Head of Data

Head of Data 

Salary: £73,511 - £82,100

Location: County Hall, Morpeth

Background

This position is 1 of 3 new senior roles that have been established in our Digital and IT Department to help us achieve our ambitions of transforming our council and county. 

Our ambition is to become a truly data-driven organisation; using data to inform decisions and to help design and improve user-centred services, improving outcomes for residents, businesses, and the county. 

Our 3 priorities in our corporate plan are:

- tackle inequalities

- achieve value for money

- driving economic growth

We will ensure we pass on a healthy, clean, and sustainable environment to future generations.

Each of our three priorities has a part to play in responding to the Climate Change Emergency.

Achieving our ambition will demand a focus on people, culture, governance as well as digital, data and technology. 

It’s a great time to join Northumberland County Council, as we embark on an exciting and bold transformation journey - to do the best for our residents, customers, our staff, and the county. 

About the role

The Head of Data will be responsible for leading the continued development and implementation of Northumberland County Council’s Data and BI Strategy, driving the activities and culture change needed to establish data as a strategic capability for the organisation. 

You’ll provide strategic and operational leadership to develop and evolve the county council’s approach to insight, helping identify and measure specific outcomes aligned to the council's corporate plan.

You’ll help build an approach to providing our services with greater insight, allowing them to use data to adjust their service delivery to improve experience and outcomes for our service users. You’ll help us get better at using data to provide foresight, improving our ability to predict demand, and downstream pressures. 

Also, you will work with internal and external partners to help develop innovative approaches to securely collect and use data, to help us improve the outcomes for the residents of Northumberland.

Examples of this are in the co creation and continuous improvement of Northumberland’s Joint Strategic Needs and Assets Assessment (JSNAA), working closing with Public Health colleagues and being an innovator for how Northumberland can embrace a population health management (PHM) approach to data sharing and linkage.

Working closely with the Head of Technology, the Head of Digital and the Director of Digital and IT, you’ll help build and lead a team of data professionals as well as being an influential member of the Digital leadership team. 

You’ll also champion data skills and capability development across the organisation and help establish a data academy, helping to cultivate an engaged and skilled data community.

Full details can be found in the attached job description and person specification.

About you

You’re able to demonstrate a deep understanding of data, business intelligence, data governance, data insight, analytics, and data architecture. 

Being a data ambassador for the organisation, you will bring enthusiasm and passion to this field and be able to act as a catalyst in bringing together new organisation-wide ways of thinking about data.

You will be collaborative in nature and firmly believe that a collaborative approach will ensure organisational buy-in.

You’ll work well in a matrix structure, be comfortable with ambiguity, staying calm where things are hard or unclear, and still be able to perform well under pressure and drive progress in an inclusive way.

You are comfortable working with senior stakeholders (across organisations and within) and be able to bring to life our ambitious plans for changing the way the council manages and uses data, bridging service and organisational boundaries.

You’ll be someone who cares deeply about building great teams and who wants to see others succeed.

This opportunity is not just about taking on a brand-new role or working with a great team, it is about wanting to make a real difference for the people who live, visit and work in the county. This is a brilliant opportunity for someone looking to use their experience to deliver in a role with a true sense of purpose.

Be inspired and supported. Be a life changer. Be Northumberland.

So, if you’re passionate about what you do, and what we do, we want to talk to you!

More information about working for Northumberland County Council can be found here 

Application Process:

Please click on the apply link, and once registered, you will be asked to upload your CV and provide a supporting statement. Initial shortlisting will be based on the information provided.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you wish to notify us of your eligibility for this scheme, please email hrrecruitment@northumberland.gov.uk or ring 01670 623930 with your name and the job title you have applied for and one of the recruitment team will ensure this is factored into the shortlisting process and kept anonymous. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format, please see the alternative methods below.  This information will be treated as confidential and will only be used to check that you meet the essential requirements of the post.

Alternative application format:

British Sign Language: northumberlandcc-cs.signvideo.net 

For those with speech difficulties or hearing loss: Text relay service dial 018001 01670 623930