Head of Analytical Data and Data Science

Aviva; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 115,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading insurance company is seeking a Head of Analytical Data and Data Science to lead and shape the analytical architecture and data strategy. The ideal candidate will have strong leadership abilities in analytics, experience in influencing senior stakeholders, and a deep understanding of data-driven strategies. This position is critical for enabling enterprise-wide data services and AI capabilities in a collaborative environment. The role is based in England and offers competitive compensation and substantial perks.

Benefits

Bonus opportunity up to 25% of annual salary

Generous pension scheme

29 days holiday plus bank holidays

Aviva-funded Private Medical Benefit

Discounts on Aviva products

Free Aviva shares through Matching Share Plan

Supportive parental and carer’s leave policies

Flexible benefits including sustainability options

Paid volunteering days

Wellbeing support and tools

Qualifications

• Deep understanding of analytical data design and modelling.
• High proficiency in statistical modelling and ML techniques.
• Ability to influence stakeholders and drive analytics value.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Analytical Data and Data Science pillars of the enterprise.
• Set the architectural direction for data and analytics platforms.
• Mentor talent and drive innovation in analytical standards.

Skills

Analytical data design

Statistical modelling

Machine Learning (ML)

Data quality

Influencing stakeholders

Feature engineering

Data science strategy

Job description

Overview

Head of Analytical Data and Data Science

Location: Bristol, London, Eastleigh, or Norwich

Salary: £130k circa London / £115 circa National

This is a great job for someone who is excited by the opportunity to shape how a whole organisation uses data. You might be an established leader in analytics, data science, or data architecture who’s ready for a broader enterprise remit, or someone energised by coaching technical teams while influencing senior stakeholders. You’ll enjoy connecting big‑picture strategy with hands‑on technical credibility, and you’ll thrive in an environment where curiosity, collaboration, and clarity matter.

If you love turning complex modelling and analytical capability into meaningful business outcomes—and you’re motivated by building an ecosystem where AI can scale responsibly across Aviva—this role will suit you perfectly.

A bit about the job:

In this role, you’ll lead the Analytical Data and Data Science pillars of Aviva’s enterprise architecture capability. You’ll set the architectural direction for data, analytics, and data science platforms—ensuring they are simple, scalable, and aligned with Aviva’s strategic goals. Working closely with teams across the CDO, Data CIO, and wider business, you’ll translate ambition into actionable technical outcomes, drive innovation, and establish clear standards for analytical excellence. You’ll also mentor talent across the function and play a key part in enabling our enterprise data services and supporting data readiness for AI.

Skills and experience we’re looking for:

• Deep understanding of analytical data design, feature engineering, data quality, metadata, lineage, and analytical data modelling. Able to define what “good analytical data” looks like, set enterprise standards, and ensure the data ecosystem supports scalable analytics and AI.
• High proficiency in statistical modelling, ML, GenAI, experimentation, and validation techniques — combined with the ability to set best‑practice frameworks and challenge technical work at an expert level.
• Ability to shape the organisation’s analytical data and data science strategy, align it to Aviva’s Data & AI agenda, and steer the evolution of platforms, tooling, capabilities, and cross‑market operating models.
• Exceptional influence across federated markets and functions. Able to engage CIO, CDO, business leaders, and technical teams to drive adoption, secure investment, and champion analytics‑driven value.
• Strong ability to translate analytical outputs into measurable business results. Skilled at prioritising high‑impact use cases, quantifying benefits, and ensuring modelling and analytical assets deliver operational, customer, and financial outcomes.

What you’ll get for this role:

Our purpose - with you today, for a better tomorrow – is a promise we make to our colleagues too. And one of the ways we live up to that promise is by investing in you. We have so much to offer when it comes to being an Aviva colleague.

• Bonus opportunity – 25% of annual salary Actual amount depends on your performance and Aviva’s.
• Generous pension scheme - Aviva will contribute up to 14%, depending on what you put in.
• 29 days holiday plus bank holidays, and you can choose to buy or sell up to 5 days
• Aviva-funded Private Medical Benefit to help you get expert support when you need it
• Make your money go further - Up to 40% discount on Aviva products, and other retailer discounts
• Up to £1,200 of free Aviva shares per year through our Matching Share Plan and share in the success of Aviva with our Save As You Earn scheme
• Brilliantly supportive policies including parental and carer’s leave
• Flexible benefits to suit you, including sustainability options such as cycle to work
• Make a difference, be part of our Aviva Communities and use your 3 paid volunteering days to help others
• We take your wellbeing seriously with lots of support and tools

Take a look to learn more. Put a salary into this calculator to see what your total Aviva Reward could be.

Aviva is for everyone:

We’re inclusive and welcome everyone – we want applications from all backgrounds and experiences. Excited but not sure you tick every box? Even if you don’t, we would still encourage you to apply. We also consider all forms of flexible working, including part time and job shares.

We flex locations, hours and working patterns to suit our customers, business, and you. Most of our people are smart working – spending at least 50% of their time in our offices every week - combining the benefits of flexibility, with time together with colleagues.

To find out more about working at Aviva take a look here

We’d love it if you could submit your application online. If you require an alternative method of applying, please give Chloe Nettley a call on 07795207964 or send an email [e-mail]