2 Data Scientists

What we do

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) works worldwide to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict and armed violence. We take action in response to emergencies and at the same time promote respect for international humanitarian law. We are an independent and neutral organization, and our mandate stems essentially from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. We work closely with National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and with their International Federation in order to ensure a concerted, rational and rapid humanitarian response to the needs of the victims of armed conflict or any other situation of internal violence. We direct and coordinate the international activities conducted in these situations.

Purpose

The Trends, Reputation, Analysis and Knowledge unit (TRAK) exploits public information and data to help the ICRC make better-informed decisions. It works closely with other units and provides multi-disciplinary support to delegations.

In order to extend the ICRC’s evidence-based understanding of its operational environment and humanitarian situations, the TRAK unit is recruiting for its first two data scientist positions. As an integral part of the ICRC’s evolving data analytics activities in support of decision-making, the data scientists will participate in joint data analysis projects through an innovative data lab structure involving different ICRC units and connect with the wider humanitarian data ecosystem.

Accountabilities & Functional responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Data and Analytics Advisor, the data scientist will have the following main responsibilities:

• Understand business needs and identify how data can contribute to decision-making processes
• Explore new data sources, analytical techniques and algorithms, and advise on the humanitarian uses of data analytics and artificial intelligence
• Perform undirected research in coordination with others, work in multi-disciplinary teams and train team members in data literacy and analytical skills together with the trainer for information and data analysis
• Collect, extract, prepare, analyze, and help interpreting data from a variety of external data sources producing visualizations, reports and dashboards
• Support innovation and digital transformation by demonstrating the impact of data analytics on business models, operations, and day to day work
• Contribute to the reflection, development and implementation of data governance, as well as of data analytics systems, processes and applications

Education and experience required

• At least a Master's degree in a relevant field with a strong quantitative component such as computer science, mathematics, physics, econometrics or statistics, combined with solid experience in qualitative research, or a Master's degree in humanities and social sciences with a strong proven background in quantitative research
• At least three years of work experience in data science, with experience in non-profit organizations and humanitarian information management being an asset
• Fluency in Python, R and other relevant scripting and programming languages; solid knowledge of SQL
• Excellent command of English and good working knowledge of French, with additional languages being highly desirable

Desired profile and skills

• A genuine interest in humanitarian action and the ICRC’s work
• Deep and demonstrated knowledge of data analysis and statistical methods, specifically in social network analysis, machine learning, natural language processing and information retrieval
• Experience with automated collection and storage of large amounts of structured and unstructured data retrieved in varying frequencies through web APIs and other methods
• Experience with both Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems
• Storytelling ability to communicate results of analysis to technical and non-technical audiences through visually clear reports and dashboards (e.g. with Tableau)
• Capable of working well in cross-functional and multi-disciplinary environments, in teams with varying levels of data literacy
• Ability to adapt to varying workloads under pressure and in crisis mode with very short deadlines in a constrained technological environment
• Patience and flexibility while contributing to the foundations of data science at the ICRC

Additional information

• Location :                          Geneva
• Type of role: resident, open ended
• Length of assignment : 4 years renewable
• Working rate: one position at 100%, the other one at 90%
• Starting date: November 2018
• Application deadline: 26/08/2018