Deputy Director
JOB SUMMARY
The Data Scientist in the National Public Health and Epidemiology Unit (NPHEU) will lead a team of Data Analysts and Data Executives to provide expertise in data architecture, systems tools and methodologies to support the national public health and epidemiology functions of the unit in the prevention and control, surveillance and research of infectious diseases of public health concern, as well as operational needs of NCID. He/she will design and deliver impactful solutions for sense-making and draw conclusions by developing and implementing algorithms, applying statistical and machine learning techniques to a variety of data sets. The role necessitates working closely with clinical professionals, governmental agencies, internal partners in NCID/TTSH and other stakeholders.
MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
SPECIFIC
1. Understand business problems and develop end-to-end systems and solutions
2. Spearhead initiatives for data analytics to deliver technically sound, robust and scalable data analytics solutions
3. Work with internal and external stakeholders to develop methodologies and systems for the extraction and management of data from standing databases and registries. This work includes the use of logical models and algorithms for data extraction, and developing standardised data dictionaries
4. Harness data science tools to design and create dashboards and data visualisations for routine reporting and decision-making
5. Be the driver and owner on behalf of the Director, NPHEU, in the development of new and ad-hoc database applications to serve the unit’s national functions during peacetime and outbreaks, including surveillance, horizon scanning and forecasting, and enhancements to disease registries and databases. This developmental work includes conducting needs assessments, system requirements studies, programming and involvement in user acceptability tests, both independently and in cooperation with external vendors
6. Drive the evaluation and implementation of the analytics infrastructure, tools and systems and methodologies to support data needs
7. Identify opportunities to maximise the adoption of data analytics / artificial intelligence (AI) and lead the exploration and deployment of emerging data science technologies
8. Recognise and define process improvement opportunities on workflow of existing systems and data management
9. Oversee the writing and update of technical documentation for new or existing systems and operational documentation of internal data-related work processes including standards, best practices, policies, procedures and work instructions
10. Maintain up-to-date knowledge of trends and market information related to field of data science to support capability development within the delivery team
11. Identify and apply new techniques that can improve insights and model performance
12. Lead and mentor junior team members on data science and best practices to raise the overall data competency for translation of data into insights
GENERAL
1. Participate actively as a subject matter expert or team lead for quality improvement projects at the Centre or Unit level
2. Work beyond routine work responsibilities and office hours during exigencies of service (e.g. during national outbreaks of infectious diseases)
3. Carry out any other duties as may be reasonably required by the Director of NPHEU or the Executive Director of NCID
4. It should be noted that the work is of a confidential nature and must not be communicated to other persons except when required for authorised purposes
JOB REQUIREMENTS
EDUCATION
• A Master’s degree / PhD in Data Science or in a quantitative field (e.g. Statistics, Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, Operations Research, Business Analytics or equivalent analytics fields)
AND
• At least 10 years of professional experience in data science or statistical role
EXPERIENCE
• Preferably some experience in healthcare setting, and leading a data science team
• Deep knowledge of data science, machine learning, statistics, optimisation or related field.
• Highly proficient in analytics-related programming languages (e.g. SQL, R, Python) and visualisation tools (e.g. Tableau)
• Ability to create new information and knowledge with health services data
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Possess excellent personal qualities, including strong communication and interpersonal skills. Be a team player and enjoys problem solving
• High integrity with the ability to maintain confidentiality of information
• Goal-oriented self-starter who is proactive and able to work under pressure as well as in rapidly evolving environments
• Adaptable and ability to work with uncertainties due to outbreaks of emergent diseases