Senior Data Science Leader

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.

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Primary Responsibilities

Nithio seeks a Fractional Senior Data Science Leader 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.

*This role will support Nithio while our Chief Data Scientist is on parental leave from April 22, 2024, through August 2024. This role will be on a contract basis for roughly 20-25 hours per week during this period.*

*This is a coordination-intensive role. Ability to work hours that overlap with East Coast USA through Africa is preferred. Therefore, Pacific Coast people would likely not be a good fit. *

• 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.

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Key Deliverables

1. Engage with Nithio and external stakeholders to develop new partnership/product opportunities
   1. Participation in regular calls with senior leadership, including Head of Partnerships and Head of Capital Formation, as well as external stakeholders, to collect feedback and brainstorm on strategy
   2. Collaboration with Nithio Analytics team to understand and map existing and potential future product capabilities, including possible data sources, modeling approaches, and analytical insights
   3. Proposal with 3-4 ideas on market gaps and who they impact, how our data fills the void, and what we need to develop to meet that. Proposal should include a summary of feedback, market assessment, technical requirements, and a development roadmap for each idea.
   4. Estimated relative LOE (level of effort): 60%
2. Provide guidance and technical expertise for ongoing product work stream(s), particularly on Machine Learning (ML) related components
   1. Participation in working group and project scoping calls
   2. Contribution to the product roadmap with technical guidance and strategy for ML-related components, including identifying requirements, evaluating solutions, estimating timelines, helping coordinate tasking, and guiding implementation where relevant
   3. Estimated relative LOE: 30%
3. Provide mentorship for the data analytics team regarding workflows and learning & development
   1. Bi-monthly 1:1 sessions with team members to discuss goals and career development
   2. Facilitation of monthly team retrospectives and assist in identifying focus areas for team workflow improvements
   3. Estimated relative LOE: 10%

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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

** Note: We are only interested in working with individuals. If you are an agency, please do not reach out.

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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

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How To Get In Touch

Hit the "Request Intro" button below. Include any relevant links so we can get to know you better. Most important, please include a brief note to us that clearly shows you've read the job description and that you match the type of profile we're looking for.

A great intro request is one that includes a brief summary of your experience, and demonstrates any past accomplishments related specifically to what we're looking for.

If we think there's a fit, we'll reach out to schedule an intro call. Looking forward!