Data scientists x 2

Location: Clinical Effectiveness Unit – National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN), based at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The posts are available for remote working at any UK location, to be discussed upon appointment. However, there is an expectation that post holders attend the RCS regularly for in person meetings.

About the roles
The roles provide a unique opportunity to work at a new national centre of excellence to help strengthen NHS cancer services and reduce variation in care. The roles are based at the National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre (NATCAN) within the Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU), jointly run by the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

These are key roles in centralised data science and reporting in NATCAN, working closely with Data Managers, Data Scientists and other multidisciplinary members. The post holders will support developments to improve the efficiency of data analysis and reporting within the centre, working on the data flow into and within NATCAN, data validation, data science processes, automated reporting, state-of-the-art data visualisation and dashboards. They will develop advanced analysis and research skills. Having large detailed linked datasets provides opportunities to be involved in methodological development and in epidemiological studies assessing the quality of care and answering the most pressing questions about why some cancer patients receive different treatments and outcomes than others. The results of the work will be disseminated as audit reports, dashboards, peer-reviewed academic papers, and conference presentations.

Responsibilities

• Carry out statistical analyses to:
  • Describe the cancer care and outcomes across different NHS organisations - examine how different patterns of care may influence patient outcomes.
  • Support quality improvement initiatives.
• Extract, wrangle and curate large scale linked clinical datasets ready for analysis using SQL or statistical software.
• Develop reusable data pipelines and apply algorithms to derive required variables.
• Produce reports, dashboards and data visualisations to support local quality improvement.
• Ensure projects comply with information governance policies.
• Communicate findings in seminars, conference presentations, reports and academic journals.

About you
We are looking for applicants with:

• Bachelor Level/ Higher degree in medical statistics, data science, epidemiology, operational research or equivalent academic qualification.
• A good understanding of health-related research methods and study designs.
• Experience of undertaking analyses using large complex datasets in a statistical package.
• Evidence of contributions to written output, preferably peer-reviewed.
• Experience of applying information governance principles to health care data.

What we can offer you

• 25 days paid holiday + bank holidays and up to 4 college closure days.
• Flexible working.
• Enhanced contributory pension scheme & other leave entitlements.
• Variety of learning and development opportunities.
• Wellbeing programme & Employee Assistance Scheme.

Interested Candidates
If you wish to apply please email your CV together with a cover letter to RCSHR@rcseng.ac.uk.

Any personal data collected from you, or that you provide to us, will be processed by us in accordance with our recruitment processes. If unsuccessful in your application, your information will be held by us on our database for a period of 6 months before deletion. If you would like your information removed sooner, please contact RCSHR@rceng.ac.uk.

Closing date: 6th December 2024

About the RCS
RCS is the professional body for surgery. Our mission is to build the future of the surgical profession and improve the delivery of surgical care.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We are open to all talent and we ensure that all qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment without regards to race/ethnicity, national origin, religion, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age and disability.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is committed to protecting your privacy. We are registered as a data controller with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). All College employees are responsible for records held, created and used as part of their work for the College including patient/client, corporate and administrative records. Records are managed according to the requirements of the Data Protection Act 2018. The College ensures that staff are trained to handle the information you submit to us with care and discretion, seeking advice where necessary.