Head of Data Science Job Trends in the UK excluding London

Head of Data Science
UK > UK excluding London

The median Head of Data Science salary in the UK excluding London is £79,250 per year, according to job vacancies posted during the 6 months leading to 11 January 2026.

The table below compares current salary benchmarking and summary statistics with the previous two years.

6 months to
11 Jan 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 506 - 559
Rank change year-on-year - - +210
Permanent jobs requiring a Head of Data Science 4 0 1
As % of all permanent jobs in the UK excluding London 0.010% - 0.003%
As % of the Job Titles category 0.011% - 0.003%
Number of salaries quoted 4 0 0
10th Percentile £66,775 - -
25th Percentile £67,563 - -
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £79,250 - -
75th Percentile £91,250 - -
90th Percentile - - -
UK median annual salary £87,500 £145,000 £125,000
% change year-on-year -39.66% +16.00% +26.58%

All Permanent IT Job Roles
UK excluding London

For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent IT job vacancies in the UK excluding London. Most job vacancies include a discernible job title that can be normalized. As such, the figures in the second row provide an indication of the number of permanent jobs in our overall sample.

Permanent vacancies in the UK excluding London with a recognized job title 37,951 33,588 32,956
% of permanent jobs with a recognized job title 90.41% 92.94% 95.36%
Number of salaries quoted 23,133 16,400 24,992
10th Percentile £28,000 £31,250 £27,500
25th Percentile £35,000 £40,000 £36,743
Median annual salary (50th Percentile) £50,000 £52,500 £50,000
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% +5.00% -4.76%
75th Percentile £65,000 £68,750 £65,000
90th Percentile £80,000 £82,500 £78,750
UK median annual salary £55,000 £60,000 £57,500
% change year-on-year -8.33% +4.35% -4.17%

Head of Data Science
Job Vacancy Trend in the UK excluding London

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings featuring 'Head of Data Science' in the job title relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in the UK excluding London.

Head of Data Science job vacancy trend in the UK excluding London

Head of Data Science
Salary Trend in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution trend for Head of Data Science job vacancies in the UK excluding London.

Salary distribution trend for Head of Data Science job vacancies in the UK excluding London

Head of Data Science
Salary Histogram in the UK excluding London

Salary distribution for jobs citing Head of Data Science in the UK excluding London over the 6 months to 11 January 2026.

Salary histogram for Head of Data Science in the UK excluding London

Head of Data Science
Job Locations in the UK excluding London

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Head of Data Science within the UK excluding London region over the 6 months to 11 January 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Matching
Permanent
IT Job Ads
Median Salary
Past 6 Months
Median Salary
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year
Live
Jobs
Midlands - 4 £79,250 -
West Midlands - 4 £79,250 -
Head of Data Science
UK

Head of Data Science Skill Set
Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London

For the 6 months to 11 January 2026, Head of Data Science job roles required the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads across the UK excluding London region featuring Head of Data Science in the job title.

1 4 (100.00%) AI
1 4 (100.00%) Analytics
1 4 (100.00%) Data Science
1 4 (100.00%) LLM
1 4 (100.00%) Machine Learning
2 2 (50.00%) Actionable Insight
2 2 (50.00%) AWS
2 2 (50.00%) Azure
2 2 (50.00%) Conversational UI
2 2 (50.00%) Data Governance
2 2 (50.00%) Decision-Making
2 2 (50.00%) Deep Learning
2 2 (50.00%) Generative AI
2 2 (50.00%) MLOps
2 2 (50.00%) Natural Language Processing
2 2 (50.00%) Predictive Modelling
2 2 (50.00%) Prompt Engineering
2 2 (50.00%) Python
2 2 (50.00%) Retrieval-Augmented Generation
3 1 (25.00%) Computer Science
3 1 (25.00%) Data Analysis
3 1 (25.00%) Data Visualisation
3 1 (25.00%) Data-Driven Decision Making
3 1 (25.00%) Degree
3 1 (25.00%) Mathematics
3 1 (25.00%) Mentoring
3 1 (25.00%) Predictive Analytics
3 1 (25.00%) Process Improvement
3 1 (25.00%) Risk Assessment
3 1 (25.00%) Stakeholder Management

Head of Data Science Skill Set
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the UK excluding London by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Cloud Services
1 2 (50.00%) AWS
1 2 (50.00%) Azure
General
1 2 (50.00%) Inclusion and Diversity
1 2 (50.00%) Public Sector
1 2 (50.00%) Social Skills
2 1 (25.00%) Analytical Skills
2 1 (25.00%) Law
2 1 (25.00%) Legal
Miscellaneous
1 1 (25.00%) Algorithms
Processes & Methodologies
1 4 (100.00%) AI
1 4 (100.00%) Analytics
1 4 (100.00%) Data Science
1 4 (100.00%) LLM
1 4 (100.00%) Machine Learning
2 2 (50.00%) Actionable Insight
2 2 (50.00%) Conversational UI
2 2 (50.00%) Data Governance
2 2 (50.00%) Decision-Making
2 2 (50.00%) Deep Learning
2 2 (50.00%) Generative AI
2 2 (50.00%) MLOps
2 2 (50.00%) Natural Language Processing
2 2 (50.00%) Predictive Modelling
2 2 (50.00%) Prompt Engineering
2 2 (50.00%) Retrieval-Augmented Generation
3 1 (25.00%) Data Analysis
3 1 (25.00%) Data Visualisation
3 1 (25.00%) Risk Assessment
3 1 (25.00%) Stakeholder Management
Programming Languages
1 2 (50.00%) Python
Qualifications
1 1 (25.00%) Degree