ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION:
FinMark Trust (FMT) is an independent non-profit organization whose business is controlled by trustees from countries in Southern Africa. Its purpose is making financial markets work for the poor, by promoting financial inclusion and regional financial integration. It aims to promote and support policy and institutional development towards the objective of increasing access to financial services by the un- and under-banked of southern Africa.
The Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri) is a non-profit think-tank based in Cape Town, South Africa that operates in collaboration with universities in the region. Cenfri's mission is to support financial sector development and financial inclusion through facilitating better regulation and market provision of financial services. It conducts research, provides advice, and develops capacity building programs for regulators, market players, and other parties operating in the low-income market.
Background: FinMark Trust (FMT) and The Centre for Financial Regulation and Inclusion (Cenfri) are jointly establishing a new centre funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation. The Centre has secured funding for five years and will seek to achieve two broad objectives. First, improve the quality, relevance, and comparability of indicators of financial inclusion and the data needed to design effective programs, products, and policies. Second, increase the use and quality of client centric data, research, and methodologies by financial services providers (FSP) to inform business decisions in a way that would lead to the design of a greater range of more relevant and impactful financial products and services for financially underserved individuals. This will largely include developing data solutions for the private sector to promote financial inclusion.
ABOUT THE JOB:
FMT and Cenfri are seeking a Head of Data Quality. S/he will be responsible for carrying the vision of the data quality unit and implementing the appropriate strategy. The data quality unit will be responsible for driving an improvement in the quality and relevance of existing financial inclusion surveys and related data gathering efforts to ensure that the measurement frameworks can be populated. At the same time it will explore new data gathering technologies with the potential to generate new information that can advance financial inclusion. The overall objective of the data quality unit, over the course of five years, is to ensure financial inclusion surveys or financial access point mapping delivers better quality data in 10-15 countries where technical assistance has been provided and/or additional survey modules has been incorporated. S/he will lead a team that will be responsible for conducting research, publishing, developing data quality tools, and providing technical assistance. S/he will also be responsible to seek out and support promising new data collection methodologies that would result in quality data outputs. S/he will work closely with a range of technical data specialists to improve the quality of data delivered by existing data sets, as well as drive innovation in how data is collected. S/he will ensure that the data can be used by a wide range of users for decision making. S/he will be responsible for a team of data quality researchers, analysts, and technical assistants. This role will be based at FMT Johannesburg reporting to the facility lead in Cape Town.
Tasks and Responsibilities:
- Define and implement the long-term data quality strategy;
- Provide strategic direction in terms of the data quality work stream and select interventions to achieve long term objectives within this work stream by developing a business plan;
- Improve the quality of data outputs delivered by existing data sets;
- Drive innovation in how data is collected with immediate and long term horizons;
- Set timelines to ensure that milestones are delivered on time and at the highest quality standards;
- Cultivate a community of practice to produce research around data quality and implement data quality processes, research methodology, and standards incorporating the use of data quality tools;
- Publish reports on the state of quality of data;
- Guide and support strategies for GIS and FIS in developing countries;
- Collaborate with stakeholders to plan and remediate data quality gaps;
- Establish on-going monitoring and remediation to respond to issues as they arise;
- Deliver frequent internal reports of the DQ work stream to the facility lead;
- Work closely with the information and research team within FMT and the measurement team in Cenfri;
- Provide technical guidance and support in terms of design and implementation of research initiatives;
- Mentor the team in order to build a strong research capacity within the facility in terms of quality and integrity;
- Engage with financial sector role players in countries and advocate for evidence-based interventions to achieve increased quality of financial inclusion.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's and Master’s degree is essential (research based in Statistics/Demography/Economics/Mathematical Finance/Mathematical Statistics). PhD will be an advantage;
- More than 8 years of relevant survey data collection experience (in financial behavior/financial inclusion surveys) is essential;
- Experience and exposure to working with developing countries is essential;
- Strong management skills;
- GIS experience is advantageous (access point mapping);
- Excellent technical skills related to information systems, databases, data models, data distributions and integrations, data warehouse, business intelligence, questionnaire design;
- Experience and understanding of big data concepts, techniques, and technology;
- Demonstrated research experience and presentations on key topics in data quality and research methodology;
- Ability to work independently with reporting lines in another city;
- Comfortable working with large amounts of data and communicating data findings;
- Experience establishing and tracking program metrics including return on investment;
- Successful record of implementing new systems and processes with measurable results;
- Fair understanding of financial inclusion surveys (like FinScope and Global Findex);
- Personal desire to be involved in work which makes an impact on developing countries and poorer communities;
- Ability to find data solutions;
- Ability to act as a global ‘thought lead’ and inspire a team;
- Exceptional analytical skills and problem solving abilities;
- Demonstrated program ownership and consistent and timely delivery on commitments;
- Great organizational skills with exceptional follow-through and attention to detail;
- Ability to work both independently and as a part of a team;
- Ability to work quickly and efficiently with accuracy and precision;
- Understanding of expenditures within budget guidelines (be able to optimize time and budget);
- Effective utilization of resources (human and non-human);
- Highly professional;
- Customer service orientation with a demonstrated desire to exceed expectations, ability to serve multiple customers, and deliver an excellent employee experience;
- Excellent written and verbal communications skills, ability to interact with stakeholders at different levels.
HOW TO APPLY:
Interested candidates can send their resume to Helen Wilson
