all roles.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. Conduct predictive modelling using statistical and machine learning techniques in order to build, maintain, and improve on multiple real-time decision systems.
2. Interpret results from the analyses of Trust datasets, suggesting conclusions to be drawn.
3. Develop visualisations to facilitate the communication of results in a non-technical manner.
4. Develop, document, and maintain code using statistical and machine learning software languages.
5. Identify novel uses of NHS data and implement solutions to deliver fresh insights.
6. Work effectively on your own and as part of the team - contributing innovative ideas and knowledge to your colleagues.
7. Communicate effectively to non-technical colleagues both inside and outside of the Trust in both written and verbal form.
8. A commitment to innovation and good design forms part of the ethos of the Mood Disorder team and the post holder will be expected to participate in a culture of active investigation into better ways
of working and service provision.
9. The post holder will be expected to research best practice, interpret the relevance of this to the Trust, and identify methodologies that could be implemented to achieve improvements; this may involve
learning new skills as required and staying abreast of current technological developments.
10. The post holder may be required to research user experience, conduct surveys, and analyse the results to support a process of continual improvement to give benefit to users and the trust.
11. Where suitable, seek to publish your work in the public domain in order that the wider healthcare community can benefit from it.
12. Effectively communicate needs and technical limitations with both clients and colleagues.
13. Ensure data science solutions developed, documented and maintained by the team comply with, where applicable, Trust Standards, NHS Data Standards and General Data Protection Regulation
13/08/2025 legislation (GDPR) and that they are tested to a high standard before releasing for full business testing, and where applicable, clinical safety sign-off. Documentation will be suitable for the
provision of on-going support.
14. Ensure that all routine procedures are implemented and documented.
15. The post holder will design and develop major data science solutions, coordinating and soliciting input from businesses, operational stakeholders and systems, to meet specification of customers
across the Trust. They will also be responsible for the maintenance and development of data science solutions and systems that support customers and wider stakeholder groups, using relevant
software and ensuring that such development conforms to NHS standards.
16. The post holder will be involved in the full software development lifecycle for data science solutions, products and systems developed and managed by the team.
17. The post holder will be required on appointment to have substantial relevant experience of scripting and / or software development pertinent to data science and may need to undertake additional
training to achieve further competency and certification.
18. The post holder will collaborate in a formal system of change management to enable safe transition of information products and systems from design to operation.
19. The post holder will be required to plan and organise a broad range of complex activities and projects which impact across clinical and non-clinical areas e.g., the delivery of new data science
solutions. Ability to manage expectations in a challenging environment, prioritising tasks to meet deadlines.
20. The post holder will be expected to provide technical guidance and training to others within and outside the team in areas of special expertise in order to facilitate knowledge exchange and mutual
development.
21. The post holder will be required to concentrate for long periods on statistical / machine learning analyses and software development, with frequent prolonged VDU usage. Advanced
keyboard skills are required, with the additional ability to operate and interact with several complex systems at the same time.
22. Ensure system security is comprehensive and complete.
23. Deputise for relevant senior leadership where applicable and in the relevant contexts.
Please see Job Description for a full view of main duties of the role.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Masters in relevant subject or equivalent experience working in a Data Science/statistics/BI role.
- Evidence of post qualifying and continuing professional development.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- ]In depth and thorough specialist knowledge about the benefits that can be obtained from information systems, data science and the use of business intelligence.
- Ability and keenness to learn new skills and solve problems.
- Creative thinker.
- Expert user of analytical tools and frameworks (for example, any of R, Python, STATA or SAS) to interrogate, interpret and present complex data.
- Technical skills in data management, business intelligence and analytics – including data modelling, data visualisation.
- Expertise in the use of natural language processing and/or understanding for data mining applications.
Desirable criteria
- Specialist knowledge of NHS Datasets e.g., SUS, ECDS, SitReps, MHMDS etc.
- Can use segmentation and/or clustering to better understand population being modelled.
- Advanced experience of using R and Python.
Values
Essential criteria
- Continuous Improvement
- Accountability
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm
- Support
- High professional standards
- Responsive to service users
- Engaging leadership style
- Strong customer service belief
- Transparency and honesty
- Discreet
- Change oriented
Skills
Essential criteria
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills(e.g., ability to present and discuss analysis with 13/08/2025 senior stakeholders and provide supporting comprehensive written reports allowing informed decisions to be made).
- Ability to contribute confidently in meetings and workshops.
- Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines.
- Ability to work autonomously in a fast- paced environment.
- Strong interpersonal skills.
- Methodical, attention to detail, and confident.
- Self-motivated and resourceful.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Dr Fabian Devlin
- Job title
- Specialty Doctor Mood Clinic
- Email address
- [email protected]
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