Our purpose is to unlock value in Africa. We use our analytical capabilities to improve decision-making and, through better decisions, to unlock substantial value for our clients and society. While we are the largest economics-based consulting firm in Africa, we use a large number of techniques and approaches to achieve clarity for decision-makers. We wor...

AI Solutions Lead (Impact And Emerging Markets) (East Africa)

Job Type

Full Time

Qualification

BA/BSc/HND , MBA/MSc/MA

Experience

6 years

Location

Nairobi

Job Field

ICT / Computer

Key Responsibilities

• Business Origination & Advocacy: Identify "AI-ready" problems within the portfolios of major impact funders. You’ll lead the narrative, helping non-technical stakeholders understand how AI can move the needle on health, education, climate, agriculture, etc.
• Technical Product Ownership: Define the roadmap for AI-driven tools. You will oversee the full lifecycle from discovery and data auditing to deployment and M&E (Monitoring & Evaluation).
• The "Translator" Function: Bridge the gap between data science teams and domain experts. Serve as the vital link between data science teams and domain experts, ensuring that technical complexity never obscures business value.
• Unified Project Orchestration: You serve as the primary bridge between internal teams and external subcontractors, harmonizing disparate workstyles and technical workflows to ensure all contributors are aligned with a single, cohesive strategy.
• Ethical Oversight: Ensure all solutions adhere to Responsible AI principles, specifically focusing on bias mitigation in diverse, non-Western datasets.

Technical Competencies

To earn the respect of our engineering partners and ensure project success, you should possess:

• ML Literacy: A deep understanding of the Machine Learning lifecycle - from data ingestion and feature engineering to model deployment and drift monitoring.
• Architectural Fluency: Ability to discuss Cloud vs. Edge computing, API integrations, and LLM orchestration (RAG, fine-tuning) with clarity.
• Data Strategy: Expertise in assessing data quality in "noisy" environments. You should know what makes a dataset "fit for purpose" for training.
• Framework Familiarity: High-level understanding of the tech stacks common in the field (e.g., Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, AWS SageMaker, or Azure ML).

Business & Strategy Competencies

• Consultative Selling: Proven ability to write winning proposals for multilateral organizations and navigate the procurement nuances of the development sector.
• Strategic Intuition: Ability to distinguish between an "AI hype" project and a sustainable, high-impact solution.
• Stakeholder Management: Experience managing high-level relationships with government officials, NGO directors, and private sector partners.

Experience & Qualifications

• The Background: 6+ years of experience, ideally split between technical product management and strategic consulting/international development.
• The Education: A degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or Engineering is preferred, but an MBA or MPA with a heavy focus on Digital Transformation is also highly valued.
• The "Emerging Market" Edge: Direct experience working in or building tech for Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, or Latin America.

• Business Origination & Advocacy: Identify "AI-ready" problems within the portfolios of major impact funders. You’ll lead the narrative, helping non-technical stakeholders understand how AI can move the needle on health, education, climate, agriculture, etc.
• Technical Product Ownership: Define the roadmap for AI-driven tools. You will oversee the full lifecycle from discovery and data auditing to deployment and M&E (Monitoring & Evaluation).
• The "Translator" Function: Bridge the gap between data science teams and domain experts. Serve as the vital link between data science teams and domain experts, ensuring that technical complexity never obscures business value.
• Unified Project Orchestration: You serve as the primary bridge between internal teams and external subcontractors, harmonizing disparate workstyles and technical workflows to ensure all contributors are aligned with a single, cohesive strategy.
• Ethical Oversight: Ensure all solutions adhere to Responsible AI principles, specifically focusing on bias mitigation in diverse, non-Western datasets.

• ML Literacy: A deep understanding of the Machine Learning lifecycle - from data ingestion and feature engineering to model deployment and drift monitoring.
• Architectural Fluency: Ability to discuss Cloud vs. Edge computing, API integrations, and LLM orchestration (RAG, fine-tuning) with clarity.
• Data Strategy: Expertise in assessing data quality in "noisy" environments. You should know what makes a dataset "fit for purpose" for training.
• Framework Familiarity: High-level understanding of the tech stacks common in the field (e.g., Python, PyTorch/TensorFlow, AWS SageMaker, or Azure ML).
• Consultative Selling: Proven ability to write winning proposals for multilateral organizations and navigate the procurement nuances of the development sector.
• Strategic Intuition: Ability to distinguish between an "AI hype" project and a sustainable, high-impact solution.
• Stakeholder Management: Experience managing high-level relationships with government officials, NGO directors, and private sector partners.

• A degree in Computer Science, Data Science, or Engineering is preferred, but an MBA or MPA with a heavy focus on Digital Transformation is also highly valued.
• Direct experience working in or building tech for Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, or Latin America.