About Us
Flowminder is a non-profit foundation that specialises in the analysis of anonymised mobile phone data, satellite imagery, and household survey data for humanitarian and international development purposes.
Our mission is to enable decision makers to access the data they need to transform the lives of vulnerable people, at scale. We are striving to create a world in which decisions that can improve the lives of vulnerable people are based on the most appropriate evidence. We partner with decision makers and key stakeholders in national and international data systems to produce high-quality data, strengthen capacity, develop new methods and tools, and leverage novel data sources to improve the lives of vulnerable populations.
Flowminder researchers pioneered the use of mobile operator data for humanitarian purposes. Flowminder researchers were the first to use mobile operator data to monitor population movements following a large-scale disaster and a major infectious disease outbreak (the Haiti earthquake and cholera outbreak, 2010). Flowminder was the first to show that mobile operator data can predict the spatial spread of an infectious disease.
We work with governments in low and middle-income countries, UN agencies, The World Bank and other development banks. Our funding comes from Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UK government, development banks, UN and intergovernmental agencies.
As we are marshaling our resources to support governments and other decision makers during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are looking for Data Scientists with varying levels of experience to join our team and contribute to the wide range of humanitarian and development projects we are delivering. While the current situation is likely to start with home-working, we are looking for candidates that will join one of our offices based in Stockholm (Sweden), Geneva (Switzerland) or Southampton (UK).
The Role
As a Data Scientist and applied mathematician you will develop and test new methodologies for processing, analysing and interpreting large datasets for the development and humanitarian sectors.
You’ll engage with end users to understand their needs and identify which insights will be most relevant. You’ll carry out data analysis and conceptualise projects, which will include:
Understanding context and needs of stakeholders
Create analysis/research questions
Data cleaning
Data integration
Conduct exploratory and standard analysis and interpret results
Assess and quantify limitations and uncertainty of outputs
Protect data subjects privacy, including acting in accordance with GDPR
You will also be responsible for reporting findings:
Choose dissemination methods that are appropriate for users’ technical capacity
Ensure results and conclusions are communicated clearly and can be understood by a non-technical audience
Clearly communicate any limitations of the data
Oversee and review data visualisations and reports
Take into account ethical issues around how data will be used
Disseminate work via presentations, workshops, conferences
We seek talented and devoted data scientists and applied mathematicians who look to apply their skills to support current humanitarian and development efforts, and seek to provide accessible and data-driven solutions to inform decision-making in LMICs. Our focus is to implement and operationalise the high quality data products and solutions that we, and occasionally others, develop. The outputs of our work have the potential to be published in scientific journals. However, while we occasionally spend the necessary time to publish articles we do not do this systematically. Our focus is on operational, rather than academic impact.
In addition to scientific work, experienced candidates will have the chance to lead small to medium sized projects or act as project director for certain initiatives.
About You
To join us as a Data Scientist, the below is essential:
A PhD in applied research in a quantitative discipline. Fields of expertise (background) may include data analysis, data integration, mathematics, statistics, combinatorics, machine learning, AI, optimisation, data mining, pattern recognition, signal processing, image processing, and areas of application could be for example humanitarian and development sectors, public health, medicine, biology, ecology, social sciences, geography, econometrics, economics or physics.
Strong ability to reason under uncertainty: combining quantitative analytical thinking with contextual knowledge and using critical thinking to extract and interpret information and insights from data
Demonstrable experience in the exploratory analysis of large-scale datasets, collected outside of experimentally controlled environments.
Experience of writing well-documented, maintainable code
A genuine desire to see the outputs of your work improve the lives of vulnerable populations. A genuine interest in, and willingness to further understand, the mission and operations of our organisation
Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English
Proficiency in, and at least two years’ experience of, Python data analysis libraries, such as Pandas, NumPy and Bokeh/Matplotlib, or Matlab, R or equivalent
Highly desirable criteria:
Experience of working on applied problems in low and middle-income countries and/or having spent sustained periods of time in low and middle-income countries
Education or demonstrative experience in population health or social sciences
Knowledge and experience in the analysis of spatial data and time series, human mobility data or flow data; and data integration, probability theory and combinatorial analysis
Previous experience in large-scale data mining or machine learning
Experience with a Big Data ecosystem - algorithms, tools and technologies
Experience in applying quantitative methods to support governments and humanitarian actors decision making
Experience with geographic information systems (GIS), mixed research methods, IRB or GDPR issues
Experience developing data-driven projects, fundraising and project management is valuable
Other organisations may call this role Mobile Data Scientist, Mid-Level Data Scientist, Senior Data Scientist, Lead Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Insights Analyst, Statistician, Mobile Data Analyst or Project design Analyst. The role may correspond to post-doctoral research associate in academia, or principal investigator for more experienced candidates. However, our focus is operational, rather than academic.
The Benefits
Salary of up to £57,900 per annum DOE for Southampton based staff (added salary to compensate for increased living costs will be added to staff in Stockholm and Geneva)
Support projects to improve the lives of the world’s most vulnerable.
The opportunity to gain knowledge in various fields (such as public health, emergency coordination, disaster management, public services management) directly from experts in many countries, and to work on large-scale and near real time datasets reflecting human mobility.
Some home working allowed (initially only home working as guided by public health recommendations)
Traveling is common for many data scientists and part of the role of project leaders is externally facing in order to develop an understanding of the context and needs of stakeholders
Collaborate with a talented and passionate team
The ability to work well independently and as part of a team
How to apply:
To Apply
Applicants should email careers+DS0520@flowminder.org with the following (preferably in pdf format):
A letter of interest outlining why you are interested in being part of the work
Your current salary
CV with details of relevant experience
Please note that due to the very high volume of applications we receive, we greatly regret that we are unable to send personalised acknowledgements or give feedback on applications. If you do not hear from us by the 30th June 2020 you should assume that you have not been shortlisted. Only applications following the requested application format will be considered.