Lead AI Analyst – eCommerce Data Team
Based from Next Head Office in Leicestershire.
About the Role
As a Lead AI Analyst, you will transform our data landscape from reactive into proactive analytics. Success in this role means achieving “Autonomous Insight Discovery” – using AI to detect trends and deliver automated analysis in minutes rather than weeks.
You will champion a “try fast, fail fast” philosophy, rapidly piloting tools to automate manual data workflows and enhance scalability. You will enable the analytics team to deliver AI‑driven argumentation, providing instant insights through LLM conversational analytics. Partnering with Trading, Digital Product and Data teams, you’ll bridge the gap between business needs and practical AI solutions.
In this key role you will be responsible for achieving “Insight Velocity”, turning a raw dataset into a validated business hypothesis and reducing time between data anomalies and executive action from weeks to minutes.
Key Responsibilities
* Deliver AI in BI solutions, moving beyond static dashboards to conversational and predictive analytics that provide “argumentation” – explaining the why behind the data.
* Develop capabilities such as AI agents capable of talking to data – allowing non‑technical users to query complex databases in natural language and receive instant visualised insights.
* Design and test proof‑of‑concept models using LLMs and computer vision. Validate whether a tool delivers high‑accuracy insights or is merely noise.
* Build and implement automated workflows that handle data cleaning, anomaly detection and trend reporting.
* Help take AI features into production, working with engineers to meet reliability and security needs, and contribute to data preparation and feature engineering.
Required Mindsets and Skills
* Innovation mindset – Track record of turning vague business problems into structured AI experiments and a desire to learn fast.
* Problem‑solving mindset – Intellectual curiosity and instincts to figure things out.
* Experimental mindset – “Fail fast” approach with focus on high‑impact, scalable results.
* Communication skills
o Refine technical requirements to highlight AI frameworks or prompt‑engineering skills and communicate.
o Explain AI logic, visualise complex data findings, and articulate model behavior to non‑technical stakeholders.
* Technical skills
o Excellent SQL and Python skills, writing readable code.
o Knowledge of APIs, services, version control, code reviews and testing.
o Experience with GCP, Databricks, Azure AI services or similar cloud AI platforms, agent frameworks, RAG patterns or orchestration tools.
* AI and data pipeline skills: understanding of prompting, evaluation, embeddings, and model‑data workflow concepts.
* eCommerce and web analytics knowledge: understanding of key web‑analytics metrics and eCommerce business acumen.
Measure of Success
Success is when a stakeholder asks a complex question such as “What drove the sales performance last week and why?” and we can provide a natural‑language response that synthesises web behaviour, customer data and market trends instantly, enabling analysts to articulate the data story quickly and clearly.
Benefits
* 25% off most NEXT, MADE*, Lipsy*, Gap* and Victoria's Secret* products (when purchased through NEXT)
* Company performance based bonus
* Sharesave scheme
* On‑site nursery available; OFSTED outstanding in all areas
* 10% off most partner brands & up to 15% off Branded Beauty
* Early VIP access to sale stock
* Access to fantastic discounts at our Staff Shops
* Restaurants with great food at amazing prices
* Access a digital GP and other free health and wellbeing services
* Free on‑site parking
* Financial Wellbeing – Save, track and enhance your financial wellbeing
* Apprenticeship – Grow and develop on the job whilst gaining a qualification
* Direct to Work – Discount online and instore, collect your items the next day for free from your place of work or local store
* Support Networks – Access Network Groups to empower and celebrate each other
* Wellhub – Discounted flexible monthly gym memberships, apps, PT sessions and more
We aim to support all candidates during the application process and are happy to provide workplace adjustments when necessary.
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