Job description

Job title:

Data Scientists x 3

Grade:

Department:

Grade X: LSHTM scale £39,432 to £51,156 per annum depending on
qualifications and experience

Clinical Effectiveness Unit – National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre

Responsible for:

Working with team members to deliver national cancer audits of the
National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre

Accountable to:

Dr  Julie  Nossiter,  Director  of  Operations,  National  Cancer  Audit
Collaborating Centre and ultimately, to the Director, Clinical Effectiveness
Unit (Professor David Cromwell)

Job summary

These posts offer a unique opportunity to work at the National Cancer Audit Collaborating
Centre (NATCAN) within the Clinical Effectiveness Unit (CEU) at the Royal College of
Surgeons of England (RCSEng). NATCAN is a new national centre of excellence overseeing
the 10 National Cancer Audits in England and Wales aiming to strengthen NHS cancer
services by looking at treatments and patient outcomes across the NHS. The CEU is a
collaboration between the RCSEng and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine (LSHTM). NATCAN is the largest centre evaluating cancer services in the UK, with
40 staff members, employed at the RCS or the LSTHM, from a wide range of backgrounds
(medicine, statistics, epidemiology, data science, quality improvement, project
management).

Data Scientists

These are key roles in data science and reporting in NATCAN, working closely with senior
cancer specialists, clinical fellows, methodologists, data managers, and other
multidisciplinary members. The post holders will develop advanced analysis and research
skills. Having large detailed linked datasets provides opportunities to be involved in
methodological development and in epidemiological studies assessing the quality of care
and answering the most pressing questions about why some cancer patients receive
different treatments and outcomes than others. The results of the work will be disseminated
as audit reports, dashboards, peer-reviewed academic papers, and conference
presentations. The post holders will also support development to improve the efficiency of
data analysis and reporting within the centre, working on the data flow into and within
NATCAN, data validation, data science processes, automated reporting, state-of-the-art data
visualisation and dashboards.

A current data scientist in NATCAN says “These data scientist roles provide a fantastic
opportunity to be part of multidisciplinary teams carrying out clinical audit and research with

‘big data’. For this to drive quality improvement and make a real difference to patients, we
need more input from data scientists to handle the data coming into NATCAN efficiently and
analyse and report on it effectively. My role has been extremely well-supported from
academics and clinicians at the forefront of their fields and has provided me with invaluable
opportunities to develop my data science skills, present at national and international
conferences, and contribute to meaningful improvements for patients with cancer. I cannot
recommend this position highly enough.”

Specific duties and responsibilities

Three data scientist roles are available at different grades. The duties and responsibilities of
each role will depend in part on the experience, skills and interests of the post holder. Post
holders will need to be flexible to how the needs of the National Cancer Audit Collaborating
Centre change over time.

1.  Statistical analyses for national cancer audits and research projects
In collaboration with other team members across NATCAN, the post holders will design and
carry out statistical analyses for national cancer audits and research projects using linked
national cancer and administrative datasets. They will deal with methodological issues that
arise, such as handling missing data, incomplete data linkage, or the censoring of individuals
in time-to-event data, and the development of risk-adjustment approaches for making fair
comparisons between organisations. Areas of statistical analysis work will include, for
example:

•  Describing the cancer care and outcomes across different NHS organisations
•  Examining how different patterns of care may influence patient outcomes
•  Benchmarking and monitoring performance of healthcare providers over time
•  Conducting analyses to support quality improvement initiatives

The post holder will be expected to work collaboratively across multidisciplinary teams and
be able to communicate the methods and findings of analyses to a medical and lay
audience.  They will be expected to present their analyses in seminars and write up their
findings for inclusion in project reports, academic journals and conference presentations.

2.  Data science and provision of automated reporting across cancer audits
The delivery of ten cancer audits brings the opportunity for highly efficient working across
audits. The post-holders will be required to actively seek potential areas for cross-audit
working in data preparation, analysis methods and reporting. Accurate documentation of
data extraction, cleaning, validation and indicator production will be crucial. Areas
contributing to the aspiration of efficient cross-audit working will include:

•  Extracting, wrangling and curating large scale linked clinical datasets ready for

analysis using SQL or statistical software (R, Python, Stata), and supporting related
documentation

•  Developing and applying reusable data pipelines and applying algorithms and code

lists to derive required variables

•  Developing and performing systematic data quality checks across and within

projects

•  Producing automated reports, dashboards and data visualisations to support local

quality improvement

3.  Data access and Information Governance (IG)

•  Supporting the Director of Operations with data access requests
•  Supporting processes to ensure that data access, management and analysis
activities take place within a robust data sharing and information governance
framework that meets legal IG requirements

•  Liaise with RCS Data protection Officer (DPO) to ensure projects comply with RCS

information governance policies and other statutory requirements

4.  Development and training

•  Contributing to training material for technical and non-technical staff on data science

and the application of statistical techniques

•  Undergo further training in statistics, data science, research and audit methodology
•  Keep abreast of and adapt to changes in the national cancer data landscape, and

developments in presenting and disseminating statistical information (e.g.
dashboards and control charts) to hospitals.

5.  Other
•  Maintaining the confidentiality of data at all times and to ensure that the requirements of

the Data Protection Act are met throughout the work of the National Cancer Audit
Collaborating Centre

•  Ensuring that data collection, analysis and reporting is carried out to the highest

professional standards

•  Carrying out other occasional duties within the National Cancer Audit Collaborating

Centre and the CEU, e.g. contributing to training workshops

The post-holders will have the opportunity to publish academic output in health informatics,
statistics, or data science.  Working in NATCAN/ the CEU will provide a wealth of potential
topic  areas,  such  as  developing  methods
for  monitoring  healthcare  performance,
understanding variations in care and outcomes of cancer patients, improving data validation
of linked datasets, and designing and evaluating quality improvement initiatives.

The post-holders will also have the opportunity to pursue further training in statistical methods,
project/programme management, quality improvement methodology or data science. Further
training in Information Governance and Data Protection will also be available.

Further information about NATCAN & CEU is available at the bottom of the job description.

This  job  description  will  be  subject  to  review  in  the  light  of  changing  circumstances  and  may
include other duties and responsibilities as may be determined.  It is not intended to be rigid or
inflexible but should be regarded as providing guidelines within which the individual works.

October 2024

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

Essential

Desirable

Bachelor Level degree in medical
statistics, data science,
epidemiology, operational research
or equivalent academic qualification

Higher degree (MSc) in medical
statistics, data science,
epidemiology, operational
research or equivalent academic
qualification

Experience

Experience of undertaking analyses
using large complex datasets in a
statistical package

Experience of managing
relational databases and using
SQL

Contributions to written output,
preferably peer-reviewed

Experience of applying information
governance principles to health care
data

Experience of analysing routine
national datasets such as Hospital
Episode Statistics or Cancer
Registry data

Experience of working within
multidisciplinary teams

Knowledge/skills

A good understanding of health-
related research methods and study
designs

Knowledge of data protection
and information security
principles

Strong statistical analysis skills,
including multivariable regression
analyses.

Proven ability to communicate
statistical concepts and results to
non-statisticians

Understanding of advanced
statistical techniques such as
missing data methods, risk model
development, and multilevel
modelling

Data visualisation skills

Good organisational skills, including
an ability to prioritise work to meet
deadlines and work on various tasks
simultaneously

People and
interpersonal skills

Excellent verbal and written
communication skills, with the ability
to adapt oral and written
communication

Effective at building professional
relationships and responsive to
stakeholder needs

Ability to use initiative and work
autonomously whilst within a team
environment

The post holder will also need to demonstrate the following values:

Collaboration

Respect

Excellence

We embrace our collective responsibilities working
collaboratively and as one college.

•  We work together, using our collective expertise and

experience to effect positive change

•  We are open, honest and transparent, straightforward in our
language and actions, acting with sincerity and delivering on
our commitments

•  We take our responsibilities to each other, to patient care and
to the environment seriously and we act with this in mind
across our work

We value every person we come into contact with at the College
as an individual, respect their aspirations and commitments in
life, and seek to understand and meet their physical and
wellbeing needs.

•  We treat everyone we meet with kindness and integrity and

we seek to promote these behaviours in others

•  We actively seek a range of views and experiences across

our work, and we listen to, and make everyone feel, a valued
part of the team

We aspire to excellence and success. We share learning from
our experiences, apply feedback into practice, and commit to
continual improvement.

•  We work hard to be the best at what we do, recognising and
celebrating effort and achievement, and reflecting on our
work, so we can learn and improve

•  We value and invest in research, education and training to
drive excellence and put improvements in surgical practice,
dentistry and patient care at the heart of our work
•  We always seek to learn and discover more, valuing

knowledge and scientific evidence, basing our decisions on
insights, fact and experience

The Royal College of Surgeons of England is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We are open to all
talent  and  we  actively  ensure  that  all  qualified  applicants  will  receive  equal  consideration  for
employment without regards to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership,
pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

National Cancer Audit Collaborating Centre
Evaluating and where necessary improving the treatment for cancer patients is a key priority
for the NHS Cancer Programme, and the Quality Statement for Cancer Wales. The
Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, on behalf of NHS England and the Welsh
Government, has commissioned the development and establishment of a new centre of
excellence for national cancer audits.

NATCAN is part of the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme (NCAPOP).
NATCAN is home to all ten national cancer audits. This includes new audits in breast cancer
(primary and metastatic), ovarian, pancreatic, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and kidney cancer. In
addition, this includes to existing clinical audits in prostate, lung, gastro-oesophageal and
bowel cancer. These audits have helped to identify and address variations in cancer care
across England and Wales and improve outcomes for patients. They have also promoted
quality improvement initiatives within NHS cancer services and identified best practice.

NATCAN aims to:

1.  Provide regular and timely evidence to cancer services of where patterns of care in

England and Wales vary.

2.  Support NHS services to identify the reasons for the variation in care in order to

guide quality improvement initiatives.

3.  Stimulate improvements in cancer detection, treatment and outcomes including

survival.

NATCAN began on the 1 October 2022 in the CEU, a collaboration between the RCSEng
and LSHTM.  NATCAN collaborates closely with professional groups, clinicians and patient
charities to ensure that all relevant stakeholders inform the quality improvement goals of
each audit. NATCAN has approximately 40 staff from a range of disciplines including
statistics, data science, health services research, epidemiology, healthcare quality
improvement and clinical audit management. It is led by Dr Julie Nossiter, Director of
Operations, NATCAN; Prof Ajay Aggarwal, Clinical Director, NATCAN; Prof David Cromwell,
Director of the CEU and Professor of Health Services Research, LSHTM; Prof Kate Walker,
Professor of Medical Statistics, LSHTM; and Prof Jan van der Meulen, Professor of Clinical
Epidemiology, LSHTM.

NATCAN is a key source of information that supports various quality assessment and
improvement activities, both at a local level (by NHS trusts and boards, Cancer Alliances,
Integrated care Systems) and at a national level (e.g., CQC inspection and regulatory work).
The activities of NATCAN and the individual audits will drive quality improvement across the
country aiming to help cancer services reach the highest standards possible.

Clinical Effectiveness Unit
The CEU is a collaboration between the RCSEng and the Department of Health Services
Research & Policy of the LSHTM.

The work of the CEU involves carrying out national clinical audits, developing audit
methodologies and producing evidence on clinical and cost effectiveness. An essential
element of the CEU’s strategy is that it considers audit projects as epidemiological studies of
the quality of hospital care. Epidemiological methods are used to generate high quality
evidence on the processes and outcomes of hospital care as well as on their determinants.
Another important feature of the CEU’s strategy is the emphasis it gives to joint clinical and
methodological leadership.

The CEU has 45 staff members, of whom 6 are academic staff members of the LSHTM. The
background of the staff demonstrates the multidisciplinary character of the Unit (medicine,
health services research, medical statistics, epidemiology and public health). The Unit’s
Director is Professor David Cromwell.