Data Scientist

Contract

This is a World Bank Group grade: GF contract. More about World Bank Group grade: GF contracts.

Data Scientist

Description

Background & General Description

The World Bank’s Development Data Group (DECDG) is seeking a highly motivated and talented Data Scientist with experience in development data, data management, and data science to join our Data Management Systems team.

Data and statistics that improve our knowledge of development in all its forms are at the heart of World Bank Group’s operational and research work. DECDG’s mission is to put data to work for development through continuous improvements in data quality, accessibility, and use. The World Bank was one of the first international organizations to adopt an open data policy and continues to provide thought leadership in international settings.

DECDG is responsible for producing many of the most widely used and influential data products in the international development sector. This requires staff from a diverse range of technical backgrounds and areas of subject expertise. We provide technical expertise, subject matter expertise, partnerships, and innovation to client countries, World Bank staff, colleagues in international organizations, academia, and the non-profit and private sectors. DECDG also serves as a liaison to the international statistical and development data communities.

Position Context

The selected candidate will work in DECDG’s Data Management and Services (DMS) team within the Indicators & Services (DECIS) cluster. The DECIS cluster is responsible for curating and publishing reliable, high-quality statistics in areas such as demography, education, environment, finance and markets, health, labor, and poverty. The DMS team manages several data outputs and tools, including the World Development Indicators (WDI), the Sustainable Development Goals Atlas (SDG Atlas), the Open Data platform and the Development Data Hub (DDH). The team also supports teams across the World Bank with data collection & management business processes, quality procedures and dissemination through visualizations and dashboards.

The DMS team is currently developing a work plan for streamlining and modernizing the entire pipeline for its data products, including data collection and ingestion, metadata, curation workflow, catalog and continuous improvement of its API and data dissemination services. The primary goals are to increase transparency, improve efficiency and data quality and eliminate manual steps that introduce potential for errors and inefficiencies in data processes. DMS is looking for an individual with a strong understanding of data management and the technical capability to implement state of the art approaches of data curation, dissemination, and visualization.

Duties and Responsibilities

We are looking for an experienced professional with a solid track record of using modern data science tools and cloud-based platforms for data management. The successful candidate will possess a blend of applied technical experience, creativity, mission focus, and passion for data to join the team of highly skilled data scientists that supports DECDG’s flagship products. Specific areas of responsibilities will include:

Enhance Data Management and Use

• Contribute to long-term efforts to modernize DECDG’s data management systems and pipelines to achieve greater efficiency, transparency, quality and impact building on open approaches and standards. • Coordinate the day-to-day management and long-term development of the Development Data Hub, managing curation efforts, improving outreach and implementing the strategic vision for the platform. • Develop guidelines, policies and tools for data management, curation and use designed for World Bank practice units and the broader community. • Engage with the Bank’s IT department to design and implement sustainable, cost-effective systems and solutions.

Improve Quality of Development Data

• Investigate new data techniques, sources and tools to continuously improve the quality and relevance of World Bank development data. • Evaluate new data sources and methods for inclusion in World Bank databases, advocating for modern and non-traditional sources of development data. • Contribute to the development and evolution of metadata and data quality standards.

Promote Better Use of Development Data

• Engage World Bank practice groups and other units around practical solutions to data management and provision of cross support on data collection, management, analysis and dissemination. • Conduct outreach within and outside the World Bank on availability and use of DECDG data platforms and services through blogs, presentations and online courses. • Develop visualizations, dashboards and other bespoke services to provide value-added data dissemination.

Background & General Description

The World Bank’s Development Data Group (DECDG) is seeking a highly motivated and talented Data Scientist with experience in development data, data management, and data science to join our Data Management Systems team.

Data and statistics that improve our knowledge of development in all its forms are at the heart of World Bank Group’s operational and research work. DECDG’s mission is to put data to work for development through continuous improvements in data quality, accessibility, and use. The World Bank was one of the first international organizations to adopt an open data policy and continues to provide thought leadership in international settings.

DECDG is responsible for producing many of the most widely used and influential data products in the international development sector. This requires staff from a diverse range of technical backgrounds and areas of subject expertise. We provide technical expertise, subject matter expertise, partnerships, and innovation to client countries, World Bank staff, colleagues in international organizations, academia, and the non-profit and private sectors. DECDG also serves as a liaison to the international statistical and development data communities.

Position Context

The selected candidate will work in DECDG’s Data Management and Services (DMS) team within the Indicators & Services (DECIS) cluster. The DECIS cluster is responsible for curating and publishing reliable, high-quality statistics in areas such as demography, education, environment, finance and markets, health, labor, and poverty. The DMS team manages several data outputs and tools, including the World Development Indicators (WDI), the Sustainable Development Goals Atlas (SDG Atlas), the Open Data platform and the Development Data Hub (DDH). The team also supports teams across the World Bank with data collection & management business processes, quality procedures and dissemination through visualizations and dashboards.

The DMS team is currently developing a work plan for streamlining and modernizing the entire pipeline for its data products, including data collection and ingestion, metadata, curation workflow, catalog and continuous improvement of its API and data dissemination services. The primary goals are to increase transparency, improve efficiency and data quality and eliminate manual steps that introduce potential for errors and inefficiencies in data processes. DMS is looking for an individual with a strong understanding of data management and the technical capability to implement state of the art approaches of data curation, dissemination, and visualization.

Duties and Responsibilities

We are looking for an experienced professional with a solid track record of using modern data science tools and cloud-based platforms for data management. The successful candidate will possess a blend of applied technical experience, creativity, mission focus, and passion for data to join the team of highly skilled data scientists that supports DECDG’s flagship products. Specific areas of responsibilities will include:

Enhance Data Management and Use

• Contribute to long-term efforts to modernize DECDG’s data management systems and pipelines to achieve greater efficiency, transparency, quality and impact building on open approaches and standards. • Coordinate the day-to-day management and long-term development of the Development Data Hub, managing curation efforts, improving outreach and implementing the strategic vision for the platform. • Develop guidelines, policies and tools for data management, curation and use designed for World Bank practice units and the broader community. • Engage with the Bank’s IT department to design and implement sustainable, cost-effective systems and solutions.

Improve Quality of Development Data

• Investigate new data techniques, sources and tools to continuously improve the quality and relevance of World Bank development data. • Evaluate new data sources and methods for inclusion in World Bank databases, advocating for modern and non-traditional sources of development data. • Contribute to the development and evolution of metadata and data quality standards.

Promote Better Use of Development Data

• Engage World Bank practice groups and other units around practical solutions to data management and provision of cross support on data collection, management, analysis and dissemination. • Conduct outreach within and outside the World Bank on availability and use of DECDG data platforms and services through blogs, presentations and online courses. • Develop visualizations, dashboards and other bespoke services to provide value-added data dissemination.

Selection Criteria

• Masters degree or PhD in computer science, statistics, econometrics, data science or similar discipline with a strong quantitative and technological background. • At least 5 years of relevant professional experience (or 2 years with PhD). • Experience with software development and source code management systems such as Github is considered essential. Applicants are encouraged to cite repositories to which they contribute. • Experience developing production systems is considered a strong plus. Experience working in or with data producers in low-capacity environments (low-income countries) will also be a plus. • Excellent working knowledge of modern statistics and programming languages, particularly R and python and relevant data science libraries such as numpy, scipy and pandas. • Applied experience overcoming data storage and computational bottlenecks with at least one of the three main cloud platforms. You don’t have to be a certified cloud architect, but a high-level understanding of how cloud architecture can help build better data products would be a big plus. • Demonstrated experience building complex data pipelines, automating workflows, processing structured and unstructured data, validating data quality and delivering high quality visualizations is required. • Knowledge of modern data format for analytics (parquet, arrow, columnar databases) and data pipeline tools (dagster, prefect, targets, etc.) • Solid understanding of visual design and composition best practices • Working knowledge of data visualization tools and libraries such as R ggplot2, Highcharts, R shiny, Tableau, Plotly, D3.js among others is expected. Technical experience in various aspects of data science; creative problem solving with strong skills in design and problem formulation; metadata standards; data curation; data acquisition, cleaning and management; data interpretation, analysis; and the presentation and communication of reproducible results. • Familiarity with the development data landscape, particularly the data products, tools, and organizations working in development data combined with extensive knowledge of one or more domains of development data such as economic statistics, demographic data, gender and social statistics, or other topics would be an advantage. • Knowledge of, and practical experience with, one or more distinct data sources and associated methods such as household surveys, administrative systems, time-series data, geographic information systems, satellite imagery and other sensor data, “big data”, would be an advantage. • Knowledge and experience in the use of international metadata standards such as the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI), the Dublin Core specification, and the ISO19139 standard would be advantageous. • Applied experience training, and evaluating performance of, Machine Learning (ML) models, particularly their use for automated metadata enhancement and developing smarter search engines is a plus. • Strong verbal and written communication skills in English, including the demonstrated ability to describe relevant topics in clear, concise English, both in writing and in public presentations to a range of audiences. Experience in developing communication strategies and outreach plans would be an advantage. • Ability to produce quality work with a high degree of accuracy under minimal supervision is essential.

Required Competencies

• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries – collaborates across organizational boundaries, internally and externally with a sense of mutuality and respect. Consistently engages others in open dialogue, brings out any conflicting viewpoints and incorporates viewpoints into solutions, giving credit where credit is due. Leverages expertise of all team members to ensure successful outcomes. Makes choices and sets priorities with a World Bank Group (WBG) corporate perspective in mind. • Lead and Innovate – encourages and works with others to identify, incubate and implement relevant solutions. Identifies opportunities in changing circumstances and energizes others to continuously improve, using intentional strategies to boost morale, team spirit, and productivity in context of WBG's values and mission. Helps others to understand problems, client needs and the underlying context. • Deliver Results for Clients – Develops and implements solutions that show understanding of how clients and/or own work achieves results that are financially, environmentally and socially sustainable. Shares new insights based on in-depth understanding of the client and recommends solutions for current and future needs of clients. Holds self and team accountable for risk management and outcomes. • Create, Apply and Share Knowledge – ensures systematic sharing of good practice and learning from lessons from across WBG, clients, and partners. Is known across WBG in their subject area and is sought out by WBG colleagues to advise, peer review, or contribute to technical knowledge products of others. Builds networks across the WBG and as part of external professional groups/networks. • Make Smart Decisions – applies critical thinking and seeks inputs and experience from others to recommend a course of action consistent with the WBG's strategy. Evaluates risk and anticipates the short- and long-term implications of decisions. Commits to a decision and acts once a decision has been reached. Maintains a high degree of initiative, and can derive and implement clear courses of action, even when information is incomplete, incorrect, or the situation is otherwise ambiguous.

• Masters degree or PhD in computer science, statistics, econometrics, data science or similar discipline with a strong quantitative and technological background. • At least 5 years of relevant professional experience (or 2 years with PhD). • Experience with software development and source code management systems such as Github is considered essential. Applicants are encouraged to cite repositories to which they contribute. • Experience developing production systems is considered a strong plus. Experience working in or with data producers in low-capacity environments (low-income countries) will also be a plus. • Excellent working knowledge of modern statistics and programming languages, particularly R and python and relevant data science libraries such as numpy, scipy and pandas. • Applied experience overcoming data storage and computational bottlenecks with at least one of the three main cloud platforms. You don’t have to be a certified cloud architect, but a high-level understanding of how cloud architecture can help build better data products would be a big plus. • Demonstrated experience building complex data pipelines, automating workflows, processing structured and unstructured data, validating data quality and delivering high quality visualizations is required. • Knowledge of modern data format for analytics (parquet, arrow, columnar databases) and data pipeline tools (dagster, prefect, targets, etc.) • Solid understanding of visual design and composition best practices • Working knowledge of data visualization tools and libraries such as R ggplot2, Highcharts, R shiny, Tableau, Plotly, D3.js among others is expected. Technical experience in various aspects of data science; creative problem solving with strong skills in design and problem formulation; metadata standards; data curation; data acquisition, cleaning and management; data interpretation, analysis; and the presentation and communication of reproducible results. • Familiarity with the development data landscape, particularly the data products, tools, and organizations working in development data combined with extensive knowledge of one or more domains of development data such as economic statistics, demographic data, gender and social statistics, or other topics would be an advantage. • Knowledge of, and practical experience with, one or more distinct data sources and associated methods such as household surveys, administrative systems, time-series data, geographic information systems, satellite imagery and other sensor data, “big data”, would be an advantage. • Knowledge and experience in the use of international metadata standards such as the Data Documentation Initiative (DDI), the Dublin Core specification, and the ISO19139 standard would be advantageous. • Applied experience training, and evaluating performance of, Machine Learning (ML) models, particularly their use for automated metadata enhancement and developing smarter search engines is a plus. • Strong verbal and written communication skills in English, including the demonstrated ability to describe relevant topics in clear, concise English, both in writing and in public presentations to a range of audiences. Experience in developing communication strategies and outreach plans would be an advantage. • Ability to produce quality work with a high degree of accuracy under minimal supervision is essential.

Required Competencies

• Collaborate Within Teams and Across Boundaries – collaborates across organizational boundaries, internally and externally with a sense of mutuality and respect. Consistently engages others in open dialogue, brings out any conflicting viewpoints and incorporates viewpoints into solutions, giving credit where credit is due. Leverages expertise of all team members to ensure successful outcomes. Makes choices and sets priorities with a World Bank Group (WBG) corporate perspective in mind. • Lead and Innovate – encourages and works with others to identify, incubate and implement relevant solutions. Identifies opportunities in changing circumstances and energizes others to continuously improve, using intentional strategies to boost morale, team spirit, and productivity in context of WBG's values and mission. Helps others to understand problems, client needs and the underlying context. • Deliver Results for Clients – Develops and implements solutions that show understanding of how clients and/or own work achieves results that are financially, environmentally and socially sustainable. Shares new insights based on in-depth understanding of the client and recommends solutions for current and future needs of clients. Holds self and team accountable for risk management and outcomes. • Create, Apply and Share Knowledge – ensures systematic sharing of good practice and learning from lessons from across WBG, clients, and partners. Is known across WBG in their subject area and is sought out by WBG colleagues to advise, peer review, or contribute to technical knowledge products of others. Builds networks across the WBG and as part of external professional groups/networks. • Make Smart Decisions – applies critical thinking and seeks inputs and experience from others to recommend a course of action consistent with the WBG's strategy. Evaluates risk and anticipates the short- and long-term implications of decisions. Commits to a decision and acts once a decision has been reached. Maintains a high degree of initiative, and can derive and implement clear courses of action, even when information is incomplete, incorrect, or the situation is otherwise ambiguous.

World Bank Group Core Competencies

The World Bank Group offers comprehensive benefits, including a retirement plan; medical, life and disability insurance; and paid leave, including parental leave, as well as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity and inclusive employer with a dedicated and committed workforce, and do not discriminate based on gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.

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