Analytics Engineer

Your role:

Help shape the data infrastructure and analytical products that support decisions across education, work and skills in Greater Manchester. This is an opportunity to shape the technical foundations of a data function as it is being built. The Education, Work and Skills Directorate at Greater Manchester Combined Authority is developing the data and MI capability that underpins how skills, employment and youth/technical/adult education are delivered across the city region, and we are looking for an Analytics Engineer to lead its technical delivery.

You will design and build the pipelines, data models and reporting products that turn raw data from providers, local authorities and government departments into insight that shapes policy and investment decisions. Working across SQL Server, Python, APIs, Power BI and Microsoft Fabric, you will automate reporting that is currently manual / semi-automated and build architecture that will serve the directorate for years to come.

You will also lead a small team of data officers, setting priorities, supporting their development and establishing a shared standard of practice across the function.

As technical lead for the Greater Manchester Information Tracker, our core participant data system, you will hold the day-to-day relationship with the platform and the integrations that connect it to our wider reporting environment.

You are a hands-on engineer who takes pride in building things that work reliably and are understood by the people who depend on them. You know SQL Server, data modelling and ETL, Power BI and you are comfortable automating with Python preferably, and you think carefully about how data is modelled rather than reaching for the quickest fix.

You have led or supervised others and you enjoy it. You are the person colleagues come to when something breaks, and you explain what happened. You are at ease with technical and non-technical audiences, and you can tell the difference between what someone has asked for and what they actually need.

You will bring curiosity, sound judgement and a commitment to doing things properly, alongside a genuine interest in public service. Experience of education, skills or employment data would be welcome, but we are more interested in how you think than in the sector you have worked in. We welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds who want to apply their skills to support Greater Manchester’s mission to be a thriving, inclusive city region where everyone can live a good life.

Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a technical exercise using synthetic data and discuss their approach  assessment will test technical reasoning, data modelling, automation, reporting and judgement.

We do not expect a highly polished production solution. We are interested in clear decisions, sensible trade-offs and your ability to explain and adapt your work. Reasonable adjustments will be available throughout the process.

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) brings together the city region’s ten councils and key partners including Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) - to deliver the Greater Manchester Strategy. Our shared vision is to create a thriving city region where everyone can live a good life. We work to grow an inclusive economy and ensure people have what they need to live happy, healthy lives, tackling inequalities.

Our policy department include Digital, Economy, Education, Work & Skills, Environment, Place Making, Public Service Reform, and Safer & Stronger Communities - who are supported by our essential corporate functions like Finance, Legal & Governance, People Services,…