Head of Data Science

Salary: Competitive Plus Benefits
Location: Holborn Store Support Centre, London, EC1N 2HT
Contract type: Permanent
Business area: Sainsbury's Tech
Closing date: 25 November 2024
Requisition ID: 275159

We'd all like amazing work to do, and real work-life balance. That's waiting for you at Sainsbury's. Think about the scale it takes for us to feed the nation. The level of data, transactions and variety it involves. Then you'll realise that ours is a modern software engineering environment because it has to be. We've made serious investment into a Tech Academy and into setting standards and principles. We iterate, learn, experiment and push ways of working such as Agile, Scrum and XP. So you can look forward to awesome opportunities in everything from AI to reusable tech.

In a nutshell

In the Data & Analytics team, we're embarking on a major transformation and you'll stretch the imagination of what the power of data and insights can bring to how we do things. This is a leadership role within Data Science and will drive Machine Learning and Algorithm development for Sainsbury's. You'll unlock value and use your intense curiosity to find creative ways to land impactful solutions that directly support Sainsbury's Next Level strategy.

What outcomes I need to deliver

• You will lead an agile, high calibre team of Data Scientists and Data Science Managers and be responsible for developing in-house AI solutions that assist/automate decision-making across the business.
• Your primary focus will be on delivering value for our Food and GM Commercial, Supply Chain, Retail and Digital divisions.
• You'll develop & maintain the relationship with stakeholders at all levels.
• As part of the Chief Data Office, you will help determine the appropriate disciplines to solve specific problems and create resource plans that focus on delivering demonstrable business value.
• You will collaborate closely with our engineering teams to ensure our algorithms are efficiently deployed into the Tech systems.
• You will work with tech-architecture, and platform-engineering teams to ensure that our Data Science tooling meets the needs of you and your team.
• You will ensure effective ways of working for your team and other teams.
• You will lead and uphold the development and standards of your team and their outputs.
• With excellent commercial acumen and stakeholder management skills, you will help the business identify opportunities.
• You will be an ambassador for good data standards, including ethics, governance, security, and assurance.

What you need to know and show

• An inquisitive mind, constantly seeking opportunities and solving problems with curiosity.
• Confidence in handling complexity and ambiguity, partnering effectively with the business.
• A passion for high-quality data storytelling that effectively articulates the value of data science.
• You excel in managing experienced teams, elevating their performance by coaching and upskilling them in data science techniques.
• You champion the adoption of engineering best practices in data science.
• You have deep experience using our core technologies (Python, SQL) to develop and deploy innovative data-science solutions.
• Experience with strategic tooling such as Snowflake, DBT, Azure Machine Learning Studio, and AWS is highly regarded.
• You'll have extensive experience using Git to ensure a robust codebase.
• Ideally, you'll have worked in Kanban, Scrum or both.
• You can adapt your ways of working to make technical concepts simple.
• You have a good understanding of Data Governance Principles.

Resources available to me

• A brilliant team of 4 direct reports and c.23 colleagues with plans for growth.
• Access to a wide range of tools and technologies.
• A fully committed and supportive leadership team.
• Access to Technology teams to progress outcomes.
• A great analytics community including support of Data Management, Quality and Governance teams.

What decisions can I make

• How to turn complex problems into modern algorithmic products.
• How to tell the story of the product and its impact.
• How to recruit, develop, train, and unify your team.
• How to drive data science excellence into the areas you work with.
• How to structure your team and resource it.
• How to remove blockers to ensure your team delivers on outcomes.

We are committed to making Sainsbury's a place where people love to work where a diverse and engaged team really matters. Sainsbury's is committed to being the most inclusive retailer, and flexible working including job sharing is welcomed wherever possible.

We are committed to being a truly inclusive retailer, so you'll be welcomed whoever you are and wherever you work. Around here, there's always the chance to try something new - whether that's as part of an evolving team or somewhere else across the business.

When you join our team, we'll also offer you an amazing range of benefits. Here are some of them:

Starting off with colleague discount, you'll be able to get 10% off at Sainsbury's, Argos, TU and Habitat after 4 weeks. This increases to 15% off at Sainsbury's every Friday and Saturday. We've also got you covered for your future with our pensions scheme and life cover. You'll also be able to share in our success as you may be eligible for a performance-related bonus of up to 65% of salary.

Your wellbeing is important to us too. You'll receive an annual holiday allowance, and you can buy additional holiday. We also offer other benefits such as season ticket loans, cycle to work scheme, health cash plans, and access to a great range of discounts from hundreds of other retailers.

Moments that matter are as important to us as they are to you which is why we give up to 26 weeks' pay for maternity or adoption leave and up to 4 weeks' pay for paternity leave.