Data Scientist

Contract

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Data Scientist

Description

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

The Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC) increases understanding of development policies and programs by providing intellectual leadership and analytical services to the Bank and the development community. DEC is the primary hub of the World Bank's knowledge function. Through its various departments, research, development policy, global analysis and projections, and development data, it serves member countries and the Bank in generating knowledge and absorbing, disseminating, and utilizing it for economic development and poverty reduction around the world.

The Development Impact Evaluation Department (DIME) is a research department within the Development Economics (DEC) Vice-Presidency of the World Bank, the main area where policy-relevant research is conducted at the World Bank. DIME follows a “lab-based” approach to research; the primary responsibilities of a research economist at DIME are to 1/ lead a global thematic research program based on a “lab-based” approach to research that draws on inputs and expertise from a team of lead researchers, research analysts, field coordinators, and operational leads, 2/ work with development partners and policymakers in client countries to place rigorous evidence at the center of their economic policies, and 3/ maintain an outstanding publication record and strong, active ties to academia.

DIME aims to overcome the challenge of identifying true cause-and-effect relations in policy programs. By linking researchers to policymakers and feeding results back into policies, DIME fosters systematic use of evidence, which informs adoption, mid-course corrections, and scale-up of policies. Through workshops and clinics with operational staff and government clients, joint research teams, active field coordination, as well as research products such as seminars, papers, and policy briefs, DIME builds capacity while forming a wider community of practice.

DIME accompanies impact evaluations during their entire life cycle. It starts with assessing demand, identifying research questions, and supporting project implementation, high-quality data collection, analysis, and dissemination of results.

With a portfolio of more than 170 impact evaluations, DIME operates across all sectors in about 50 countries spanning the globe. The IEs test a variety of interventions and mechanisms to understand why policy succeeds or fails and how to improve policy design and implementation to obtain better results. By working proactively in collaboration with clients, DIME employs experimental methods to infer causality whenever possible (79% of the portfolio). 17% of DIME IEs utilize non-experimental methods, while 4% use a combination of the two. More information can be found at http://www.worldbank.org/dime.

DIME’s work focuses on:

• Evaluating programs at scale to answer policy-relevant questions;

• Developing innovative data systems and data analytics tools for real-time decisions;

• Using causal inference analysis to identify mechanisms to improve results;

• Building capacity to strengthen country institutions for evidence-based policymaking.

The Governance and Institution Building unit of DIME (DIME3) focuses on institution building within the public sector through developing evidence on government reform activities

Responsibilities

DIME3 is seeking to recruit a Data (or more broadly Computer) Scientist to contribute to the intersection of technology and public sector institution building. The candidate will have substantial experience in client-facing, policy-driven applications of technology and computer science to public policy problems and public sector institution building. The candidate will have a strong track record of working with multiple partners across diverse settings to design and execute research projects and related activities in the context of complex government operations and with a focus on public sector institution building. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Technical Leadership and Advisory: a)Provide technical leadership and expertise in data and computer science to DIME's digital program, covering subject areas such as digital infrastructure, GovTech, digital skills, data privacy, and security. b) Offer technical advisory to economists, analysts, and operational specialists in producing policy-relevant Impact Evaluation (IE) centric research at the nexus of technology and development.

• Navigating Emerging Technologies: a)Stay abreast of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and their potential applications in development research and the workplace. b)Evaluate the relevance and implications of emerging technologies for development economics, impact evaluation, and governance structures. c)Provide guidance and recommendations on the ethical, social, and technical considerations surrounding the integration of emerging technologies into development projects and initiatives. d)Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to explore innovative uses of technology, including AI, to address complex development challenges and improve operational efficiency within the World Bank and partner organizations.

• Innovation and Capacity Building: a)Contribute to DIME's digital program by fostering innovation, iterating on technical approaches, and demonstrating flexibility in project execution within a “Lab” setting. b)Collaborate with stakeholders to build client country technical capacity in developing user-centric information systems and analytical data products for sustainable digital development.

• Big Data Initiative: a)Provide vision and direction for the data platform aspect of the Microdata and Evidence for Government Action (MEGA) initiative. b)Lead the development and implementation of pilot use cases, driving internal and external adoption of tools and technologies to modernize public sector data management and application of data science. c)Capacity building at DIME and contributions to public goods within the DIME community.

• Community Building: a)Representing DIME in internal and external technical and policy forums, including working with development partners and donors to scale up research and maximize policy impact of DIME work. b)Build and strengthen the community of computational economic research by facilitating collaboration among researchers and practitioners within the World Bank and beyond. c)Promote cross-departmental and cross-functional problem solving and knowledge sharing to advance computational economic research.

The data/computer scientist is expected to play a catalytic role in the following two key initiatives:

1.In collaboration with the Digitial and Data VPU and the rest of DEC, DIME is developing a digital program to facilitate the thematic research agenda guided by the Global Challenge Programs and the Bank’s Evolution Roadmap. The disruptive nature of digitalization requires the digital program to be agile, innovative, and flexible. Ultimately, the program sets out to improve the scalability, replicability, and efficacy of the Bank's development investments and interventions through data-driven innovations and operationally embedded impact evaluations in the digital space.

2.DIME is pushing the frontline of big data in the public sector and development context through the Microdata and Evidence for Government Action (MEGA) initiative. Digital technologies adopted by governments are generating large amounts of granular, micro-level data. However, many countries are data rich but information poor. Data underutilization means missed opportunities to facilitate oversight, compliance and more generally to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government. MEGA is an initiative to help client countries identify and capitalize on these opportunities, building upon DEC’s analytical and research thought leadership in tandem with ITS’s innovative and secure technology services.

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit www.worldbank.org.

The Development Economics Vice Presidency (DEC) increases understanding of development policies and programs by providing intellectual leadership and analytical services to the Bank and the development community. DEC is the primary hub of the World Bank's knowledge function. Through its various departments, research, development policy, global analysis and projections, and development data, it serves member countries and the Bank in generating knowledge and absorbing, disseminating, and utilizing it for economic development and poverty reduction around the world.

The Development Impact Evaluation Department (DIME) is a research department within the Development Economics (DEC) Vice-Presidency of the World Bank, the main area where policy-relevant research is conducted at the World Bank. DIME follows a “lab-based” approach to research; the primary responsibilities of a research economist at DIME are to 1/ lead a global thematic research program based on a “lab-based” approach to research that draws on inputs and expertise from a team of lead researchers, research analysts, field coordinators, and operational leads, 2/ work with development partners and policymakers in client countries to place rigorous evidence at the center of their economic policies, and 3/ maintain an outstanding publication record and strong, active ties to academia.

DIME aims to overcome the challenge of identifying true cause-and-effect relations in policy programs. By linking researchers to policymakers and feeding results back into policies, DIME fosters systematic use of evidence, which informs adoption, mid-course corrections, and scale-up of policies. Through workshops and clinics with operational staff and government clients, joint research teams, active field coordination, as well as research products such as seminars, papers, and policy briefs, DIME builds capacity while forming a wider community of practice.

DIME accompanies impact evaluations during their entire life cycle. It starts with assessing demand, identifying research questions, and supporting project implementation, high-quality data collection, analysis, and dissemination of results.

With a portfolio of more than 170 impact evaluations, DIME operates across all sectors in about 50 countries spanning the globe. The IEs test a variety of interventions and mechanisms to understand why policy succeeds or fails and how to improve policy design and implementation to obtain better results. By working proactively in collaboration with clients, DIME employs experimental methods to infer causality whenever possible (79% of the portfolio). 17% of DIME IEs utilize non-experimental methods, while 4% use a combination of the two. More information can be found at http://www.worldbank.org/dime.

DIME’s work focuses on:

• Evaluating programs at scale to answer policy-relevant questions;

• Developing innovative data systems and data analytics tools for real-time decisions;

• Using causal inference analysis to identify mechanisms to improve results;

• Building capacity to strengthen country institutions for evidence-based policymaking.

The Governance and Institution Building unit of DIME (DIME3) focuses on institution building within the public sector through developing evidence on government reform activities

Responsibilities

DIME3 is seeking to recruit a Data (or more broadly Computer) Scientist to contribute to the intersection of technology and public sector institution building. The candidate will have substantial experience in client-facing, policy-driven applications of technology and computer science to public policy problems and public sector institution building. The candidate will have a strong track record of working with multiple partners across diverse settings to design and execute research projects and related activities in the context of complex government operations and with a focus on public sector institution building. Specific responsibilities will include:

• Technical Leadership and Advisory: a)Provide technical leadership and expertise in data and computer science to DIME's digital program, covering subject areas such as digital infrastructure, GovTech, digital skills, data privacy, and security. b) Offer technical advisory to economists, analysts, and operational specialists in producing policy-relevant Impact Evaluation (IE) centric research at the nexus of technology and development.

• Navigating Emerging Technologies: a)Stay abreast of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and their potential applications in development research and the workplace. b)Evaluate the relevance and implications of emerging technologies for development economics, impact evaluation, and governance structures. c)Provide guidance and recommendations on the ethical, social, and technical considerations surrounding the integration of emerging technologies into development projects and initiatives. d)Collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to explore innovative uses of technology, including AI, to address complex development challenges and improve operational efficiency within the World Bank and partner organizations.

• Innovation and Capacity Building: a)Contribute to DIME's digital program by fostering innovation, iterating on technical approaches, and demonstrating flexibility in project execution within a “Lab” setting. b)Collaborate with stakeholders to build client country technical capacity in developing user-centric information systems and analytical data products for sustainable digital development.

• Big Data Initiative: a)Provide vision and direction for the data platform aspect of the Microdata and Evidence for Government Action (MEGA) initiative. b)Lead the development and implementation of pilot use cases, driving internal and external adoption of tools and technologies to modernize public sector data management and application of data science. c)Capacity building at DIME and contributions to public goods within the DIME community.

• Community Building: a)Representing DIME in internal and external technical and policy forums, including working with development partners and donors to scale up research and maximize policy impact of DIME work. b)Build and strengthen the community of computational economic research by facilitating collaboration among researchers and practitioners within the World Bank and beyond. c)Promote cross-departmental and cross-functional problem solving and knowledge sharing to advance computational economic research.

The data/computer scientist is expected to play a catalytic role in the following two key initiatives:

1.In collaboration with the Digitial and Data VPU and the rest of DEC, DIME is developing a digital program to facilitate the thematic research agenda guided by the Global Challenge Programs and the Bank’s Evolution Roadmap. The disruptive nature of digitalization requires the digital program to be agile, innovative, and flexible. Ultimately, the program sets out to improve the scalability, replicability, and efficacy of the Bank's development investments and interventions through data-driven innovations and operationally embedded impact evaluations in the digital space.

2.DIME is pushing the frontline of big data in the public sector and development context through the Microdata and Evidence for Government Action (MEGA) initiative. Digital technologies adopted by governments are generating large amounts of granular, micro-level data. However, many countries are data rich but information poor. Data underutilization means missed opportunities to facilitate oversight, compliance and more generally to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government. MEGA is an initiative to help client countries identify and capitalize on these opportunities, building upon DEC’s analytical and research thought leadership in tandem with ITS’s innovative and secure technology services.

Selection Criteria

Do you meet the following selection criteria? If so, we encourage you to apply:

• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Data Science, Computer Science, Economics, or a related field. • 5 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is the standard language. • Proficiency and extensive experience in software engineering, including agile software development methodologies and project management. • Strong background in data engineering and data science, with experience in processing and analyzing large datasets. • Familiarity with impact evaluation methods, basic econometrics, and quantitative research techniques. • Ability to think strategically and integrate strategies and policies into programs and projects on the ground and successfully develop operationally relevant analytical products. • Demonstrated ability to develop and implement complex tasks, including a track record of building partnerships and collaborations across institutional boundaries. • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with diverse teams and stakeholders. • Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership and mentorship in complex, interdisciplinary projects. • Prior experience working in the intersection of technology and development economics is highly desirable. • Commitment to teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and ability to influence across organizational boundaries. • Knowledge of or interest in learning the World Bank’s operations and business processes is required. • Excellent writing and communication skills.

Do you meet the following selection criteria? If so, we encourage you to apply:

• Advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Data Science, Computer Science, Economics, or a related field. • 5 years of experience or equivalent combination of education and experience is the standard language. • Proficiency and extensive experience in software engineering, including agile software development methodologies and project management. • Strong background in data engineering and data science, with experience in processing and analyzing large datasets. • Familiarity with impact evaluation methods, basic econometrics, and quantitative research techniques. • Ability to think strategically and integrate strategies and policies into programs and projects on the ground and successfully develop operationally relevant analytical products. • Demonstrated ability to develop and implement complex tasks, including a track record of building partnerships and collaborations across institutional boundaries. • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively collaborate with diverse teams and stakeholders. • Demonstrated ability to provide technical leadership and mentorship in complex, interdisciplinary projects. • Prior experience working in the intersection of technology and development economics is highly desirable. • Commitment to teamwork, knowledge-sharing, and ability to influence across organizational boundaries. • Knowledge of or interest in learning the World Bank’s operations and business processes is required. • Excellent writing and communication skills.

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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