Geospatial Data Scientist

Closing Date:

02/03/2025

Group:

Corporate Group

Management Level:

Associate

Job Type:

Permanent

Job Description:

Please note that the advert will close at 00:01 on Sunday 2 March and therefore we advise getting your application in by no later than midnight on Saturday 1 March.

Team Overview 
 

Ofcom is the regulator for the communications services that we use and rely on each day. We make sure people get the best from their broadband, home phone and mobile services, as well as keeping an eye on TV and radio. We also oversee the universal postal service, look after the airwaves used by wireless devices, and help to make sure people don’t get scammed and are protected from bad practices. Protecting consumers is at the heart of what we do. 
 

Our culture is clear – we live by our values: Empowerment; Excellence; Collaboration; Agility and Respect. The behaviours which support these values set the path for a fully inclusive and innovative culture at Ofcom. We focus not only on what we do, but how we do it. We pride ourselves on being an organisation of people who genuinely care about helping others.
 

The Data & Information Team works with colleagues across the whole organisation to improve Ofcom’s capability to process, analyse and extract insights from data.

Purpose of the Role
 

The role will work in the Data and Information Team, bringing an open mind and strong intellectual curiosity to identifying and solve complex business problems with geospatial data science, and supporting colleagues across the business to continually innovate and leverage our data.
 

We are looking for data talent to join a central team that supports all areas of Ofcom’s regulatory work, supporting and working alongside colleagues across the organisation to ensure that data and evidence underpin the wide variety of work that we do. This role requires an individual who is highly analytical and able to engage with customers, applying geospatial skills, knowledge of the latest advances, and best practice to support the business.
 

You will get the opportunity to support the growth of the geospatial capability and community across Ofcom. Enabling teams to applying a broad range of spatial methods to develop solutions for many different, real-world problems. For example that could be, by undertaking proof of concepts to explore the availability and quality of broadcast services to consumers across the UK, the use of high-resolution Lidar imagery to inform spectrum propagation modelling, developing ways to assess and optimise UK’s interconnected communications infrastructure, or developing new ways to visualise and enable users to interact with our geospatial data assets.
 

The team also leads on developing and sharing insights on methods, tools and processes in support of the data community across Ofcom. Through engagement with our stakeholders and external organisations we work to continually develop our understanding of the areas in which we work and the methods and technologies we can apply.

Requirements of the Role
 

• Support the management and development of geospatial solutions from a range of data sources and use best practices to generate accurate, reproducible work in an agile way

• Source, access, manipulate and engineer data across a range of sources and data formats for insights and analysis, working with stakeholders and data engineers as appropriate

• Explore and visualise data to present a story in a meaningful way and communicate insights to a range of technical and non-technical audiences with impact

• Contribute to the continuous development of workflows and processes for geospatial analysis so that we work effectively an innovatively. Provide methodological and technical advice and guidance to early career analysts, and ensuring compliance with relevant data, ethics and information security principles

• Maintain an awareness of, and utilise, an evolving range of data analysis tools and techniques, including open source. Be able to learn and deploy new skills as and when required

• Promote geospatial data science skills and inspire best practice in other teams.  Helping to build Ofcom’s understanding of the methods available and identifying opportunities to innovate

Skills, knowledge and experience
 

You will need to demonstrate knowledge or experience of:
 

• Exploring and advocating ways of utilising new geospatial tools and techniques to tackle business and organisational challenges. Drawing on the application of, and innovation in industry (e.g. communication services), academia, and other sectors

• Experience of managing and analysing large and complex reference datasets in a relational database environment (e.g. Postgres / PostGIS, R Studio), and undertaking spatial analysis of large and complex datasets using specialist software (e.g. Postgres, QGIS, ESRI, MapInfo, Alteryx, R, python etc.) to develop impactful outcomes

• Experience of several different geospatial, and geospatial data science methods, their appropriate application, strengths, and limitations. Additional experience of applying machine learning to geospatial problems, including computer vision, would be a bonus but is not essential.

• Applying scientific methods through experimental design, exploratory data analysis and hypothesis testing to reach robust conclusions, including reviewing the work of others

• Executing Plans: Awareness of project management skills and the translation of business requirements into actionable projects, then take responsibility for delivering 

• Forming Relationships: Working as part of a team, and independently, demonstrating flexibility and adaptability, and supporting a culture of collaboration and trust. Awareness of the role of other data roles and skills, including data science, data engineering and machine learning, and proven ability to collaborate as appropriate

• Channelling Influence : Strong interpersonal skills and evidence of ability to interact effectively with a range of stakeholders, both internally and externally.

 

Qualifications
 

Degree in Geographic Information Systems, Geography, or a numerate discipline which demonstrates data skills e.g, Data Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Physics (this is not a definitive list), and experience in geospatial data science or an equivalent role.

Ofcom has a clear mission: to make communications work for everyone.  To be able to deliver on this, we want our organisation to reflect the diversity of background, experience, upbringing and thought that exists across the UK.  We aim to recruit from the widest pool of candidates possible – no matter your social background, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability. 

Where positions are listed as full-time, we remain open to reduced hours, part-time arrangements, job shares, and other flexible working options. From day one, we champion flexible work arrangements to accommodate individual needs.

We also warmly welcome applicants who are returning to the workforce after a break – for whatever reason. If you have taken time away and are ready to rejoin, we look forward to reviewing your application.

Our recruitment processes prioritise accessibility and inclusivity. If you need information in an alternative format or have specific preferences, please contact our recruitment team at resourcing@ofcom.org.uk or call 0330 912 1378.

As a Disability Confident employer, we offer interviews to disabled applicants who meet essential criteria for advertised roles. Learn more about this scheme here.  https://careers.ofcom.org.uk/careers/how-we-hire/