Unit :  CIO Portfolio
Salary :  £43,414 to £51,805
Location :  Milton Keynes
Please quote reference :  20580 / 20581
2 Full Time roles - 1 x Permanent; 1 x Fixed Term Contract until 31/7/23
Closing Date :  23 December, 2022 - 12:00

Change your career, change lives

The Open University is the UK’s largest university, a world leader in flexible part-time education combining a mission to widen access to higher education with research excellence, transforming lives through education.

The role

The Chief Data Office is spearheading a transformation of the university’s data analytics capability. Our aim is to support our key stakeholders in the university by enabling evidence driven decision making through data and analytics.

The role holder will be working in a team of data scientists and machine learning engineers responsible for engaging with end-users in providing expertise to build a range of powerful statistical and machine learning models that are required to drive learning and insight through the student journey to enhance student success within The Open University.  These models will be deployed through our state-of-the-art cloud platform using MLOps pipelines.

Although this role is aligned to our Milton Keynes office, we are flexible on location across the UK, with the understanding of occasional ad-hoc attendance onsite.

Skills and experience

• Do you use advanced machine learning models & have experience deploying them to solve specific business problems?
• Do you have knowledge of running MLOps pipeline?
• Do you have experience in programming Python and SQL?
• Do you have the technical understanding of most commonly used algorithms – Logistic Regressions, Random Forests, SVMs, KNN, K-means, etc.?
• Can you tell simple and persuasive stories with data, presenting complex pieces of analysis in an impactful way that can be understood by both technical and non-technical audiences?

If you can answer yes to these questions, then we would love to hear from you.

The full summary of duties and skills required for the role can be found within the Job Description.

What you get in return

We offer a great range of benefits that support our employees and their families for the long term, including 33 days holiday per annum plus Bank Holidays and Christmas closure days, an attractive pension proposition and free parking on campus.

Colleagues wellbeing and development is at the forefront of our culture. We embrace diversity and recognise and reward our employees for the fantastic work they do.  For more information about our people and wellbeing focus, please contact the Resourcing Hub.

How to apply

Unless otherwise stated in the advert, all applications are completed online via the OU Job’s page and following the instructions below and clicking the “APPLY NOW” link below. Applications submitted via 3rd party websites will not be considered.

Access details for disabled applicants are available from the Resourcing Hub, telephone: 01908 655544, quoting the vacancy reference above.

To apply for this role please submit the following;

• CV
• Personal statement, up to 1,000 words, you should set out in your statement why you’re interested in this role and provide examples of where your skills and experience meet the required competencies for this role as detailed in the job and person specification.

The above documents will need to be submitted as one attachment during the application process, please include the personal statement followed by the CV in this document.

To ensure that your file is uploaded to our system correctly, please make sure your document is saved with the following file name as appropriate to the vacancy you are applying for; ML Engineer, surname, first initial.

You will need to have your documents ready ahead of submitting the electronic application.

Remember to attach your CV and Personal statement as ONE DOCUMENT.

You will receive updates regarding your application from resourcing-applications@open.ac.uk Please ensure this email address is added to your list of trusted senders. Please also keep an eye on your junk folder to ensure you do not miss any important updates regarding this role

Closing date: 23 December 2022 - noon

The Open University is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion, which is reflected in our mission to be open to people, places, methods, and ideas. We aim to foster a diverse and inclusive environment so that all our staff can reach their potential, and we encourage applications from candidates identifying in under-represented or marginalised groups. We recognise that different people bring different perspectives, ideas, knowledge, and culture, and that this difference brings great strength.

We offer a range of inclusive employment policies which include family and carer friendly flexible working arrangements and have many supportive staff networks and wellbeing services. We also endorse the principles of Athena SWAN, with commitment from all levels of the organisation in promoting gender equity.