Data Analytics Lead

Southern Water
Worthing
1 day ago
Create job alert
Job Details

  • Closing Date: 2026-03-18
  • Job: Data Analytics Lead
  • Location: Durrington, West Sussex
  • Contract Type: Permanent
  • Hours: 37 hours per week
  • Salary: from £52k

About the Role

Digital is at the heart of Southern Water’s transformation and analytics is one of the most influential levers we have to shape better decisions, better outcomes and a better future for our customers and communities. As the Data Analytics Lead, you will play a pivotal role in defining how analytics creates value across the portfolio. Acting as a senior leader within the function, you will set standards, shape strategy, and ensure insights are not only trusted but consistently drive meaningful decisions. You’ll lead through influence, partnering closely with product, engineering, operations and senior stakeholders to ensure analytics is embedded into the rhythms of the organisation. This is a highly impactful role that blends strategic direction, people leadership, and hands on ownership of analytical quality and capability. You’ll help build an environment where analysts feel supported, empowered and able to grow while ensuring Southern Water has the insight it needs to deliver for customers, regulators and the environment.


Key Responsibilities

  • Owning the analytics roadmap— prioritising value, aligning to strategy and ensuring our work supports regulatory and organisational needs.
  • Setting analytical definitions, methods and quality standards, and approving complex analytical designs.
  • Influencing senior stakeholders, framing decisions and driving the adoption of insight across the organisation.
  • Leading and developing analysts, shaping career paths, building capability and fostering a thriving analytics community.
  • Overseeing governance, risk management and assurance for analytics within your domain.
  • Leading our Analytics Community of Practice, curating standards, best practice, learning content and exemplars that shape how the whole organisation approaches analytics.
  • Ability to chair forums, resolve analytical disputes and ensure consistent decision making across teams.
  • Familiarity with evolving techniques, tools and regulatory expectations, and the ability to translate these into practical standards and guidance.

Essential Qualifications

  • Experience defining analytical strategy and ensuring analytics directly supports business outcomes.
  • Strong capability in establishing standards, governance and quality control.
  • Ability to influence at senior levels across technical and nontechnical teams.
  • Proven experience developing talent and coaching analysts at different levels.
  • Strong problem solving skills, with experience directing multimethod, multisource analysis.
  • Clear, compelling communication skills — able to translate complex insight into concise, actionable narratives for executive audiences.
  • Provide technical and strategic leadership across the analytics ecosystem—shaping data pipelines, modelling approaches, and visualisation standards using Databricks, Alteryx, Power BI, and statistical approaches to ensure reliable, actionable insights at scale.

Desirable

  • Experience evaluating analytical platforms, tools or vendors.
  • Knowledge of risk management, regulatory obligations or model governance.

Our Commitment to Diversity

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, identities, and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, or any other protected characteristic. If you need reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know.


#J-18808-Ljbffr

Related Jobs

View all jobs

Data Analytics Lead - 12 Month FTC

Data Analytics Lead - 12 Month FTC

Data Analytics Lead - 12 Month FTC

Data Analytics Lead

Data Analytics Lead

Data Analytics Lead: Build Strategic Data Products

Subscribe to Future Tech Insights for the latest jobs & insights, direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of service.

Industry Insights

Discover insightful articles, industry insights, expert tips, and curated resources.

How Many Data Science Tools Do You Need to Know to Get a Data Science Job?

If you’re trying to break into data science — or progress your career — it can feel like you are drowning in names: Python, R, TensorFlow, PyTorch, SQL, Spark, AWS, Scikit-learn, Jupyter, Tableau, Power BI…the list just keeps going. With every job advert listing a different combination of tools, many applicants fall into a trap: they try to learn everything. The result? Long tool lists that sound impressive — but little depth to back them up. Here’s the straight-talk version most hiring managers won’t explicitly tell you: 👉 You don’t need to know every data science tool to get hired. 👉 You need to know the right ones — deeply — and know how to use them to solve real problems. Tools matter, but only in service of outcomes. So how many data science tools do you actually need to know to get a job? For most job seekers, the answer is not “27” — it’s more like 8–12, thoughtfully chosen and well understood. This guide explains what employers really value, which tools are core, which are role-specific, and how to focus your toolbox so your CV and interviews shine.

What Hiring Managers Look for First in Data Science Job Applications (UK Guide)

If you’re applying for data science roles in the UK, it’s crucial to understand what hiring managers focus on before they dive into your full CV. In competitive markets, recruiters and hiring managers often make their first decisions in the first 10–20 seconds of scanning an application — and in data science, there are specific signals they look for first. Data science isn’t just about coding or statistics — it’s about producing insights, shipping models, collaborating with teams, and solving real business problems. This guide helps you understand exactly what hiring managers look for first in data science applications — and how to structure your CV, portfolio and cover letter so you leap to the top of the shortlist.

The Skills Gap in Data Science Jobs: What Universities Aren’t Teaching

Data science has become one of the most visible and sought-after careers in the UK technology market. From financial services and retail to healthcare, media, government and sport, organisations increasingly rely on data scientists to extract insight, guide decisions and build predictive models. Universities have responded quickly. Degrees in data science, analytics and artificial intelligence have expanded rapidly, and many computer science courses now include data-focused pathways. And yet, despite the volume of graduates entering the market, employers across the UK consistently report the same problem: Many data science candidates are not job-ready. Vacancies remain open. Hiring processes drag on. Candidates with impressive academic backgrounds fail interviews or struggle once hired. The issue is not intelligence or effort. It is a persistent skills gap between university education and real-world data science roles. This article explores that gap in depth: what universities teach well, what they often miss, why the gap exists, what employers actually want, and how jobseekers can bridge the divide to build successful careers in data science.