Data Scientist

Jhpiego is an international, non-profit health organization affiliated with The Johns Hopkins University. For 50 years and in over 155 countries, Jhpiego has worked to prevent the needless deaths of women and their families 

Jhpiego leads the Reaching Impact Saturation and Epidemic Control (RISE) project; a multi-country project funded by the U.S. Government to save lives and improve health through integrated, evidence-based approaches to address urgent gaps in lifesaving services. RISE works across all levels of the health system to strengthen the HIV/TB epidemic response, to limit the spread of deadly disease outbreaks through Global Health Security (GHS) programming, and to reduce preventable morbidity and mortality through integrated maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH), nutrition, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria services. RISE supports country governments to strengthen essential data systems, supply chain and commodity management, human resources for health, domestic resource mobilization, and other cross-cutting health system functions to accelerate transition to country ownership and self-reliance.  

We are looking to hire a talented and team-oriented Data Scientist  to support RISE program programs by designing and applying analytics and epidemiological models to inform HIV, malaria, and global health security efforts. This role analyzes diverse global surveillance and programmatic data to detect trends, evaluate system performance, and support outbreak preparedness and response for events of international concern. The position collaborates closely with program managers, technical advisors, epidemiologists and partners to translate complex data into actionable insights for decision‑making.

Location: Africa, with preference for Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa

Modeling & Analytics

• Support the development, execution, and tuning of analytical and epidemiological models for HIV, malaria, and global health security applications, including outbreak detection and scenario analysis.
• Conduct statistical analyses using standard statistical and programming tools to support international health research studies, program evaluations, and emergency response activities.
• Contribute analyses and modeling outputs to inform situational awareness, risk assessment, and decision‑making during outbreak response activities.
• Perform model calibration, validation, and error analysis; recommend and implement improvements to improve predictive performance and operational relevance.
• Mine and integrate multiple international data sources to develop key indicators, calibration targets, and analytical datasets for planning and monitoring.
• Support analytic workflows for surveillance and response to outbreaks of international concern, including emerging infectious diseases and public health emergencies.
• Assist in evaluating system performance for surveillance and early warning systems, including sensitivity, timeliness, and data completeness.

Data Quality, Validation & Management

• Develop scripts and production tools to clean, transform, and validate international health datasets, accounting for variability in data completeness, timeliness, and quality.
• Monitor data quality and detect anomalies that may indicate reporting errors, system failures, or emerging public health events.
• Perform routine and ad hoc data quality assurance activities to support surveillance, modeling, and reporting requirements.
• Manage or contribute to data entry, documentation, and stewardship for programmatic, surveillance, and research databases.

Reporting, Visualization & Communication

• Analyze surveillance, programmatic, and model outputs; interpret findings; and prepare technical reports, briefings, and summaries for internal and external stakeholders.
• Design tables, figures, maps and data visualizations (PowerBi) to communicate trends, risks, and analytic findings to technical and non‑technical audiences, including leadership and partner organizations.
• Use GIS tools (e.g., ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, QGIS) to develop maps and spatial analyses supporting outbreak detection, monitoring, and response.
• Create and maintain geospatial datasets integrating epidemiological, laboratory, and surveillance data for HIV, malaria, and global health security events.
• Produce static and interactive maps to visualize disease spread, risk factors, health system capacity, and intervention coverage.
• Support spatial analyses (e.g., clustering, hotspot detection, proximity analysis) to inform situational awareness and decision‑making during outbreaks of international concern.
• Collaborate with teams to translate geospatial findings into clear visual products for reports, briefings, and dashboards.
• Support routine and ad hoc reporting for HIV, malaria, and global health security programs.

Collaboration & Partnership Support

• Collaborate with epidemiologists, technical advisors and program staff to support international health initiatives.
• Coordinate with external partners, ministries of health, and international organizations to support data sharing, analysis, and reporting.
• Communicate technical concepts, analytic findings, and data limitations clearly to diverse audiences, including division leadership.

• Bachelor’s degree in Public Health, Epidemiology, Statistics, Biostatistics or a related field with a strong focus on global health security. Master’s degree in the related field is preferred. 
• Minimum of 7 - 8 years of progressively responsible professional experience in applied data science and analytics experience, with at least two of those years including complex programming experience.
• Expertise and strong practical skills in using GIS to develop maps and spatial analyses supporting outbreak detection, monitoring, and response.
• Ability to translate complex data into actionable insights and communicate findings effectively to various audiences. 
• Exceptional analytical and problem-solving skills, with rigorous attention to detail and data accuracy. 
• Additional education may substitute for required experience and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond a high school diploma/graduation equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

• Masters Degree in Epidemiology in the related field will be an advantage. 
• Experience with coding in R (or python), including the use of generative AI tools and best practices for data reproducibility (e.g., tidyverse), visualization (e.g., ggplot), and version control (e.g., git).
• Experience in Excel, DHIS2, and PowerBI
• Technical skills required include Data Architecture, Data Management & Analysis, Data Tools & Platforms, Data Validation & Quality Assurance, Statistical Modelling, Statistical Programming, Data Visualization, Geographic Information Systems, Programming Languages and Machine Learning

Deadline for applications is Monday, 8th June. Applications may close earlier as we are reviewing applications on a rolling basis.

Applicants must submit a single document for upload to include : cover letter and resume.

For further information about Jhpiego, visit our website at www.jhpiego.org

Note: The successful candidate selected for this position will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation.

Jhpiego is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

Jhpiego, a Johns Hopkins University affiliate, is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status, other legally protected characteristics or any other occupationally irrelevant criteria. Jhpiego promotes Affirmative Action for minorities, women, individuals who are disabled and veterans.