Lead Data Scientist (Authoring & Curation)

BBC Group and Public Services
united kingdom
1 week ago
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Lead Data Scientist (Authoring & Curation)

Location: Glasgow, London, Salford, Newcastle. This is a hybrid role and the successful candidate will balance office working with home working.

Job Reference:23234
Band:E
Salary:£87,000 - £97,000, depending on relevant skills, knowledge and experience.
Contract type:Fixed Term Contract
Job Closing Date:07/05/2025

THE ROLE

The BBC has been serving audiences online for more than 20 years. We are making the shift from being a broadcaster to becoming a service that is directly shaped by audiences. We are creating personalised content, products and services that bring the right content to the right people, at the right time.

At the BBC, we see data science as fundamental on that journey. We use machine learning and AI to enrich our content and power personalised experiences for millions of audience members.

We’re looking for a Lead Data Scientist to join the Product Group for a five-month fixed term, to cover for one of our existing Leads while on parental leave. In this role, you will help support the delivery of value of our existing ML / AI products and help the team grow into newly emerging opportunities.

This role is to lead the Authoring + Curation Data Science team, focusing on delivering automated metadata and authoring tooling for BBC audiences. This is a well-established team with significant ambition for the year ahead, aiming to accelerate the delivery of generative AI within the content publication workflows.

Main Responsibilities

You will lead and manage a team of data scientists working as part of a diverse and cross-functional team. You will be responsible for the results that the data science team achieves in your area, ensuring that the team is on the right track and has the environment they need to be successful.

You will work together with multi-disciplinary leadership, including software engineering, product management, and delivery, to set the course and make good decisions for the team.

Alongside colleagues in Product Group’s Data Science leadership team, you will advocate for data science and machine learning at the BBC, engaging with others in the organisation to understand their domain and identify collaboration opportunities that deliver value to audiences.

Are you the right candidate?

  • Enthusiasm for leading and managing a team of data scientists (experience a bonus)
  • Experienced in delivering value with data and ML products and/or features in production at scale
  • Experienced in working with multi-disciplinary teams
  • An understanding of the technical landscape of data science and machine learning in industry
  • Able to work with domain experts and non-technical stakeholders to identify new collaboration opportunities

Interview Process

- Brief introductory screening call for shortlisted candidates (approx 20 minutes)
- Two-part interview - 1.5 hours total
- Case study task - 45 mins (10 min presentation + approx. 30 min Q&A)
- Competency-based interview - 45 mins

DISCLAIMER

This job description is a written statement of the essential characteristics of the job, with its principal accountabilities, incorporating a note of the skills, knowledge and experience required for a satisfactory level of performance. This is not intended to be a complete, detailed account of all aspects of the duties involved.

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