Senior Data Scientist (MSF)

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Senior Data Scientist, CaseCentral

You will be part of CaseCentral product team, Ministry of Social and Family Development's ministry-wide case management system which aims to empower caseworkers to deliver holistic, coordinated and efficient support – driving better client and family outcomes. You will be responsible for driving our objective to shift social services from reactive to proactive, enabling earlier interventions and contributing to better outcomes for families, children, and vulnerable communities.

Working in close collaboration with the CIO, SCIO, Chief Data Office, Ministry Chief Information Security Officer, Engineering Lead and cross-functional product teams, you will serve as the central architect for MSF’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) journey.

This role is responsible for formulating MSF's overarching AI strategy, identifying high-impact opportunities for AI adoption, and establishing robust governance frameworks. You will ensure that AI technologies—including Generative AI, LLM, machine learning, and predictive analytics—are deployed responsibly, ethically, and securely to drive impactful early childhood education and social service outcomes while remaining fully aligned with Whole-of-Government (WOG) directives and MSF Strategic outcomes.

[Key Responsibilities]

1. AI Strategy, Roadmap & Adoption

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Evolve and execute MSF AI Strategy: Continuously keep pulse with the changes in this space, calibrate and realign, and execution of the Ministry Family’s AI roadmap, identifying how traditional and upcoming AI models can optimise internal operations and transform citizen-facing services.

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MSF, WOG & National AI Alignment: Ensure MSF’s AI initiatives are tightly aligned with MSF's Strategic Outcomes, Singapore’s National AI Strategy, the Digital Government Blueprint, and Smart Nation goals.

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Use Case Prioritisation: Partner with policy and operational divisions to identify, evaluate, and prioritise high-value AI use cases, establishing clear metrics for success and business value.

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Capability Building: Drive ministry family-wide AI literacy and capability-building programmes, fostering an AI-ready culture and preparing teams for human-AI collaboration.

2. AI Governance, Risk & Ethics

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Establish AI Governance Frameworks: Develop, implement, and maintain MSF’s AI governance policies, ensuring alignment with WOG guidelines (such as IM8 AI standards) and international best practices for responsible AI.

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Ethical AI & Bias Mitigation: Define standards for algorithmic fairness, transparency, accountability, and explainability. Establish guardrails to identify and mitigate biases in AI models, particularly those affecting vulnerable segments of society.

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Compliance & Risk Management: Monitor regulatory shifts and WOG policies regarding AI safety, intellectual property, and data privacy. Conduct risk assessments on proposed AI systems before deployment.

3. Policy-Ops-Tech Integration & Collaboration

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Cross-Functional Synergy: Act as the central node connecting tech execution teams (Data Engineers, AI Specialists) with policy and operational stakeholders to translate AI potential into scalable solutions.

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Steering Committee Representation: Provide secretarial and strategic support for digital and AI governance steering committees. Work closely with central agencies (e.g., GovTech, SNDGO) to benchmark and accelerate MSF’s AI capabilities.

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Play a foundational role in shaping how data, analytics, and predictive intelligence are embedded into everyday decision-making across Case Central.

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Develop and deploy predictive and statistical models that surface early warning signals and proactive triggers (e.g. risk escalation, intervention needs).

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Work closely with product managers and the wider team to define hypotheses, design experiments, and deeply understand user needs, pain points, and business goals.

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Translate complex data into clear, strategic recommendations for product enhancements.

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Continuously evaluate model performance, bias, and real-world impact on client outcomes.

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Build and maintain intuitive dashboards for our product team, caseworkers, supervisors, and policymakers, tailored to their decision context.

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Visualize data effectively to highlight trends, anomalies, and opportunities, enabling data-driven decisions across teams.

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Define and uphold data schemas, definitions, and quality standards across incoming programmes and partners.

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Act as a data steward for Case Central, ensuring consistency, lineage, and trustworthiness of data.

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Help set the long-term data and analytics roadmap for our product team.

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[What we are looking for]

Experience & Qualifications

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A Bachelor's or Master's in Computer Science, Statistics, Mathematics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a related field.

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At least 7+ years of experience in Data Science or Product Analytics roles within dynamic, outcome-driven organizations with a strong portfolio of projects demonstrating data-driven solutions.

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Domain Knowledge: Strong understanding of AI concepts (e.g., LLMs, NLP, predictive modelling), data infrastructure, and the lifecycle of AI model development (MLOps). Familiarity with public sector data policies and platforms or IM8 is highly preferred.

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You are proficient in SQL and Python for handling large datasets.

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You have advanced knowledge in statistical methodologies and machine learning to uncover insights. You can also apply these techniques to large datasets.

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Familiarity with database, data pipelines, analytics tooling, and model deployment.

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Ability to build relationships with diverse stakeholders and cultivate strong partnerships.

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Strong communication skills, including the ability to bridge technical and non-technical stakeholders and collaborate across various functions to ensure impact.

Key Competencies

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Strategic & Ethical Thinking: Ability to balance aggressive technological innovation with rigorous ethical reasoning and risk management, keeping the citizen’s well-being at the centre.

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Stakeholder Management: Exceptional communication skills with the ability to demystify complex AI concepts for non-technical senior leaders and build consensus across diverse ministry sectors.

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Agile & Problem-Solving Mindset: Highly adaptable to the rapid pace of AI advancements, with a proven ability to navigate ambiguous regulatory landscapes.

Preferred Advantages

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Experience implementing AI governance tools, model validation practices, or risk frameworks .

Our employee benefits are based on a total rewards approach, offering a holistic and market-competitive suite of perks. These include leave benefits to meet your work-life needs and employee wellness programmes.

We champion flexible work arrangements (subject to your job role) and trust that you will manage your own time to deliver your best, wherever you are, and whatever works best for you.

Please note that this will be a 2-year fixed term contract.

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Please note the following:

1. By submitting my application, I hereby give my consent to GovTech and relevant Government agencies to:

a. Obtain and verify information from or with any source (including third parties) as may be deemed appropriate by GovTech and relevant Government agencies for the purposes of assessing my application for employment.

b. Share my personal data set out in this application form and any other personal data subsequently provided by me in connection with my application for employment with other Government agencies for the purposes of recruitment and review of recruitment practices, and for such personal data to be also used as part of de-identified and aggregated data for reporting purposes.

2. I declare that all the information given by me in this application for employment and any additional documents attached hereto are true to the best of my knowledge and that I have not wilfully suppressed any material fact. I accept that if any of the information given by me in this application is in any way false or incorrect, my application may be rejected, any offer of employment may be withdrawn or my employment with the Service may be terminated summarily or I may be dismissed from the Service.