Data Acquisition and Reporting Lead
Job summary
The NHS Counter Fraud Authority (NHSCFA) is the national body responsible for all matters relating to the prevention, detection and investigation of economic crime across the NHS. Further information about our work and annual plan for delivering this is available on our website.
Following the success of our 2-year funded 'Project Athena' we are pleased to offer this permanent vacancy that has management responsibility for the timely acquisition and sourcing of data suitable for counter fraud analysis within function. They provide the professional management of the reporting arm of the function that provides key business insights, external reporting and counter fraud information and fraud insights deployment to the sector. They are required to build relationships, formally agreeing data flows with key partners and working collaboratively with other disciplines within the function.
Potential applicants can contact David Dixon, Data Acquisition and Reporting Manager david.dixon@nhscfa.gov.uk for an informal chat if you have any questions regarding the role.
Our vacancies are popular and we may close this vacancy early should we receive a significant number of applications.
Interviews will be held face to face at Canary Wharf , London on 3rd June 2026.
The post holder will be required to have clearance for NPPV2.
Main duties of the job
Provide leadership and oversight to NHSCFA's business intelligence and reporting functions, ensuring corporate, operational and statutory reporting obligations are met to produce robust and insightful outputs for NHSCFA and its stakeholders.
Lead the acquisition, coordination and delivery of internal and external datasets required for NHSCFA's reporting and analytical commitments, alongside those for the wider Counter Fraud Advanced Analytics Function, ensuring consistent and reliable provision of data in alignment with defined requirements.
Develop and manage dataflows alongside their associated data specifications, ensuring datasets are received accurately, securely and in line with agreed schedules, resolving issues related to timeliness, completeness or data quality.
Maintain and develop reporting outputs -- including dashboards, performance reports and other visual or narrative products -- ensuring efficient and effective production, and accuracy, clarity and consistency of output.
Develop and maintain strong working relationships with data providers across the NHS and partner bodies, coordinating the transfer of information and ensuring updates when formats or definitions change.
About us
We have offices in Coventry, Newcastle and London and offer flexible, hybrid, and home-based working. Working in the London area will attract High-Cost Area Supplement. NHSCFA values and respects the diversity of its employees and aims to recruit a workforce which reflects our diverse communities. We welcome applications irrespective of people's age, disability, gender, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. We have policies and procedures in place to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including an invitation to the first stage of the selection process and consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability. We encourage applications from individuals interested in a secondment opportunity. If you are applying on this basis, please ensure you have obtained agreement in principle from your current employer. When you apply , you will be redirected to our recruitment system TRAC. The NHSCFA does not hold a sponsor licence in respect of skilled worker visas and so is unable to employ candidates requiring sponsorship.
To comply with the HM Government Functional Standard GovS 007, and specifically the Personnel Security Standards, individuals employed by NHS Counter Fraud Authority will be required to undergo Baseline Personnel Security Standards checks.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Support negotiations and agreement processes for new or updated datasets, ensuring information governance compliance and alignment with organisational needs.
Ensure data pipelines entering the reporting environment are appropriately documented, validated and monitored, working with technical teams for implementation or change where required.
Ensure reporting processes and products are efficient and well governed, supporting continuous improvement across the function.
Work with analysts and key business users to ensure insight meets organisational needs and is grounded in highquality, wellgoverned data.
Monitor data quality across acquired datasets, identifying issues, coordinating remedial actions, and ensuring problems affecting reporting outputs are escalated and tracked to resolution.
Lead development and governance of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), specifications, data dictionaries and work instructions for data acquisition and reporting activity. Maintain clear audit trails and versioncontrolled documentation for dataflows, reporting logic and changes to ensure transparency and repeatability
Contribute to organisational data standards through delivery of the NHSCFAs Data Strategy Group and Data Practitioners Forum, ensuring acquisition and reporting practices align with governance expectations and supporting the effectiveness of the wider NHSCFA data environment.
Ensure all work complies with relevant legislation including the Data Protection Act, Computer Misuse Act and Freedom of Information Act, as well as NHSCFA Policies.
Person Specification
Specialist Knowledge
- Demonstrable knowledge of the underlying principles and techniques of data analytics within the context of counter fraud, for example rule-based analytics, machine learning etc.
- Solid understanding of UK Data Protection law and related regulations relevant to counter fraud data provision, use and retention
- Understanding of data acquisition processes and legal gateways, including data sharing agreements, DPIAs, security controls and statutory requirements.
- Comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft PowerBI, PowerQuery
- In depth knowledge of how data pipelines are designed, structured and validated, including ETL/ELT concepts, transformation logic, and orchestration frameworks.
- Strong understanding of business intelligence and reporting practices, including semantic modelling, measures/KPIs, and performance reporting methodologies and techniques.
- Extensive knowledge and understanding of the NHS data landscape and how the various data sources can be used to identify fraudulent activity.
- Deep knowledge of NHS data flows, definitions and system architectures, including their constraints, data quality challenges, and interoperability considerations.
- Proficiency in coding (SQL, R, Python) and use of data analysis software (MS Fabric, Alteryx)
- Understanding of the NHSCFA data mandate, as provisioned by legislation and statutory mandate
- Knowledge of the GovS:10 (Analysis) standards and wider compliance framework
Experience
- Designing and managing dataflow specifications and gateway documentation for data acquisition, including production of associated documentation, including Data Sharing Agreements, Data Protection Impact Assessments etc.
- Significant practical experience managing a data reporting team, including all processes and practices of data access and usage in a comparable context.
- Extensive experience in directly producing and presenting management reports and performance related updates to support business intelligence for operational, corporate and board level audiences.
- Designing, building and maintaining automated reporting pipelines, ensuring outputs are accurate, reliable, scaleable and repeatable.
- Experience developing and managing corporate dashboards and performance report
- Experience coordinating cross team reporting production cycles, ensuring deadlines are met and outputs remain consistent across products.
- Ability to identify issues affecting reporting accuracy or timeliness, and lead remedial action with data providers or technical teams.
- Experience maintaining reporting specifications, definitions and data dictionaries, ensuring changes are understood and implemented consistently.
- Skilled in optimising reporting processes, streamlining manual tasks and embedding governance into reporting workflows
- Experience in data visualisation, communicating and presenting statistical outputs and the effective use of data to a range of stakeholders
- Strong analytical and critical thinking skills.
- Experience assuring reporting logic, metrics and KPIs, including version control, lineage tracking and auditability.
- Experience in developing and implementing data quality monitoring tools.
Qualifications
- Master's degree in a numerate subject or equivalent experience (e.g., Mathematical, Data Science, Computer Science, Physics, or related discipline)
- Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist or member of Government Counter fraud Profession
- Demonstrable CPD.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Employer details
Employer name
NHS Counter Fraud Authority
Address
NHSCFA, Citygate
Gallowgate
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE1 4WH
Employer's website
https://cfa.nhs.uk/