Director of Data Science

At QS, our culture fosters a flexible working environment that encourages our employees to own their career whilst personally and professionally thriving. We collaborate, respect and support each other – and as a company, our values underpin these. Our mission is to empower motivated people around the world to fulfil their potential through higher education, and to ensure everyone has the same opportunity to achieve that potential. We celebrate the diversity of our teams and believe through sharing our experiences we can learn from one another and become stronger together, which enables us to achieve our goal.
At QS, you’ll be responsible for implementing real change in the international higher education landscape, full of exciting and interesting challenges where you can drive positive impact across the business.
In October 2023 we were thrilled to be included in Newsweek’s Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in the UK list which is compiled using employee sentiment and satisfaction data.
The role
QS is looking for a Director of Data Science who's adaptable, diligent, and has a strategic mindset.
Fundamentally, the role will also be responsible for working with Senior Leaders to shape the strategy, structure, systems, people and processes of Data Science and AI/ML within the organisation, as well as the execution of this strategy across the business with a focus on driving student engagement and optimising institutional performance through the integration of best-in-class models across our suite of analytics, advisory and services capabilities. Over the past two years, QS has made significant investment and improvement in its Data and Analytics capability. Data Science remains a nascent profession within this function. This role will be pivotal in helping QS to define this profession and its operating model within the business, assessing the necessary skills and capabilities, whilst expected to drive immediate business impact through hands-on project delivery.
This role will be hands-on, collaborating closely with other leaders both within the Strategy & Analytics team on tasks like joint prioritisation, resource allocation, and data asset development but also with wider stakeholders across the business.
The role will be expected to lead transformation within the organisation, working closely with stakeholders across Product, Engineering and any business functions benefiting from the capabilities and products developed internally.
Given the maturity of this function, we expect the role to operate at the intersection of leadership, people development and hands-on-work, requiring a flexible, hard-working but strategic mind.
The successful candidate will also be responsible for the people management of a small team of data scientists, driving the groundbreaking work they have done in key areas of the business to deliver value in previously untested waters.
Role responsibilities:
Oversee our data science technology stack, focusing on security, reliability, performance, efficiency, scalability, and cost.
Expand and standardize core services for data scientists, engineers, analysts and other stakeholders to securely interact with internal and external data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence embedded products.
Owning & implementing our data science and AI/ML strategy across QS
Managing & developing our growing team of relevant technical specialists (e.g. Data Scientists, ML Engineers, ML Ops Engineers)
Leading the development of bespoke models and execution of external models that leverage our unique and third-party data sets to underpin drive student engagement and institutional performance
Defining and driving the capture of key input and training data as required by our data science, machine learning & artificial intelligence needs
Developing effective & efficient approaches to processing our data and training our models in order to maximise their direct and indirect utility
Driving sector impact through our models to optimise student outcomes, higher education institution performance and sector connectivity
Defining, developing & maintaining our data science technology stack (e.g. for internal modelling, external integrations & iterative experiments) - optimising for security, reliability, performance, efficiency, scalability & cost
Establishing foundational services that data scientists, engineers & other stakeholders can leverage to securely and sustainably interact with internal and external data science, machine learning & artificial intelligence products
Evaluating & implementing new technologies/approaches that will enable us to further evolve and scale our data science, machine learning & artificial intelligence capabilities
Liaising closely with other leaders within the Data & Insight team on - e.g. collaborative prioritisation, resourcing & data asset development
Acting as a critical friend to QS’s Product and Technology teams to ensure the right prioritisation of work and outcomes for the organisation
Commissioning & overseeing projects/products delivered by external technical partners as needed
Any additional duties as required.
Key skills and experience:
Minimum of an MSc in a STEM subject, such as Computer Science, Mathematics or Statistics
Extensive experience in data science, machine learning or artificial intelligence
Experience in researching, designing, developing, testing and implementing innovative data science methodologies, processes and systems that have provided tangible business value to prior organizations.
Experience managing high performing data driven teams
Clear impact delivered both internally and to customers through their prior experience
Significant experience working with data science and ML tools (e.g Azure ML)
Strong experience working with SQL and Python
Ability to get hands-on with work, with a focus on leadership through example where necessary.
Experience with relational database environments (experience across multi-regional Cloud environments is desirable)
Experience in establishing best practice ways of working, utilizing Agile and hybrid working practices and ceremonies.
Expertise in relevant emerging technologies (e.g. LLMs)
Demonstrable experience of managing multiple streams of work, delivering measurable impact within tight deadlines
Proven ability to inspire, motivate and develop a lean team of ambitious, high-performing technical specialists
Successful track record of collaborating between data teams and other technical stakeholders
Strong communication skills and demonstrable ability to collaborate with both technical and non-technical colleagues
So, who are we and what do we do?
QS is the world’s leading provider of services, analytics, insights, and intelligence to the global higher education sector - supporting university excellence across the world. Our student recruitment and enrolment solutions enable universities and business schools to connect with talented individuals seeking to further their academic progress and career development. Our portfolio of professional services includes consultancy, student mobility and academic partnerships management, and branding solutions. We publish highly visible and influential rankings of international universities, including the QS World University Rankings which reaches a global audience of hundreds of millions of people.
We take investing in our people very seriously.
As standard you will have:
Access to an annual bonus scheme (for qualifying roles only)
25 days annual leave, plus bank holidays – increasing to 27 days after 5 years’
Enhanced maternity and paternity leave
Generous pension through Royal London
Comprehensive private medical insurance and wellness scheme through Vitality
Access to QSmiles – a discount scheme that actually makes a significant difference
Cycle to work scheme
A vibrant social environment and multicultural and multinational culture
But that’s not all. Outside of these standard benefits we also offer resources to allow professional growth and wellness initiatives to nurture a healthy mindset:
Free subscription to the Calm App – the #1 app for sleep, meditation, and relaxation
A focus on welfare which is led by our global wellness team, with mental health first aiders globally
Access to a variety of diversity and inclusion initiatives and groups
Strong recognition and reward programs – including a peer-to-peer recognition platform, quarterly and annual QS Applaud Awards, Connect with your Career annual PD event
Support for volunteering and study leave
Free subscription to LinkedIn learning – with over 5000 courses and programmes at your fingertips
Options to join our outstanding global Mentorship programme
Equal opportunities
QS Quacquarelli Symonds is proud to be a fair and equal organisation where everyone has the same opportunity to achieve their full potential, irrespective of their background or personal attributes. We celebrate our diversity and believe through sharing our experiences we can learn from one another, be stronger together, and enable our business to thrive. Apply for this Position
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