The Mission. Committee on Sustainability Assessment’s (COSA) mission is to accelerate sustainability by advancing smart performance metrics and innovative technologies, enabling users to take better decisions that make a tangible difference for people and planet. Our clients are corporations, including Fortune 500 brands and retailers, and also public sector institutions. Our tools and services help our clients understand vital issues in their supply chains or sustainability projects (e.g., child labor and deforestation), especially in the poorest countries where our work is focused. Using better metrics, they can understand where efforts to improve conditions (such as food security or climate adaptation) are having the desired impact. Due to the large reach of our clients’ supply chains and scale of investments, the knowledge generated by COSA for its clients has outsized impacts on sustainability and poverty.

Current Need. Transforming data into knowledge is a core function of COSA. This includes targeting and collecting the right data in developing countries, analyzing risks and opportunities, and generating interactive reports and dashboards. This work requires statistical rigor and understanding. We are looking for a key staff person in data science and statistical analysis to help improve COSA's overall impact in delivering credible data analysis with exciting and innovative tools.

General objectives of this role. The Data Analyst will be responsible for statistical analysis across diverse types of projects and international clients. This work includes the design of data experiments, data preparation, statistical modeling, and assistance building innovative dashboards and visualizations to facilitate learning.

The Contractor position provides a unique opportunity to join a small dynamic team and organization with high-growth and impact potential.

Tasks and Responsibilities

Design surveys by adapting standard tools.
Contribute to the preparation and implementation of surveys, including data collection, quality control of data entry and creation, analysis, interpretation, and visualization.
Collect and analyze baseline and secondary data to enable comparisons and triangulation.
Conduct quantitative and qualitative data analysis, collation, and validation.
Conduct additional semi-structured interviews with key informants in order to dig for specific issues, as needed.
Contribute to the programming and utilization of digital data collection tools and open sources (in particular Kobo toolbox and other ODK).
Help draft and review monitoring reports and visual products (e.g. dashboards), using standard templates.
Serve as focal point for other needs assessments

Required Skills

Strong analytical skills and knowledge of agriculture, food security, livelihoods, food systems and value chains in developing countries.
Expertise in remote data collection including phone or web-based surveys and/or remote-sensing would be a plus.
Working knowledge of advanced statistical and data analysis methods/techniques (i.e. regression analysis) using tools like R and STATA.
Experience in using and programming questionnaires in digital data collection tools (Kobo toolbox, ODK);
Proven data validation, testing and sensitivity analysis skills
Proven data visualization and reporting skills.
Experience in developing sampling design for research projects, and optimizing data sampling and applying statistical power calculations to estimate representative sampling protocols
Prior experience and knowledge of the agricultural context in Africa. Preference for an individual based in Africa.

Preferred Skills

No less than 5 years of experience working with data at a professional level and leading some of the above efforts. If you only have a few years of experience, you must have extraordinary skills and professional recommendations to be considered.
Understanding of agriculture and skills in economics. Degrees in agricultural economics, statistics, data science, or related fields
Excellent English skills are mandatory (writing and speaking).
Experience with Business Intelligence tools such as Tableau, PowerBI, Apache Superset or comparable tools would be a plus.

About this position: This is a full-time Contractor position. The position is remote and require an excellent work discipline to be on-time and available during agreed hours. The ideal candidate is based in a time zone in East Africa or Europe in order to facilitate collaboration with a team based in these regions.

About COSA: We are a non-profit, mission-led organization that focuses on pragmatic data-based insights to drive better decision making to achieve sustainability. We are an equal opportunity employer and are interested in highly skilled women, minorities, and residents of developing countries. Our culture is to collaborate and where staff all know how to roll up their sleeves and do their work diligently while enjoying a close camaraderie.

Salary: Salary offer will be competitive, commensurate with experience and geography.

Committee on Sustainability Assessment (COSA) jobs

Data Analyst, East Africa