Job summary

Do you excel at influencing others and providing leadership across business, data, and people management? Are you skilled at visualising complex data, promoting innovation, and achieving excellence while guiding your team towards a common strategy?

The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) is a pivotal executive agency of the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and is dedicated to safeguarding the UK's animal and plant health. With a team of over 3,000 professionals operating across 85 sites including laboratories, offices, and field depots, we are committed to advancing research and regulatory practices that protect both the environment and economy. Our role is critical in maintaining the UK�s biosecurity standards alongside facilitating trade worth Billions to the UK economy.

Job description

Reporting to Kate McHugh, Head of Data and Information Unit within the Strategy, Innovation & Planning Directorate, you will help lead the implementation of APHA's Sustainable Futures Strategy. This is a critical role focusing on transforming the agency into a data-driven organisation that can identify emerging threats, manage risk, and optimise resources to respond to animal and plant disease. The Sustainable Futures strategy represents a significant transformation for APHA, and your leadership will be essential in achieving its objectives. Further details are in the candidate pack.

The role offers the opportunity to collaborate with senior leaders in a newly established Data and Information Unit, revolutionising APHA's approach to performance and insight, giving us the tools we need to work smarter by bringing a fresh perspective and establishing the foundations for our future data use. You will work alongside specialists and IT professionals to modernise data collection and visualisation, helping to develop agency-wide analysis, performance scorecards and insightful reports.

With your expertise, you will guide APHA in effectively using data, enhancing analytical capabilities, and ensuring best practices are followed and you�ll play a key role in improving data management and exploitation across the agency.

Key Responsibilities include (but are not limited to):

Strategic Leadership: Set the vision for data insights, performance, and visualisations. Work closely with senior leaders to advance APHA's data maturity, making sound recommendations based on complex data. Lead on data domain analysis and insight with responsibility for three key areas: analysis including spatial analysis, product management including demand modelling and corporate scorecards, data domain including multiple systems and specialist areas to support biosecurity and trade.Data Visualisation: Oversee the creation of effective data visualisations, dashboards, and reports that convey complex insights in a clear and understandable way. �Lead APHA's transition to advanced data insights, creating a roadmap for performance analytics and modernising data processes. Oversee the creation of clear, effective visualisations that support key decisions.Product Development: Manage the development of agency-wide products, such as corporate scorecards and resource demand modelling, ensuring timely delivery and high quality. Set and manage product priorities, aligning them with business objectives.Change Leadership: Champion cultural change within APHA, using data to enhance decision-making and improve performance. Act as an ambassador for data insights, helping to shape the agency�s approach to analytics and embed the data profession within APHA.Team Leadership: Build and manage a high-performing data insights team. Ensure continuous development of skills, while managing resources and performance effectively.Stakeholder Management: Serve as the main contact for data insight requests, prioritising tasks and clearly communicating complex insights to senior stakeholders. Promote data-driven decision-making across the agency.

Person specification

You will have the following essential skills and experience:�

Proven experience in developing data strategies, analytics, and business transformation. Strong leadership in building high-performing teams and fostering a culture of data-driven decision-making. Expertise in data visualisation tools ( SQL, Business Objects, Power BI, Tableau, Python) and advanced data modelling techniques. An understanding of machine learning and artificial intelligence concepts. Strong interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to influence senior leaders and stakeholders. Experience managing complex data projects, driving performance improvements, and ensuring compliance with governance policies. Knowledge of data ethics, information governance and management, including data protection and security and of applying related legal and regulatory frameworks.

Qualifications

You will be educated to degree level preferably in science, technology, mathematics or data/information subject, and/or have a proven track record in developing data insight and visualisations at a strategic level.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Leadership Communicating and Influencing Changing and Improving Making Effective Decisions

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

Leadership

Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

Expertise in using Data Visualisation tools

Benefits

Alongside your salary of �62,605, Animal and Plant Health Agency contributes �18,136 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Learning and development tailored to your roleAn environment with flexible working optionsA culture encouraging inclusion and diversityA with an average employer contribution of