ASSOCIATE RESEARCH SCIENTIST (STATISTICIAN/ DATA SCIENTIST)

The African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) is a leading Africa-based, African-led, international research institution headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya. APHRC conducts policy-relevant research on population, health, education, urbanization and related development issues in sub-Saharan Africa.

APHRC’s Data, Measurement, and Evaluation (DME) Program is responsible for  driving the Center’s contribution to the data revolution in Africa through establishing more robust data systems that enable efficient and effective integration of data collection, management and analysis platforms at institutional, sub-national and national levels in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). In collaboration with partners from the North and South, DME is also setting-up a regional population and health data repository to strengthen open access data sharing capabilities, improved utility of data science approaches to address demands of big data, and promotion of impact evaluation approaches to generate evidence for policy making, planning, and programing. DME is organized across four programmatic areas namely: 1) Establishing and maintaining robust data systems; 2) Promoting data analysis and statistical modelling for planning and decision making; 3) Advancing the field of Measurement and Impact Evaluation to generate evidence for policy making and programming, and 4) Strengthening the area of Big Data through Data Science and Artificial Intelligence tools.

To this end, APHRC seeks to recruit an Associate Research Scientist (Statistician/ Data Scientist) to support DME’s programmatic areas.  The Statistician/ Data Scientist will be primarily responsible for strengthening DME’s capacity in the area of Big Data through establishment of Robust Data Systems in order to contribute to Africa data revolution. This may be through leading in the establishment of institutional, sub-national, national or regional systems and/or repositories for data which meet principles of findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability (FAIR).

Duties and responsibilities

Technical Roles and responsibilities

• Lead in development of APHRC’s Big Data agenda through utility of data science and/or artificial intelligence (AI) tools including data mining, development of data visualization tools, statistical modelling, among others;
• Lead in application of innovative analytics to systematically extract information from data sets that are too large/complex to be dealt with by traditional approaches;
• Be responsible for, and coordinate the processes of tracking, collating, organizing and making available population health data from diverse sources that meet FAIR principles to enable for promotion of real-time evidence generation for decision making in Africa;
• Contribute to the development of information systems and provision of analytical methodological support and advices to researchers; and
• Define own area of research interest in Data Science/Statistics in public health through developing proposals, concept notes and publishing in the area.

Fundraising for Data Science Sustainability

• Lead and contribute to proposal development and fundraising for research projects aimed at strengthening DME’s programmatic areas, especially in the area of Big Data or Data Science;
• Provide statistical or data science advice and support to researchers developing proposals and writing scientific papers including advising on sample size determination and research designs; and
• Contribute to cultivation of relations with key institutional donors with interest in the area of data science.

Project Management

• Oversee/lead development of operational manuals for DME related projects;
• Supervise and mentor junior staff to conduct literature reviews, scientific writing, and conducting advanced analytics for existing project’s primary data or data from other sources;
• Support in the recruitment, training and supervision of staff for funded projects in the Unit;
• Ensure ethical approvals and research permits are obtained;
• Oversee the execution of the research projects to ensure timely completion of project activities;
• Ensure mobilization and education of communities in relation to DME related projects;
• Contribute to the development of project reports within the Unit;
• Contribute to institutional publications including and not limited to lay dissemination materials such as policy/research briefs and fact sheets;
• Contribute to policy engagement and the unit’s strategic planning;
• Represent the Center at high level national, regional and international forums, including relevant technical working groups and expert committees; and

• Perform any other tasks required to advance the Program’s and the Center’s objectives.

Qualifications and Experience

• PhD in Statistics, Data Science, Biostatistics, or equivalent in related disciplines with a specialization in Health Informatics.
• Have 3-5 years’ of relevant post-doctoral experience in a public health research setting.
• Strong writing skills and good record of publications which utilize defined analytical methodologies.
• Experience in developing proposals with evidence of successful grants being an advantage.
• Demonstrated experience in managing research projects, including experience in conducting, coordinating and managing surveys.
• Proven experience in conducting desk reviews.
• Strong quantitative skills (managing, analyzing and interpreting data), with good familiarity with quantitative statistical packages (e.g. STATA, R). Hands-on experience in relational databases will be added advantage.
• Knowledge of qualitative methods, including familiarity with qualitative analysis software packages (e.g. NVivo) will be an added advantage.
• Excellent interpersonal and organizational skills and ability to work in a culturally diverse team.

The position will be based at the Center’s head office in Nairobi, Kenya; and may include some travels for DME-related activities in other African countries.

Interested candidates are invited to submit their application in English and include:

• A letter of application not exceeding one page, highlighting your qualifications and experience relevant to the terms of reference;
• A statement of research interests and goals (1-2 pages); and
• A detailed CV with contact information for three professional references.

Interested candidates are encouraged to apply via email to jobs@aphrc.org with the subject ‘Statistician/ Data Scientist’ by September 30, 2021. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and incomplete applications will not be considered. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted; shortlisted candidates will be required to have a Police Clearance Certificate. Cover letters should be addressed to:

The Human Resources Officer

African Population and Health Research Center, Inc

APHRC Campus, Manga Close, off Kirawa Road, Kitisuru

P.O Box 10787-GPO, Nairobi

Website: www.aphrc.org

APHRC is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to the protection of vulnerable persons