Data Specialist

To apply for the role, kindly fill the application @ https://questalliance.zohorecruit.com/careers

This is an exciting role for a person who is keen on unleashing the potential of data to support the development of a culture of data driven decision making within the not for profit sector. The candidate should love visualising & telling stories using data, have advanced critical thinking and reasoning skills, and the ability to analyze data for reporting, research and evaluation purposes.

The data specialist will work closely with the Knowledge Hub and Quest Experience Lab teams within Quest Alliance and will report directly to the Associate Director- Impact and Research at Quest Alliance.

The Data specialist will play an important role to connect all the data and communicate a compelling story. They will ensure that the organisations data and systems are in compliance with the organisations theory of change, program review requirements as well as grant management requirements. They will play a crucial role in fuelling the growth of Quest Alliance as it scales its operations across the country and reaches out to lakhs of learners and educators in school and in higher education institutions.

This role forms the critical bridge between the program teams that carry out and scale interventions on the field, and the Analytics and Technology teams that architect, design, build and continuously improve the Systems, Processes and Tools needed for data collection & collation, storage & retrieval, processing & analysis, reporting & visualisation. The incumbent will be responsible for architecting, onboarding and driving usage of the overall data and Analytics architecture for Quest Alliance from a future perspective and ensuring its achievement.

Mapping and documenting business requirements

• The data specialist will work with the program team and the Knowledge Hub team to understand the requirements of different users around data and analytics, convert them into what it means from a data collection, storage, retrieval, analysis, reporting, visualization and sharing perspective
• Document data architecture, pipelines, and workflows for maintainability and knowledge sharing.
• The data specialist will work with the Quest Experience Lab team to identify, onboard and implement such tools and technologies as may be best suited to meet requirements related to data collection, storage, retrieval, analysis and reporting.
• Develop, own and continuously improve the organisational strategy around data, analysis and visualization; put in place and enforce best-in-class standards, practices and procedures to ensure consistency, compliance, and smooth functioning.
• Ensure any field level initiative that results in the need to collect, store, manage or share data is compliant with the overall data architecture, systems and processes in place.

Data Pipeline Development, Development, Modelling and Integration

• Design, develop, and optimize ETL/ELT workflows for ingesting and transforming large volumes of data from multiple sources.
• Automate and streamline data processing to ensure high availability and performance.
• Design efficient schemas, fact and dimension tables for effective querying and reporting.
• Create and maintain dimensional models to support BI tools and dashboards.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand data requirements and integrate data from various sources (APIs, databases, flat files, etc.).
• Collaborate with stakeholders to understand data requirements and integrate data from various sources (APIs, databases, flat files, etc.).
• Ensure seamless integration of structured and unstructured data.

Data Reporting and Visualisation

• Design and build interactive, intuitive, and visually appealing dashboards and reports using tools like Tableau, Power BI, Looker, or similar platforms.
• Present complex data in a clear, concise, and compelling manner to stakeholders, helping them make informed decisions. Use charts, graphs, and other visual elements to tell stories and uncover insights from the data.
• Work with program teams and Knowledge Hub team to finalize requirements around data reporting and visualization for different stakeholders - funders, management, program team, marcomm, business development etc.
• Support in analysing the data collected and sharing it for performance enhancement/ insights for learning and for sector shaping
• Support in the visualisation of the analysis of various evaluation data gathered through surveys, focus groups, assessments, etc.

Data and Analytics Consulting:

• Act as a trusted advisor to program teams, functional teams and management by helping teams think through initiatives and imperatives, focusing on how, on the one hand data and analytics could help power them, and on the other how this data could be collected and analysed so that the right information and/or insight is available when needed.
• Work closely with different teams to enable data-driven decision-making.
• Provide technical support for ad hoc data extraction and analysis

Creation of Data Catalog and Oversee Data Governance

• Create and maintain catalog of different data sets
• Ensure data systems are designed with a privacy first perspective and conform to high standards of data security and user privacy

Team Management

The Data Specialist will be required to lead and mentor a team of database officers. As a manager, the Data Specialist will:

• Provide strategic guidance and support to the database officers
• Carry out performance review and help the team achieve their potential

Capacity Building and Training

• The data specialist will work with the Knowledge Hub team to build appreciation for data and analytics, data governance amongst the program team. This may involve leading workshops on data and analytics platforms, preparing modules/ communication material on data systems and analytics, or sharing insights that emerge from the analytics.
• Provide training to stakeholders on how to use dashboards effectively.
• Offer support for troubleshooting and enhancements as needed.

We are looking for people who:

• Are passionate about the challenges India is facing in education and employability domain and believe in the role of education technology to address some of these challenges
• Can work independently, with minimal supervision and is a go-getter who enjoys playing with different types of data sets
• Have minimum of 3 years of experience of working with SQL, data modeling and warehousing, data visualisation
• The ideal candidate will be responsible for designing, building, and maintaining efficient, scalable, and reliable data pipelines
• Prior experience in leading a team would be an advantage

Skill Sets:

• 3+ years of SQL. Strong proficiency in SQL for querying and manipulating data.
• 2+ Data modeling and Data warehousing
• 2+ years on any BI tool like Tableau, Power BI, SRSS, Superset
• Strong Programming skills in Python
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Business Intelligence skills (Dashboard and Report creation)
• An analytical mind and inclination for problem-solving
• Attention to detail
• Ability to create data stories.
• Ability to communicate findings with various stakeholders.
• Proven expertise in strong data visualization and analysis skills (quantitative and qualitative)
• Willingness to travel to field locations, as per need
• Postgraduate degree/ qualifications in data science and management
• Time management and organisational skills

Nice to have:

• Ability to write code to integrate APIs of different technologies
• ETL on Talend, Apache Airflow, Apache NiFi, or similar.
• Apache Superset.
• Familiarity with cloud platforms like AWS , Azure, or GCP.
• Familiarity with data capture tool like KOBO, ODK or similar
• Knowledgeable about aspects of data privacy and security systems

At Quest Alliance, we pride ourselves on being an Equal Opportunities employer, embracing applications from all segments of the community. We are committed to ensuring that every applicant and employee is treated with fairness and respect, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, marital status, social status, caste, religious belief, age, or any other factor that is irrelevant to performance. Your individuality is valued and respected within our organization.