Data Trainer (DRC)

About

Flowminder is a not for profit foundation that specialises in the analysis of anonymised mobile phone data, satellite imagery, and household survey data for humanitarian and international development purposes.

Our mission is to enable decision-makers to access the data they need to transform the lives of vulnerable people, at scale. We are striving to create a world in which decisions that can improve the lives of vulnerable people are based on the most appropriate evidence. We partner with decision-makers and key stakeholders in national and international data systems to produce high-quality data, strengthen capacity, develop new methods and tools, and leverage novel data sources to improve the lives of vulnerable populations.

Flowminder researchers pioneered the use of mobile operator data for humanitarian purposes and were the first to use mobile operator data to monitor population movements following a large-scale disaster and a major infectious disease outbreak (the Haiti earthquake and cholera outbreak, 2010).

Context and Role

Flowminder has been active in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since 2018, working in close collaboration with various organisations, including Mobile Network Operators, government agencies, international NGOs, and UN agencies. Currently, Flowminder is a technical partner of the DRC’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), and will be supporting the EPI under the Equity Accelerator Fund (EAF) programme, which aims to reduce the number of zero-dose children in the DRC -children who have received none of the essential vaccines – by 35% by 2025, with a focus on 11 provinces.

As part of this technical assistance, Flowminder will produce population mobility estimates, with a particular focus on four provinces (Haut Katanga, Kasai, Maniema, and Tshopo), over the course of the programme, and will provide data for the optimisation of vaccination sites’ placements. Flowminder will work closely with the EPI and other partners to ensure that the data produced are integrated in their decision making process and contribute to achieve equitable vaccination coverage.

Flowminder is therefore looking for a Kinshasa-based data trainer (part time, with a possibility of becoming full-time) to support the delivery of its core technical activities.

Role Focus Areas

• Develop training curricula and resources/materials with significant analytical content, including exercises for training sessions, as well as code examples (for example SQL) and illustrations of data pipelines (with support from Flowminder’s senior scientists , code developers and data engineers)
• Develop assessment frameworks for benchmarking baseline skills and understanding; and assessing subsequent skills development of trainees
• Deliver online and in-person training courses, seminars and other related learning events for data analysts and managers from the EPI, Ministry of Health (MoH), other government and non government agencies, who want to effectively analyse and interpret population mobility data and optimised site placements’ data
• Represent Flowminder in key meetings with the EPI, EAF partners, and other relevant stakeholders in country, delivering presentations with information that promotes and facilitates the use of population mobility estimates and optimised site placements’ data for decision making, aiming to increase their capacity in these topic areas
• Liaise with active and potential data users to raise awareness about the data content, signpost them to available useful areas, and support them in their user/learner journeys
• Contribute to the production of publications about Flowminder data including presentations, brochures, white papers, articles, webpages

Skills

Essential

• Python, Numpy, Pandas, Jupyter Notebooks
• SQL and Database interactions
• Linux and remote server access
• File transfers and associated encryption
• Awareness of GDPR
• Data Aggregation techniques
• Familiarity with Docker
• DevOps such as GIT, GitHub and continuous integration tools
• Capacity to organise and deliver training
• Capacity to engage with a varied range of stakeholders, including technical and non technical partners
• Fluent in French and strong working knowledge (especially technical) of English

Desirable

• Have a working knowledge of the health (e.g. vaccination) and humanitarian contexts in DRC
• Have a working knowledge of aggregates from Mobile Network Operator (MNO) Call Detail Records (CDR)