Overview
We have a fantastic new opportunity to join our team at Smartodds as a Data Analyst. Based in North London, Smartodds provides in-depth research and analysis on sporting events around the world, supported by world-class, bespoke software platforms. We are proud of our collaborative and dynamic culture, grounded in our core values of Boldness, Open-mindedness, Ownership, and Togetherness. We are a supportive and collaborative team - our environment is open, inclusive, and focused on doing great work together.
About the role
As a Data Analyst you will play a key role in supporting professional football clubs by transforming complex data into actionable insights that inform decision-making across performance, recruitment and operations. Acting as the bridge between raw data and end users within a club environment, you will ensure that analysts, coaches, and performance staff can easily access and interpret the information they need with ease. This will involve developing R packages to enable technical users to query and work with club data, while also creating intuitive dashboards and reports-both interactive and static-that allow non-technical stakeholders to explore insights in a clear and user friendly way.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop R packages to retrieve, manipulate, analyse and expose data
- Produce interactive or static reports to allow users to explore and digest data
- Conduct ad hoc analysis as required, to answer performance, recruitment, and opposition related questions from football clubs
- Collaborate with Quants, Software Developers and Data Engineers, to understand data needs and ensure data is stored and delivered in the most efficient and appropriate manner
- Assist Junior Data Analysts to ensure integrity and accuracy of our data
Person Specification (Skills & Experience) - Required
- Good knowledge of R, including experience building applications with Shiny
- Knowledge and experience of database technologies (e.g. SQL server, PostgreSQL, Redis)
- Hands-on experience working with football event data
- Strong understanding of football analytics concepts and how data can be applied across recruitment, performance, and opposition analysis
- A fantastic work ethic with excellent attention to detail, intuition and an ability to manage and prioritise several projects simultaneously
- Strong communication and presentation skills, with the ability to translate complex data insights into clear, actionable recommendations for a non-technical audience
- Solid understanding of statistical modelling techniques and their practical application in a sports analytics context
Preferred
- Bachelor's degree in a quantitative field (Statistics, Data Science, Computer Science, or similar).
- Experience working with a football club's performance analysis department, with a strong understanding of the performance analysis processes.
- Experience processing and analysing player tracking data at scale
- Familiarity with physical/GPS data outputs
- Experience using Version Control
- Familiar with Linux operating system
- Proficiency in Spanish is desirable but not essential
Others
- Ability to work in the UK
What you can expect in return - Our Benefits
From Day One
- 30 days holiday (in addition to bank & public holidays)
- In-house chef
- In-house masseuse
- Team sporting events
- 25% discount on Brentford Football Club merchandise
- Cycle to work scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Interest-free travel season ticket loan
- Offsite trips
Available on selected days
After 3 Months
- Pension - Employer Contribution starting at 5.5%, and employee starting at 2.5%
- Income protection - 75% of salary (subject to terms & conditions)
After Probation
- Private Medical Insurance - including coverage of any excess payment
- Health Cash Plan via Medicash
- Life Assurance (4 x times earnings at time of death)
- Enhanced Company Sick Pay
- A discretionary annual bonus
After 2 Years
- Increase in Employer Pension to 6% (to a minimum employee contribution of 3%)
- Enhanced Maternity Pay
- Enhanced Paternity Pay
After 4 Years
- Increase in Employer's Pension to 7% (to a minimum employee contribution of 3.5%)