Senior Data Scientist

Who We Are

Nithio is an AI-driven platform for climate finance. Nithio leverages the power of artificial intelligence to fundamentally transform how credit risk is assessed. Our mission is clear: to catalyze billions of capital into solutions that combat climate change and facilitate universal access to clean energy.

Through our investment vehicle, FAIR (Facility for Adaptation, Inclusion, and Resilience), we directly lend capital in the decentralized energy sector, empowering companies to provide households with clean and reliable energy sources. We work hand in hand with other investors, providing them with the insights and tools needed to scale their investments effectively, all while navigating the complex credit risk landscape.

‍

Role Summary

*This role will support Nithio while our Chief Data Scientist is on parental leave from May through August 2024.

Nithio seeks an advisory (fractional) Senior Data Scientist to lead and oversee our product development, data acquisition, and AI modeling. You will build an infrastructure considering a wide variety of data and create an architecture to manage, process, and distribute that data. Your work will enable data scientists and analysts to work smarter and faster as we support scaling access to energy and consumer financing across Africa.

Primary Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Provide visionary leadership to the risk analytics team, aligning departmental efforts with Nithio OKRs and mission
• Develop Growth Plan: Working cross-functionally with other department leaders, develop a growth strategy & business plan for the data team’s expansion into new markets, sectors, and geographies
• Product Development: Lead the development and implementation of advanced machine learning and statistical models to analyze financial data and optimize decision-making processes. Explore and integrate innovative techniques to solve complex challenges in our domain/sectors.
• Team Leadership & Development: Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement within the team, lead hiring & career development
• Data Governance: Establish and maintain robust data governance practices, ensuring data quality, security, and compliance with regulatory standards. Implement ethical AI principles in developing and deploying models, prioritizing fairness and transparency.
• Thought Leadership: Stay abreast of industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices to enhance our data science capabilities & author blogs, etc., to enhance/grow our reputation in the space

‍

Who You Are

• A self-starter, passionate about creating lasting change in developing markets
• Have demonstrated experience working in Africa and/or emerging markets
• Have a track record of outstanding focus and drive to achieve outsized results
• Highly entrepreneurial and self-motivated; expert at managing your own time
• Possess superior problem-solving, judgment, and decision-making skills with the ability to articulate and present points of view and ideas effectively
• You have a track record of successfully prioritizing multiple competing priorities with strong attention to detail
• You can advance discrete projects both independently and as part of a team
• Possess strong interpersonal skills and work well on a distributed/global team
• Exemplify our values: Collaboration, Commitment, Growth, Marking a Difference and Adaptability
• Experience mentoring, training, and developing staff to facilitate team growth

‍

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s in a quantitative field (Business, Finance, Mathematics, Economics, Engineering, or a related field)
• 15+ years of experience leading a team/department building data solutions as a primary part of their business. Prior experience in a high-growth startup environment is a strong plus.
• Expertise in SQL, Python, R or other query and scripting languages to aggregate and transform data and connect platforms
• Expertise in cloud computing platforms such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure
• Experience in machine learning, predictive analytics, or other data science techniques
• Experience launching new products/teams in new sectors and/or geographies

‍

Company Details

Founded in 2018, Nithio is a remote-first, global company with teams in Nairobi, Lagos, Washington, D.C., and London.

‍

Why work at Nithio?

Nithio prides itself on fostering a supportive, inclusive, and collaborative work culture where people are purpose-driven, conscientious, and motivated to generate positive social and environmental impact alongside financial returns at scale.

We offer a competitive compensation package for contract positions and a positive work culture at an ambitious startup that strongly encourages a healthy life-work balance.

‍

Our Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

Nithio is committed to embracing the diversity of views and backgrounds that our colleagues bring and helping them achieve their professional and personal goals. A solid commitment to diversity and inclusion among our team enables us to serve our clients better and achieve our central mission of increasing access to energy and financial services. Therefore, we strongly encourage applications from people of color, people with disabilities, women, LGBTQ+ people, and people with intersectional identities.

Nithio recruits, employs, trains, compensates, and promotes regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, family status, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law.

‍

How to Apply

Note: This is a syndicated job post, meaning it was not posted to Fractional Jobs directly, so we don't have control over the application process. To apply, click on the "View Application" and follow the application's instructions.