Hybrid BI Analyst

at National Centre for Social Research

• Job title: BI Analyst
• Job type: Full Time
• Experience level: Mid level, Senior
• Salary: £43,000 - £52,000 per year
• Degree requirement: Bachelor's Degree
• Tech skills: PySpark, Python, SQL
• Location requirements: Hybrid, London, United Kingdom

About the role

• BI Analyst developing enterprise-grade Power BI solutions and engaging with cross-functional teams. Building interactive dashboards and collaborating with data stakeholders for effective reporting.

Responsibilities

• Deliver enterprise‑grade Power BI solutions, including advanced DAX, Power Query transformations, semantic modelling, and performance optimisation
• Build interactive dashboards and reports aligned to user needs and NatCen UI/UX standards
• Implement and optimise DirectQuery/Lakehouse patterns and integrations with Databricks
• Ensure visualisations meet accessibility, clarity, and interpretability principles for research and operational users
• Use Databricks to transform curated datasets into analytics‑ready semantic tables/datasets.
• Write high‑quality SQL; familiarity with PySpark and Databricks is desirable
• Work closely with the Data Architect to ensure analytical datasets align with enterprise models and standards
• Partner with colleagues to define, document, and validate reporting requirements
• Facilitate workshops, walkthroughs, and feedback sessions to ensure outputs meet organisational needs
• Translate business questions into analytical designs, KPIs, and executive‑ready reporting outputs
• Maintain data lineage from source systems through Databricks to Power BI datasets.
• Champion transparency, documentation, reproducibility, and data quality across BI solutions
• Communicate technical concepts clearly to non‑technical colleagues
• Present analytical findings in ways that are easy to understand and act on
• Work collaboratively with Data Architect, researchers, and organisational leads to deliver shared outcomes
• Validate outputs using reconciliation checks and support UAT and regression testing of key measures and reports.

Requirements

• Significant experience delivering enterprise PowerBI solutions
• Strong DAX, Power Query, and semantic model design skills
• Proven experience integrating Power BI with Databricks or similar platforms
• Excellent SQL capabilities and practical experience with large‑scale data pipelines
• Strong grounding in dimensional modelling and analytics best practice
• Experience turning ambiguous requirements into well‑defined specifications
• Ability to document requirements, manage changes, and maintain traceability throughout delivery
• Experience using Databricks in research, public sector, social statistics, or financial analytics contexts (Desirable)
• Exposure to PySpark or Python in a data engineering or analytics environment (Desirable)
• Familiarity with research data structures, survey data, or longitudinal datasets (Desirable)
• Experience contributing to organisational data governance frameworks (Desirable)
• Experience working in Agile/Kanban delivery environments (Desirable)

Benefits

• 25 days’ holiday (three of which must be taken during Christmas closure) plus 8 bank holidays. Leave increases to 30 days after 3 years’ employment.
• All new employees will be automatically enrolled on the pension scheme 3 months from their start date unless stated otherwise. The minimum employee contribution is 3% and the maximum employer contribution is 5% of salary.
• Staff can also join our defined contribution pension scheme. The minimum employee contribution is 4% and the maximum employer contribution is 7.5% of salary.
• Eligible for a lump sum benefit payable to the named beneficiary on the employee’s death of 5 times their annual salary.
• This is an online employee benefits scheme featuring discounts at over 800 retailers and service providers in the UK, both online and in store.
• Employees can sign up to healthcare cash plan which lets you claim back the cost of treatments.
• We will pay the cost of one professional membership subscription per individual per annum, where that subscription is required for the job.
• This is a government initiative which allows NatCen to provide bikes and associated safety equipment to employees to use as a means of transport for work purposes.
• We offer an interest-free loan to buy annual season tickets for travel to work.
• NatCen will contribute up to £30 per year for an eye test. If the glasses/contacts are solely for VDU use then NatCen will contribute up to £100.
• Flexible working is supported where it helps to meet the aims of the company.
• Employees who meet the qualifying criteria can claim up to 18 working weeks unpaid leave per child under 5.
• EAP is a confidential helpline designed to help you deal with personal and professional problems.
• We are passionate about learning and the value it brings to the organisation and our clients. Everyone has access to training and development.