Job Description

Posted on March 31, 2021

IDinsight is hiring a full-time associate or senior associate (0 to 5 years of relevant experience) to grow our Data Science, Engineering, and Monitoring Systems (DSEM) team. In this role, the DSEM Associate will work closely with senior leaders of the DSEM team to help grow critical business functions and help deliver on projects alongside data scientists and data engineering professionals. This role is ideal for technically minded young professionals interested in the social impact potential of data science and data systems work, but who are less interested in (or not currently equipped to) spend 75%+ of their day coding. This role is excellent training for a young professional interested in growing into a product management role, a more technical data science role, or in playing a technology translator role in the social sector.
We are a social-impact oriented organization, so can guarantee incredibly meaningful work tackling some of the world’s most complex international development challenges around the world.
Grow as a technology professional while doing meaningful work
We are working to build IDinsight into a global leader in the use of data science and data engineering to solve some of the world’s most urgent problems.
You’ll be joining a growing global team and working on highly impactful and innovative projects with our partners. You’ll be working closely with an entrepreneurial leadership team where you have a strong voice in how the team functions and grows (we are expecting to double in size in 2021). You’ll get to work on and around a broad range of data driven projects and initiatives, seeing how projects flow from design to deployment. Finally, you will get to work closely with our partners, our team of economists, social-sector experts, and public health specialists as IDinsight carries out impactful work around the world.
About IDinsight
IDinsight helps leaders combat poverty worldwide by designing, deploying and promoting evidence- generating tools. We tailor the best methodologies to partner needs and constraints to fuse evidence with action. We serve governments, NGOs, foundations and social businesses across Africa and Asia in all major program areas including health, education, agriculture, livelihoods, finance, energy and governance.
Our approach rests on four pillars:
Rigorous: We develop and use a wide-range of cutting edge data and evidence tools, including experimental evaluations, monitoring systems, data analytics and visualization, process evaluations, machine learning and more.
Cost-effective: Every dollar spent is justified by expected impact. If funds could be better used in another way, we say so.
Timely: Actionable information is delivered in time for client decision-making deadlines.
Demand-driven: We deploy solutions tailored to partner contexts and needs with no competing agendas.
Our diverse, growing team of over 150 outstanding colleagues operate in nearly two dozen countries around the world. Learn more at www.IDinsight.org.
About the Role
We are seeking candidates with a strong blend of several skills: a strong intuition for how technology and data systems solve problems, communication skills (written and verbal), basic technical skills (GitHub, Python, etc.). Most importantly, successful candidates should possess the ability to work independently on multiple work streams at a time and reliably execute on tight timelines.
In this role the DSEM Associate will spend 50% of their time helping senior leadership to develop high impact new projects and drive progress on important internal initiatives. In the morning, the DSEM Associate may attend meetings and co-author proposals for a new partnership with the Indian government and then spend the afternoon researching agile project management frameworks to improve team performance. The remaining 50% of the time, the DSEM Associate will support project work for the broader DSEM team – helping design dashboards for a community health worker organization, conducting a literature review on how to combat misinformation spread over WhatsApp, or mining IDinsight survey results for additional value.
Career development
Professional development for our technical roles is essential for IDinsight’s long-term impact. With support from IDinsight leadership, the employee will maintain self-directed professional development plans and will be given “stretch” opportunities designed to strengthen their professional skills. We provide real-time feedback and structured reviews to develop the associate’s professional skills. IDinsight’s entrepreneurial culture allows roles and career progression to be tailored to individual strengths, interests, and goals. Employees have the opportunity to increase responsibilities, and high performers will have the opportunity to move up in the organization along technical, managerial, or client-facing paths.
Required Technical Qualifications:
Basic proficiency with relevant tools and programming languages: Python (numpy, pandas, matplotlib, etc.), R, SQL, GitHub, etc.
A strong understanding of (or ability to quickly learn and communicate) core data science concepts (examples include: supervised and unsupervised learning, optimization, natural language processing.)
A strong understanding of (or ability to quickly learn and communicate)core technology and software development concepts (examples include: platform thinking or agile product development.)
Bachelors. degree in Applied Math, Data Science, Computer Science, Economics, or Similar Technical Field.
Other required qualifications:
Proven ability to work alone and with teams in a dynamic, multicultural environment.
Passion for improving lives through evidence-informed policy.
Strong oral and written communication skills in English. Fluency in languages spoken in countries where IDinsight works is a plus.
Strong values aligned with IDinsight’s stated values.
Ability and interest in sharing knowledge, mentoring others, presenting work, and reviewing the work of others.
Deeply passionate about global development and improving lives in disadvantaged populations.
Open-minded self-starter who will thrive while tackling new, unusual and unpredictable challenges.
Preferred Qualifications
The most competitive applicants will also have experience in one or more of the following:
Experience living and working in developing country settings.
Experience working with GIS software such as QGIS.
Experience working with data visualization tools like Tableau, Superset, Google Data Studio, or PowerBI.
Locations
This position is located in one of IDinsight’s existing offices, with possibility of occasional travel dependent on project needs. The most likely offices for this position are New Delhi, India or Dakar, Senegal. For exceptional candidates, we will also consider placement in Nairobi, Kenya or Lusaka, Zambia. Preference will be given to those with pre-existing work authorization in these countries; however, IDinsight will seek work permits where possible for exceptional candidates.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, we are currently “working from home” globally. As such, successful candidates would be expected to work from home until it is possible to safely and responsibly work from an IDinsight office.
Compensation
Compensation is commensurate with relevant experience and background, and competitive within the social sector. Please note, as a non-profit, we are unable to provide compensation similar to leading technology firms.
Start Dates
The start date of this position is flexible, although there is preference for candidates that can start immediately. We expect a minimum two-year commitment, with regular professional development conversations and potential for a long-term career at IDinsight.
References
Applications should include three references, including email, phone, and title. Briefly state in what capacity you worked with each reference.