Head of Data Science

Head of Data Science Head of Data Science at Optima Partners: lead a growing, people-first data team, deliver measurable client impact and shape scalable ML solutions across industries. We usually respond within three days Optima Partners is a fast‑growing professional services firm helping leading organisations transform customer engagement at the intersection of marketing, technology and data. As we scale from 100 to 300 people we’re growing our Advanced Data Practice team through the appointment of a Head of Data Science to drive both client impact and team growth About the role In this role you will shape and deliver the data science agenda ensuring machine learning and analytics solutions are not only technically robust but deliver real measurable business outcomes for clients. You will sit at the intersection of strategy delivery and leadership building a high performing team while helping clients unlock value from advanced data and decisioning. What you will be doing Lead and grow a multi-disciplinary data science team including data scientists and analysts Define and embed a best practice operating model for scalable and commercially viable data science solutions Provide technical oversight and delivery assurance across client projects Support business development by shaping solutions contributing to proposals and engaging with clients Partner with delivery teams and engagement managers to establish consistent ways of working and repeatable approaches Drive adoption of machine learning solutions ensuring sustained client value Build strong relationships with partners such as Databricks Pega and Adobe and contribute to client account growth Line manage team members supporting performance development and wellbeing Contribute to recruitment strategy and scaling the data science capability What we are looking for Proven experience leading data science teams ideally within a consulting or client facing environment Strong expertise in machine learning advanced analytics and statistical modelling Experience delivering data science solutions in commercial environments with measurable impact Ability to translate complex business problems into data modelling and decisioning solutions Strong understanding of modern data science tooling and ecosystems such as Python R SQL MLOps and Databricks Commercial awareness with the ability to identify and shape high value use cases Excellent stakeholder engagement skills including working with senior and C suite clients About you Strategic outcome focused and commercially minded A natural leader coach and mentor who enjoys developing others Collaborative and comfortable working across multi disciplinary teams Pragmatic with a focus on delivery adoption and impact over theory A strong communicator able to bridge technical and business stakeholders Passionate about building a high performing people first data science culture Why join Optima At Optima Partners we combine customer strategy design and advanced data science to help leading brands unlock real business value. You will play a key role in shaping our data science capability and growth working with major UK and global clients across financial services telecoms energy and life sciences. This is an opportunity to join a fast growing consultancy influence our leadership team and build a data science function that sets the standard for delivery and innovation. What we offer Competitive salary plus 15% discretionary bonus Hybrid working with regular office presence Private medical insurance life and income protection Pension scheme Access to a wide range of employee perks Continuous learning training and career development Opportunity to shape and grow a high impact data science practice Department Data Science Role Data Scientist Locations Charlotte Square, Edinburgh Remote status Hybrid