Senior Data Scientist (cba)

Job Description

Senior Data Scientist- Home Buying

As a Senior Data Scientist within the Decision Science Home Buying Modelling Team, you will lead the development and management of cutting-edge models that drive decision-making and deliver high-impact outcomes for the Home Buying portfolio. This role combines technical expertise, leadership, and strategic thinking to solve complex business challenges within the credit risk domain for retail banking home loans.

In this role, you will mentor a team of data scientist professionals, collaborate with key stakeholders such as Product/Credit Risk/Finance/Group Treasury across the business, and ensure leverage advanced data science techniques to enhance customer experiences, optimize portfolio performance, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.

See yourself in the team:

The Chief Data and Analytics Office (CDAO) team is responsible for leading the delivery of world-class data, analytics and technology capabilities to improve the financial well-being of our customers and communities.

The Decision Science Home Buying Credit Risk Modelling team within CDAO supports the Home Buying business modelling needs through the development and maintenance of predictive models, creating insights to enable business decision making at a strategic and tactical level. These models help support E2E product performance of all the retail home loan products, with a primary focus on credit risk.

Role and Responsibilities:

This role supports the Senior Manager in Home Buying Modelling to deliver impactful modelling solutions. You will be responsible for the development and management of key credit risk models within the team, with an objective to foster a team vision that utilises state of the art data science and statistical techniques to outperform the market with regards to credit risk origination and portfolio management. You will be expected to drive higher quality/efficient use of data through continuous process improvements. More specifically this will include:

Leadership and Collaboration

• Lead and mentor junior data scientists, fostering a culture of technical excellence, collaboration, and professional growth.

• Translate complex business challenges into data science problems and actionable solutions.

• Work closely with senior stakeholders across Finance, Portfolio Teams, Product, Pricing, and Risk to deliver data-driven insights and strategies.

• Present technical solutions and insights to senior non-technical stakeholders, ensuring clarity and alignment with business goals.

Model Development and Innovation

• Develop, maintain, and monitor application, behavioural, and operational models across credit risk, pricing, marketing, and operations to optimise portfolio performance.

• Utilize advanced data science techniques and tools (e.g., Python, R) to create industry-leading models.

• Drive continuous improvement in data quality, processes, and model efficiency.

Business Impact

• Deliver timely, high-quality statistical models that address key business challenges and align with regulatory and governance requirements.

• Provide implementable solutions that drive profitable growth, productivity, and customer value.

• Collaborate with the broader Data Science community to maintain a centre of excellence for data-driven decision-making.

We want to hear from you if you have:

• Exceptional written & verbal communication skills are required in this role to coordinate and influence senior cross-functional stakeholders and contribute to an empowered high performing team.

• At least 4 years of experience in data science or statistical modelling leading end-to-end projects.

• Advanced technical skills - ability to generate actionable value-add insights by understanding complex data and using tools such as Python, R, Teradata SQL.

• A demonstrated ability to improve the overall efficiency of the team by uplifting team members' technical skills and capabilities, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment.

• A relevant tertiary qualification e.g. Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Econometrics, Computer Science or Engineering.

About You:

• You are driven by a passion for solving complex business problems with innovative data science solutions.

• You combine commercial thinking with analytical rigor to deliver actionable insights and value.

• You thrive in collaborative environments, enjoy working with stakeholders, and are committed to fostering a high-performing, inclusive team culture.

• You are proactive, detail-oriented, and eager to stay at the forefront of data science innovation.

Flexible working:

We support our people with hybrid working arrangements, requiring at least 50% of time in office for team collaboration. Additional flexible options include adjustable start/finish times, part-time arrangements, and job share opportunities. We're happy to discuss how these arrangements could work for you.