Research Officer I - Data and Machine Learning Specialist - Internal/External

•  Sep 06, 2023

•  Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

•  Full-time

•  Int. Center for Agri. Res. in the Dry Areas ICARDA

•  ilr-47481

The Position:  The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) seeks to hire a Research Officer I – Data and Machine Learning Specialist who will contribute to the development, management, analysis, and reporting of databases on different agricultural themes.  The Researcher will play an important role in automating data collection, wrangling, analysis, and reporting. The successful candidate is expected to have a solid background in agricultural data analysis using Python as well as an understanding of advanced econometrics. He/she will have a collaborative and inclusive approach and a track record in data analysis and machine learning.

General: The International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) is an international autonomous, non-profit, research organization temporarily based in Beirut, Lebanon supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). ICARDA is committed to the improvement of livelihoods of the resource-poor in dry areas by enhancing food security and alleviating poverty through agricultural research, and the equitable use of natural resources. For more details: www.icarda.org

Key Responsibilities:     

• Evolving the agricultural research database (ARDB) plan development, implementation, analysis, and tracking;

• Developing automation for primary [in-person surveys] and secondary data [online and offline] collection activities; 

• Evaluating the performance of ARDB plan that will answer key research questions or discover opportunities for improvement in research efficiency;

• Creating predictive and prescriptive models that could have a positive impact on the efficiency of Socio-Economic Program (SEP) research;

• Driving all data analytics activities ranging from conceptualization, and visualization to operationalization;

• Performing statistical analysis on cross-sectional, time series, and panel data to validate models;

• Building, validating, and deploying machine learning models (supervised and unsupervised);.

• Partnering with other research teams at ICARDA to deliver machine learning models in a research environment to key stakeholders – including policymakers;

• Providing expertise on concepts for machine learning.

Job requirement

Education:

• MSc degree in Data Science, Machine Learning, Economics, Business, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Engineering, or equivalent industry training and experience

• Broad / specialized knowledge of methods, techniques and processes

Experience:

• A minimum of 3 years working experience in Data Science and machine learning

Skills:

• Advanced knowledge in SQL, Python, PowerBI, and Excel

• Working knowledge of ODK, CSPro, R, Stata, Tableau, Web designing, and cloud computing

• Experience with versions control systems such as Git

• Basic familiarity with machine learning methods for classification, regression, clustering, dimensionality reduction, generative modelling, etc.

• Ability to cross-check data integrity after an initial validation exercise.

• Comprehensive understanding of data relationships to improve the analytical recommendations.

• Highly goal driven and work well in fast-paced environments.

• Self-starter and demonstrate a high level of resilience.

• Ability to work effectively in team environments and independently

Duty Station:    Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Position level:   HG 13

Base salary:                     

• Birr 56,361 per month (Negotiable depending on salary history and experience of the candidate)

Terms of appointment:  This is a National Staff (NS) position with the Initial appointment of two years renewable appointment based on performance and funding availability. The ILRI remuneration package for nationally recruited staff in Ethiopia includes very competitive salary and benefits such as life and medical insurance, offshore pension plan, etc.   The ILRI campus is set in a secure, attractive campus with dining and sports facilities that are located on site.

Applications: Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae; names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to be included in the curriculum vitae. The position and reference number: REF: RO/ICARDA/19/23 should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter. All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com on or before 5 September 2023.

ICARDA/ILRI does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing or training).

How to apply

Register using this LINK

Suitably qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.