Manager, Vital Signs Informatics

Meeting the challenge of increasing food production in Africa, while sustaining the benefits farmers receive from nature requires a new approach to decision making. There is a need for integrated data on agriculture, ecosystem services and human well-being, and new tools for decision makers to guide agricultural development that is sustainable for people and for ecosystems. To meet this need, in 2012 Conservation International (CI), in partnership with The Earth Institute, Columbia University and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in South Africa, created the Vital Signs Monitoring System, an open-source system, with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Vital Signs is committed to open access data and open source tools and to creating a global public good.The Vital Signs Informatics Manager will bring order to the large amounts of diverse data that Vital Signs is collecting and handling, including tablet-, paper-, sensor-based and remotely-sensed collection of data on agriculture (e.g., field size and location, inputs, management, crop yield) ecosystems (e.g., land cover change, vegetation structure, biodiversity, water, soil fertility, carbon stocks), human well-being (e.g., nutrition, income, health) and climate.  The Informatics Manager assists in the design and creation of the software infrastructure for end to end management and analysis of the Vital Signs data, from data collection; to web design and server, web-based, and desktop scientific data management and analysis applications; to decision support for policy makers. S(he) develops and implements the Vital Signs Data Management Plan and Information System, including systems analysis, data ingestion, data and metadata standards, quality control, database management, archiving, development of standard data products, workflow-based analysis and web-based dissemination mechanisms.  The Informatics Manager ensures compliance of Vital the information systems with all Vital Signs policies and procedures, donor and legal requirements, including privacy and intellectual property issues. (S)he collaborates with a diverse group of scientists, as well as with other IT professionals within and outside of the Vital Signs Network to ensure robust solutions and broad dissemination of Vital Signs data products and to ensure interoperability with other key systems. (S)he is responsible for developing end-user training materials and for training Vital Signs team members in data management processes and in the use of the Vital Signs information management tools and operational functions. Principal duties include: systems analysis, design, and development for web-design and development for informatics components of Vital Signs web sites; data management and analysis; creation of end-user documentation and training materials; community outreach and training.End-to-end data management, from data collection, qa/qc, archiving and management, analysis, visualization and reporting, including creating and managing data entry templates and reporting toolsSystems analysis, design, and development for server, web-based, and desktop scientific data management and analysis applicationsConducts user needs assessments and usability surveys and conducts end-user documentation, outreach and training materials for a distributed, interdisciplinary, international group of users with a diversity of educational levels and backgroundsParticipates in meetings and ad-hoc working groups, and network-level committeesOther duties as assigned by supervisor.This position is based in Nairobi, KenyaInternational travel, mostly in Africa, including to remote locations, up to 30% timeFlexibility to work outside of normal business hours, including participating in international conference calls when requiredBachelor's degree in computer science, or an environmental or earth systems science or ecology with strong computer experienceMinimum of 4 Years experienceExpertise in design and development of relational database systems (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL)Expertise and experience in software design and development using modern programming languages (e.g., Java, Perl, C, R) for desktop and web application design and development (e.g., HTML, JSON, XML, CGI, CSS, XSLT), including scripting languages (e.g., Javascript, Python), and understanding of web application technologies (e.g., AJAX, jQuery, Django)Creativity and the ability to thrive and succeed in a lean, start-up environmentExperience with scientific workflow systems (e.g., Kepler, Pegasus, Trident)Expertise using software development systems, including build systems (e.g., maven, make, Eclipse), source code control systems (e.g., svn, git), and bug tracking systemsExperience with server (e.g., Linux) and desktop operating systems (e.g., Windows, Mac OS X) for cross platform application developmentAbility to collaborate intensively with researchers, data collection technicians, program managers and end-users with diverse backgroundsExcellent communication skills, including the ability to write end-user documentation about highly technical systems in a manner understandable to ecological, environmental and social scientistsExperience or familiarity with Open Data KitExperience with or exposure to environmental and social science researchQuantitative analysis and statistical skills, especially using RUnderstanding of common Internet  technologies (HTTP, LDAP) and emerging Internet standards, such as XML  Schema and RDFManager, Vital Signs Informatics