Lead Data Scientist

Lead Data Scientist

Location: London, Bradford, Chatham or Petersfield

We are happy for you to be based in London, Bradford, Chatham or Petersfield but please note that occasional travel will be required to our other offices

Working Pattern: Our working style is hybrid, but we recognise the importance of collaborative working with our colleagues often 1 to 3 days per week in one of our offices

Benefits: Discretionary annual bonus, 25 days holiday up to 30 days (depending on service), pension scheme with matched company contributions up to 10%, 1 paid day to ‘give back’, LinkedIn Learning for all

Don’t hesitate to apply for a role even if you don’t meet all the criteria; your unique strengths and eagerness to learn can be just as valuable.

You and your team 

An exciting opportunity to join our Data and Analytics team! This team operates as a centre of excellence by providing a consolidated and specialist analytics capability to the Bank, focusing on customer experiences and outcomes.

Data and Analytics is responsible for providing business insights that drive better customer strategy decisions and commercial results, model development, statistical analysis, data innovation, and credit bureau expertise within Vanquis Bank. Data and Analytics collaborates across the Vanquis Banking Group to share best practises across the shared services they offer. This role will be based in our London office on a hybrid working basis.

In your day-to-day role, as a Lead Data Scientist you’ll be:

• Developing, deploying, and monitoring Machine Learning models to support optimisation across all functions within the bank keeping the customer lifecycle value delivery at heart. You’ll also be defining the most appropriate modelling approach and statistical technique to be used for each specific deliverable while presenting your findings to stakeholders.
• Constructing model development data sets, from internal and third-party data sources, to identify homogenous sub-populations through statistical segmentation techniques.
• Working closely with the Transformation and Engineering teams to define and develop the next generation infrastructure and tooling for our fellow Data/Decision Scientists
• Implement and refine model development best practice guidelines and embed these within the Data Science team.

What you’ll bring to the team

We are looking for a colleague who is passionate about the art of Data Science, has the right attitude for solving new problems, “getting stuff done” and hunger to learn.

We are looking for the following experience:

• Solid hands-on Python end-to-end Data Science/Machine Learning skills i.e. from Feature Engineering pipelines to development and then deployment of models in production to building monitoring to trigger retraining.
• Experience of training and developing others’ skillsets as a lead.
• Strong experience of implementing good software development practices (e.g. Git, ML Ops, Sprint planning etc.)
• Expert Knowledge of machine learning algorithms such as logistic regression, tree-based methods (random forests, gradient boosting etc), neural networks (RNNs, CNNs) etc.
• People management skills with ability to plan, prioritise and look after the wellbeing of your team.
• Proficient in SQL with practical experience in database extraction and reporting. Ideally using Azure or Snowflake ecosystems.
• Clear, logical, and analytical approach to problem solving, with excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Good stakeholder and risk management including identifying risks or detriment that could impact our customers, and appropriately raising these within department and stakeholders.

The interview process:

• Up to 30 minute telephone call with a member of the Talent Acquisition team
• Up to 1 hour interview with the hiring manager and someone in the team
• A Technical assignment which will be given to you to complete within a set time frame.
• Final interview with hiring manager to run through technical assignment that will last up to 1 hour.

Our average process takes up to 4 weeks but we will always work around your availability. You will have the chance to speak to our recruitment team throughout the process.

As this role involves working within a regulated environment any offer will be subject to satisfactory background checks including criminal record check, credit check, fraud check and employment references.

Your working life:  If you prefer to work part-time, we'll make this happen whenever we can - whether this is to help you meet other commitments or strike a great work-life balance. A fear of losing your current working flexibility shouldn't hinder you from applying for new opportunities, which is why we aim to match your existing flexible working arrangements where possible.

Why work for us?

We’re Vanquis Banking Group plc, an FTSE All Share company and a leading specialist bank, established in 1880. We lend responsibly, providing tailored products and services to 1.75 million UK customers through Vanquis, Moneybarn, and Snoop. Our purpose is simple: to deliver caring banking so our customers can make the most of life’s opportunities.

At Vanquis Banking Group we believe in looking after our colleagues, so we do our best to create a rewarding, engaging, and supportive work environment across our various divisions.

We let our colleagues know we appreciate their hard work by offering competitive salaries, benefits, and a Group wide recognition scheme. All colleagues are eligible to join a pension scheme, and, after six months’ service, you can join our ‘Save as you Earn’ and 'Buy as you Earn' schemes.

We offer a range of training and development opportunities to help each of our colleagues maximise their potential, whatever their role. From your first day working with us, we’ll help you settle into your new role and are happy to talk to you about your career aspirations.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Here at Vanquis Banking Group, we embrace everyone’s unique strengths and identities to be themselves at work. Regardless of how you identify yourself, your sexual orientation, martial or civil partner status, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national background, faith, disability, or age – your experiences and background help enrich our teams, and most importantly help support our customers in the best way possible. At the end of the day, it's our people that help us to fulfil the reason why we’re here in the first place: to help put people on a path to a better everyday life. 

If there’s anything we can do in the recruitment process to help you achieve your best, get in touch. Whether it’s a copy of our application form in another format or additional assistance, we’re available to help. You can contact us at