Candidate Specification Data Science Research Fellow Salary: Location: Term: Hours: 40-50K per annum, plus benefits Blackfriars, Central London Permanent Full-Time (37.5 hours per week) The UK s innovation foundation, Nesta is looking to recruit a Data Science Research Fellow to develop its ambitious programme of research which delivers data-driven insights into the creative economy. The creative economy is diverse, including film, TV and music, the performing and visual arts, and software and advertising. This is an area where Nesta has built up a global reputation for original and influential research. As a Data Science Research Fellow, you will work with the Executive Director for Creative Economy and Data Analytics, and a small team of data scientists and economists to design and deliver data science projects. The creative economy leaves a strong digital footprint, which gives rise to unprecedented opportunities for creating data-driven insights. Increasingly, therefore, Nesta has been making use of new data sources and analytic methods to understand the creative economy, such as web and social media data, machine learning, data visualisation and social network analysis. Recent projects include analysis of millions of online job ads data to understand employer demand for skills, building an interactive map of museums, and a groundbreaking analysis of gender imbalances in the British film industry based on film credits secured from the British Film Institute. The Role The Creative Economy team is now looking to recruit an additional Data Science Research Fellow to develop and implement new data-led research projects. The Research Fellow will:
Analyse relevant data (including web-based, open and/or official data) using data science methods such as supervised and unsupervised machine learning and natural language processing techniques Help ensure that the team stays at the cutting edge of the field by: Identifying relevant research questions and addressing them with data science methods Exploring opportunities to apply new data science techniques such as deep learning and machine vision in existing and new creative economy projects Communicate findings through conference and peer reviewed papers, research notes, blogs, data visualisations and open source software Participate in the development of new research proposals for funders, including the UK Research Councils Some examples of current projects indicative of the type of creative economy work the successful candidate might get involved with include: Using data scraped from company websites to classify and map companies making use of Virtual Reality technologies. Analysing open data on research grants to explore the extent and nature of collaborations between universities and businesses in the creative economy. Using machine learning techniques to conduct gender analysis of video clips. Using web-based and other novel data sources to improve our understanding of the geography of access to arts and culture. Using meetup data to understand and visualise social networks in the creative economy. Predicting visitor numbers and socio-demographics for galleries and art museums. The successful candidate will take a leading role in growing our capacity to use data science techniques to develop and undertake research projects like these. This kind of work is innovative in nature and will suit somebody who is entrepreneurial and combines academic rigour with a willingness to get their hands dirty with real-world data to answer difficult but important questions. The
creative economy is an emerging research area and as such has a strong interdisciplinary feel. The role is therefore likely to appeal to imaginative data scientists who want to apply their rigorous training in new and exciting ways. Work Environment Nesta has a highly collaborative work culture, and the Data Science Research Fellow should expect to undertake most of their projects with other data scientists and researchers. They will become members of Nesta s Analytics Special Interest Group, which currently has around 15 data scientists and analysts who meet regularly to discuss their work and explore opportunities to advance Nesta s mission through data analytics. The Data Science Research Fellow would agree a development plan with objectives and how this fits into their longer term career goals. Support would include access to a training budget as well as opportunities for mentoring, peer learning and project learning time. Staff enjoy a flexible work environment with the ability to work at home one or two days a week. Requirements PhD qualification in a relevant quantitative discipline (e.g. data science, computer science, statistics, engineering, econometrics, physics, operations research, etc.). Candidates with an excellent Master s degree, i.e. distinction, in a relevant subject will be considered if they have relevant professional experience. Strong quantitative data processing and analysis skills, including expertise in web-based data collection and machine learning techniques, and expertise in data science-relevant programming languages, specifically Python or R. Candidates with a sufficiently strong background in a broad range of data science techniques in other programming languages will be considered. We would also be interested in candidates with proven knowledge of any of the following:
Deep learning methods (for example with PyTorch, Tensorflow, CNTK, Keras), Web development (for example with Django, Torch, Javascript), Database technologies, Experience of processing big data. Strong communication skills, including a proven ability to present research findings in ways that are clear, compelling and credible, and to draft highquality written outputs from research. An excellent team player, with the ability to work flexibly and sensitively with policymakers, businesses and other researchers. Adaptable flexible in approach and able to manage competing and changing priorities. Able to learn quickly and a strong desire to master new research areas. Intellectually curious will look at things critically and ask new and important questions about the creative economy. Pragmatic, results-driven and output-focused the team is a prolific and high performance one, so the jobholder will need to be able to deliver highquality, accurate outputs to deadline. About Nesta Nesta is a global innovation foundation. We back ideas to tackle the big challenges of our time. We are at the centre of many international public policy debates and are valued at the highest level in government, industry and academia for our deeply researched and actionable ideas. Nesta has recently been awarded Independent Research Organisation (IRO) status, which confers on us equal research funding access as UK universities from UK Research Councils: this is allowing us to significantly expand our research ambition. Our mission is to spark and shape new ideas that improve how the world works for everyone. We use our knowledge, networks, funding and skills - working in partnership with others, including governments, businesses and charities. We are a UK charity but work all over the world, supported by a financial endowment.
How to apply Please complete the short Application Form via the button on the relevant advert on our website. The closing date for completed applications is 23:45, Sunday 11 February. 1st Interviews will be held on Thursday 22 February. 2nd Interviews will be held on Thursday 1 March.