Data Scientist

CONTEXT AND DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT

With a total population of 30.4 million people in 2019 and more than 55% living in cities, Ghana has a dense network of urban areas mostly concentrated along the Atlantic coast and in the Ashanti Region. The country is halfway through urbanisation, and has benefited from an urban economic network more advanced than other countries in West Africa. While the first period of urbanisation has generated job creation and opportunities, improved living conditions and reduced poverty for many Ghanaians, the country now faces the challenges of economic efficiency and social inclusion within its urban areas, where globally basic services are still lacking. In addition, unplanned spatial expansion of urban and metropolitan areas and their limited connectivity within and across Ghana’s cities is a challenge, increasing social and environmental costs, unequal and inadequate access to basic services, health risks and ecological damages.

To address these challenges, an integrated programme is proposed by the European Union to meet demands in infrastructures and services by working both on the institutional and legislative framework at central level, and on the urban growth at local level.

As the second largest technical cooperation agency in Europe, Expertise France (EF) has been entrusted by the EU with the design and implementation of the “Sustainable Cities – Phase 1” project. The action proposed by Expertise France will address the need for capacity building and data collection of the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development (MLGRD); at decentralised level the action will target selected Regional Capitals – Wa, Damongo, Nalerigu, Bolgatanga, Tamale – and the secondary city of Yendi.

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The Sustainable Cities in Ghana – Phase 1 is funded by the European Union (EU) to support both national and local authorities enhancing sustainable and inclusive cities in Ghana. The project will support the development of more sustainable and inclusive cities, with a particular focus on 6 cities of the Northern regions during 60 months.

The Overall Objective of this action is to improve urban prosperity for all.

The Specific Objectives of this action are to:

1. Improve national and city level policy framework for gender responsive integrated urban development
2. Improve environmental management and climate change adaptation and mitigation by targeted cities
3. Increase delivery of quality urban services and accountability of local authorities in targeted cities.

In order to achieve this objectives, EF will pursue the following actions:

• Encourage coordination mechanisms between local and national authorities: strengthening capacities, urban observatory, include climate change and inclusivity issues in the urban policies, peer-to-peer dialogues…;
• Structurally improve urban governance by strengthening the capacity of central and local governments to coordinate, design and implement urban policies, planning and regulation ;
• Enhancing and building the technical capacities of local authorities and promoting participatory approach supporting local authorities in the planning and implementation to improve water and sanitation and waste management services in the 6 cities of the project.

Job description

To support the implementation of the “Sustainable Cities – Phase 1” project, Expertise France is looking for a Data Scientist.

Based in Accra, the Data Scientist works under the supervision of the Project Manager and in close collaboration with the project’s Urbanist Expert. He/she supports the activities related to urban data collection and analysis, and in particular the development and implementation of a national Urban Observatory. He/she is in charge of building the UO’s data architecture, and supporting MLGDRD as well as Ghanaian municipalities in enhancing evidence based decision-making on urban planning and progress tracking of the urban policy. He/she supports also the project’s activities related to digital solutions for urban planning and accountability, and works in close links with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development (MLGDRD), the Ghana Statistical Services (GSS), National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and other relevant institutions.The key responsibilities of the Data Scientist include the following:

Collection, pre-process and analysis of urban data

• Definition of the data collection and management system for the Urban Observatory with the Ghanaian partners (MLGDRD, GSS, NDPC)
• Identification / selection of administrative, territorial and climate indicators and datasets
• Data collation, integration, analysis and report on the performance of urban services based on service level indicators
• Design and operation of modules for data generation and analysis / data warehouse
• Identification and set up of hardware, software and tools for data management, visualization / GIS and storage

Technical assistance, capacity development and trainings

• Development of application training modules and methodologies for data management, software and tools
• Implementation of training courses for trainers and officers of relevant ministries, departments, agencies and local authorities
• Technical assistance and monitoring of data management systems
• Monitoring of data science tools, trends and expression of needs in connection with the Urban Observatory
• Capitalising on applicable national and global best practices through peer-to-peer exchange and external workshops

Cross-cutting activities

• Participate in the implementation of the methodological framework and analytical tools to monitor and measure results across the project (periodic operational and financial reporting, MEAL)
• Participate in field data collection and analysis
• Contribute to the development and consolidation of key project documents and deliverables
• Contribute to and provide inputs for the preparation of interim and final activity reports (narrative and financial) in accordance with deadlines and contractual terms prior to HQ validation
• Report on the difficulties encountered, the risks identified and/or the context elements (sector, security, policy, etc.) that may have an impact on the successful implementation of the activities, and participate in the identification of mitigation measures
• Participate in the organisation of project monitoring and steering committees, in close coordination with stakeholders (Ghanaian authorities, EF, EU, etc.)
• Participate in the sharing of experiences and dissemination of best practices and contribute to communication activities and program valorisation

POSITION REQUIREMENTS

Education

• Master’s degree in computer science, statistics with experience in the field of data science
• Fluent in spoken and written English
• 10 years of work experience, and at least 5 years in the data science landscape (data analyst, data engineer, machine learning engineer)
• Knowledge of international projects is an asset

Qualifications and skills

• Programming knowledge (Python, R, SQL)
• Knowledge of data visualization software such as Metabase, PowerBI
• Knowledge of IT architectures,
• Knowledge of PhP / Java
• Experience in handling, management and analysis of traditional and non-traditional data
• Experience in deployment of solutions using containers and other cloud technologies
• Knowledge of machine learning techniques such as clustering, algorithms, decision tree learning is an asset

Additional specific requirements

• Analytical thinking and problem-solving capability
• A strong sense of organisation, rigour and autonomy is required
• Excellent communication skills: diplomacy and communication with private or public partners, local and international
• Ability to analyse, design and deliver context-specific solutions
• Excellent analytical and reporting skills
• Experience in Ghana requested
• Authorization to work in Ghana is a bonus