Careers

Description:

The Environment and Health Data Scientist, Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, will serve as the data science specialist supporting the development of integrated data systems to inform public health planning and policy in countries in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. This position will develop tools and guidance and support country teams to develop data platforms that integrate information on health, the environment, and populations to understand lead exposure risk. This position will be responsible for developing toolkits and facilitating local adaptation of these tools to identify the proper host for the data platform, inventory relevant data sources, manage and align datasets, analyze, visualize, and automate datasets, provide support for the selection and oversight of local data systems contractors and consultants, and support data integration efforts across systems. Beyond technical work, the role will work closely with global teams and governments to facilitate data sharing and integration.

This role will be based in the US, on a full-time hybrid schedule, out of Vital Strategies’ office in New York City. We are also open to qualified candidates from Ethiopia and India. Vital Strategies offers highly competitive compensation and comprehensive benefits. The salary range for this position in New York City is USD $80,000 to USD $90,000, depending on experience and qualifications. If hired in Ethiopia or India, the candidate will be hired via Vital Strategies’ office in those countries. The candidate must have authorization to work legally in the respective country at the time of hire.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Data Integration and Analysis - 

· Develop tools to identify and inventory global and local health data systems as well as data sources across multiple sectors and ministries;

· Review and summarize models and options of existing effective integrated environment or health data systems for countries to consider;

· Work closely with epidemiologists and country teams to develop global and country-specific indicators and indices related to lead exposure risks;

· Provide technical support and guidance for the country team to access, align, and integrate health, environmental, social, economic, and demographic data from Ministries of Health, Ministries of the Environment, and other governmental and nongovernmental agencies;

· Develop a model metadata tool for national data systems;

· Support the design and maintenance of analytical datasets, reports, health panels, dashboards, and visualization tools (e.g., Power BI, Excel, R Markdown, or Tableau) for internal and external use;

· Define database structures, relationships, and workflows to ensure efficient integration, storage, and retrieval of blood lead level (BLL) and related epidemiological, demographic, and environmental data;

· Provide guidance to country teams to evaluate data quality, completeness, and consistency; perform data cleaning and validation;

· Collaborate with Ministries of Health, Ministries of the Environment, and other governmental and non-governmental agencies to align architecture standards with existing health information systems and environmental systems (e.g., SINAN, SIASUS, SISOLO, SISAGUA).

Stakeholder Engagement - 

· Work in collaboration with other international NGOs that are part of the Lead Poisoning Prevention Initiative that work with institutions that may hold relevant data;

· Work with appropriate authorities and stakeholders across sectors to build and maintain awareness of broader lead-related initiatives;

· Coordinate with all key stakeholders to ensure regular and timely communication and progress of program activities;

· Participate in technical discussions and working groups to contribute and inform program progress;

· Communicate results effectively to technical and non-technical audiences, including health officials, laboratory teams, health workers, and policymakers.

Technical Support - 

· Provide analytical and methodological guidance to country teams related to data system development and maintenance;

· Assist in the formulation of national strategies and action plans on data integration;

· Support training sessions and workshops related to data integration and surveillance;

· Contribute to capacity strengthening efforts to enhance local analytical competencies.

Program Implementation and Coordination - 

· Collaborate with global teams to monitor and report the progress of the implementation of data integration;

· Support the planning and coordination of data collection, data flow, and information management processes;

· Contribute to the dissemination of findings through technical presentations, meetings, and publications;

· Ensure timely delivery of analytical outputs aligned with project milestones and government reporting needs;

· Assist with other duties assigned by the supervisor.

Skills/Eligibility:

Education - 

· Master’s degree in computer science, data science, information technology, statistics, public health, or related field.

Skills and Abilities - 

· Proficiency in defining database structures, relational schemas, and workflows for complex multi-sectoral datasets (health, environmental, demographic).

· Ability to align data architecture standards across disparate governmental information systems (e.g., SINAN, SIASUS).

· Strong quantitative and analytical skills with attention to detail and accuracy;

· Excellent communication and visualization skills to present complex data clearly;

· Ability to collaborate with epidemiologists to translate health risks (e.g., lead exposure) into measurable global and country-specific indices.

· Ability to navigate relationships with diverse stakeholders, including Ministries of Health, Ministries of the Environment, NGOs, and laboratory teams.

· Ability to communicate analytical results to technical experts and non-technical policymakers.

· Ability to provide analytical guidance to field teams regarding data system maintenance and strategy.

· Experience in facilitating training sessions and workshops to enhance local technical competencies.

· Skill in contributing to the formulation of national-level action plans and implementation strategies for data integration.

· High level of initiative, organization, and problem-solving ability;

· Professional proficiency in English (oral and written).

· Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary and multi-cultural teams and experience working in government environments is a plus;

Experience:

Required - 

· Minimum 6 to 7 years of professional experience in computer science, data science, information technology, data analysis and/or health surveillance applied to public health or environmental health;

· Experience in managing and analyzing large data sets or health surveillance datasets;

· Experience working with government health or environmental departments;

· Experience in using software to warehouse data and create data visualization and dashboards (e.g., Microsoft Azure or Fabric, SQL-Server, Power BI, Tableau, Shiny);

· Experience working with statistical software such as R, SAS, SPSS, Stata.

Preferred - 

· Experience working with global, regional, and large-scale national;

· Health information systems (e.g., DHIS2) and with cross-sectoral datasets;

· Experience in systematic toolkit development and capacity building;

· Familiarity with geospatial data and spatial analysis tools (QGIS, ArcGIS);

· Advanced proficiency in R, Python, and/or SQL;

· Experience in applying AI tools to quantitative data;

· Experience working in partnership with governmental institutions and international organizations