Data Science Project Manager Full Time

DataKind UK
Are you an experienced data science project manager who wants to bring responsible data use to the charity sector and supercharge our mission to spread the word of data for good? We’re looking for someone who can bring a clear understanding of data science to charities, social enterprises, and the public sector, and guide teams of people to get the best results while scoping projects and analysing their data. You’ll work closely with DataKind UK’s small team and amazing network to galvanise the way for data science in the charity sector. This is a full-time, permanent role, however we are willing to consider hiring part-time for a strong candidate. It can be London-based or remain largely remote. The role requires some weekend and evening commitments, monthly travel to London, and occasional national travel to conferences and events. We particularly encourage applications from groups which are underrepresented in data science, tech, and/or the charity sector. Please contact us if we can provide any further support to your application process. About DataKind UK DataKind UK is a small charity that believes in the power of data science to transform the social sector and the lives of the people it serves. We do this by mobilising a diverse pool of thousands of talented volunteers to work with charities on data science projects – for free! We also mentor senior social sector leaders to harness data science approaches and facilitate the Data Collective, a community of practice around exemplary social sector data science. Since we were founded in 2013, we have worked to understand the social sector’s needs and the ways we can harness the power of pro bono data scientists to support the sector. More than 2,200 DataKind UK volunteers have provided support to over 100 charities large and small across a wide range of issue areas, from St. John Ambulance and Action for Children through to local food banks and campaigning charities. We’ve been held up as an example of best practice by government ministers and were named as one of Fast Company’s 10 most innovative nonprofits in 2017. Last year, we were proud to have the value of our work recognised through a CogX Award for Outstanding Achievements for Social Good, for “innovators, visionaries, and change-makers who are helping us get the next ten years right”. We are a registered UK charity and are part of the global DataKind network of five chapters. About the role We are looking for a collaborative and creative data expert who is excited to help us deliver innovative data science solutions to support organisations in the social sector to increase their impact. You will have the opportunity to work directly with organisations from across the sector, working to understand their mission and to translate their challenges into well-scoped, technical projects. You will then oversee and support our volunteer data scientists to deliver impactful data science solutions. Throughout our projects, you’ll enjoy communicating and teaching technical concepts in a friendly and accessible way, managing the expectations of the charity, the volunteers, and the staff team. As the Data Science Project Manager, you’ll work closely with our Head of Data Science and Head of Volunteer Programmes to triage, scope, and oversee our projects and to ensure we deliver impactful, responsible data science solutions for our partners. You’ll be part of a growing, kind, and collaborative 8-person staff team and will work closely with our talented community of volunteer data scientists who are instrumental in scoping and delivering our projects. The last five years have seen incredible change in the social sector’s use of data. More and more charities are using data to inform their decision making and increase their impact. Demand for data science talent and expertise in the social sector has never been higher – yet barriers (like funding, trust and know-how) persist. This is an exciting and an unusual opportunity to shape and impact how the social sector uses data science! Main Duties & Responsibilities The majority of the role involves supporting charities to use data science. You will help us triage, scope, onboard, and oversee our projects: Assess the needs of potential project partners, meeting with them to understand their challenges and how data science may support their mission Scope impactful data science projects. This includes our DataDive and DataCorps programmes Act as a technical liaison for our DataDive and DataCorps projects, ensuring we are producing high-quality, understandable outputs for charity partners and providing technical expertise when needed Support the delivery of successful DataDive projects, including ensuring we are recruiting volunteers that meet the needs of our projects Run our Office Hours programme: Triage charities’ requests; match partner organisations with appropriately skilled volunteers; and manage the volunteer team, ensuring they have the ongoing support needed to perform their role to a high standard You will also: Assess the impact of our work, using our established data maturity and impact assessment frameworks Help us communicate our work and the power of responsible data science, by working with our Communications Manager to develop case studies and presentations to share our work with technical and non-technical audiences Please see the full candidate pack for further details. Please note, though the closing date on CharityJob states 19th March, the actual closing date for this job is 31st March. The candidate pack (containing details of how to apply) can be accessed via our website, and we will be accepting applications until 9am GMT on Friday 31st March. We look forward to receiving your application!