Education Data Systems Engineer at The Luminos Fund

Education Data Systems Engineer

The Luminos Fund, an international nonprofit bringing education opportunities to the world’s most marginalized children, is looking for an Education Data Systems Engineer to help maximize the impact of its foundational learning programs across various geographies.

This is a full-time, one-year contract that may be based in one of our offices in Accra, Addis Ababa, Banjul, London, or Monrovia, or remotely in a time zone from GMT to GMT+6.

This hands-on role will design and implement systems for collecting, cleaning, analyzing, and visualizing learning data at scale. This is a great opportunity for someone seeking to gain experience in international education. Experience working in a nonprofit organization is not required, but a commitment to mastering the technical details of international education and a passion for driving transformative results for children are essential. The Education Data Systems Engineer will report to the Data Scientist and collaborate closely with team members throughout the organization. The role will likely involve some international travel to challenging contexts.

About the Luminos Fund

The Luminos Fund (www.luminosfund.org) provides transformative education programs to thousands of out-of-school children, helping them to catch up to grade level, reintegrate into government schools, and prepare for lifelong learning. Working in partnership with community-based organizations, Luminos is scaling up its accelerated learning program to ensure all children have equal access to joyful, foundational learning, especially those shut out of education by crisis, poverty, or discrimination. To date, Luminos has helped over 377,407 children secure a second chance to learn. A registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States, Luminos is working in Ethiopia, Ghana, Lebanon, Liberia, and The Gambia.

Luminos is supported by a range of funding partners, including Cartier Philanthropy, Dubai Cares, Legatum, and UBS Optimus Foundation. Luminos has been recognized for its achievements globally, receiving the 2022 Klaus J. Jacobs Best Practice Prize, the Library of Congress International Literacy Award, the Lipman Family Prize, the WISE Award, and the HundrED Global Innovation Award for the last six years.

Duties and Responsibilities

The Education Data Systems Engineer will:

• Support the user requirement elicitation process for a scalable learning progress tracking system for an accelerated learning program delivered in partnership with the government in Ethiopia. This may involve conducting interviews and participating in workshops with government officials, teachers, and other stakeholders.

• Work with the team to understand the context of the accelerated learning program and the Ethiopian education system more broadly, including the existing data collection systems and challenges.

• Design a simple, robust, scalable system to monitor program implementation and student learning outcomes, considering best practices from Luminos and beyond. This will involve designing user-centered experiences, developing system architecture, appraising and selecting appropriate off-the-shelf software and hardware tools, establishing data quality control procedures, and developing a data security and privacy plan.

• Implement the designed system, from survey development to dashboard creation, within a challenging environment where users might have varying levels of familiarity with data.

• Support the development of a pilot plan, including timelines, key milestones, data collection protocols, and stakeholder engagement strategies.

• Support the development and delivery of trainings, ensuring that users with diverse experience levels can effectively understand and utilize the system. Provide ongoing technical support and troubleshooting during the pilot phase.

• Gather and analyze qualitative and quantitative data from the pilot, including user feedback, system performance data, and program outcomes. Iterate based on that data.

• Prepare a comprehensive pilot report summarizing findings, challenges, and recommendations for system improvements and scale-up.

• Document the system, the design and development process, and the lessons learned for future scale-up in other contexts.

Please note that the Luminos Fund is a highly dynamic work environment, and the role holder may need to take on additional workstreams not included in the description above. In some instances, they will face challenges in areas where they are not experts and where situations are ambiguous. They will need to scope out known information, propose and appraise response options, and then own and drive the implementation solutions.

Required Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Computer Science, Engineering, or a related field.

• 3+ years of relevant work experience with increasing levels of responsibility in cross-cultural contexts.

• Experience programming and deploying data collection, cleaning, storage, analysis, and visualization tools, particularly SurveyCTO and Tableau.

• Experience developing end-to-end systems using a variety of programming languages and off-the-shelf tools.

• Experience in a startup environment, and building something from nothing, is strongly desired.

• Readiness to problem solve creatively on a myriad of fronts and go above and beyond to deliver optimum success.

• Experience working with education management information systems would be appreciated.

• Fluent in written and spoken English.

Luminos Core Beliefs and Values

1. We believe that every child is capable of learning a remarkable amount in a short period of time, if given the chance.
2. We keep children’s joy and well-being at the heart of everything we do.
3. We embrace assessment as a key component of effective teaching and learning.
4. We celebrate and empower local leadership throughout our work with partner communities and governments.
5. We use research, program data, and skilled classroom observation in the tenacious pursuit of excellence.
6. We celebrate the unique contexts and cultures of the communities we serve in our curricula and pedagogy.
7. We act with the highest standards of integrity and care, ensuring mutual accountability among colleagues and partners.
8. We take the initiative to solve problems where we find them, managing details large and small, with urgency.
9. We act deliberately to ensure that our organization is inclusive for people of different genders, racial backgrounds, ethnicities, sexual orientations, religious beliefs, abilities, and other sources of diversity.
10. We build deep, authentic relationships with our supporters in celebration of the mutually transformative power of giving.

To apply for this role, please complete the online application with your resume or CV.

The expected salary range for this role is GBP 30,000-60,000 per year. This salary range is specific to the United Kingdom. Compensation may be adjusted based on the candidate's experience, qualifications, and location. For candidates residing outside of this area, the salary range may differ to reflect local market conditions and cost of living considerations.

We are committed to ensuring competitive and equitable compensation for all employees, regardless of location. If you have any questions regarding how compensation may vary by location, please let us know during the application process.

The Luminos Fund is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran, or disability status.