Established in 1970 and headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (www.icipe.org) is distinct, being the only research organisation in Africa working primarily on insects and other arthropods. icipe is also the sole institution that combines research and development activities across plant health, human health, animal health, and environmental health. icipe generates world-class scientific knowledge and translates it into insect-based, nature-positive, One Health innovations that sustainably transform millions of livelihoods across Africa and beyond. Additionally, icipe nurtures Africa’s talent and leadership in insect science through the Centre’s long-standing programmes in doctoral and postdoctoral training, advancement of research and innovation in applied science, engineering, and technology, and the creation of a bioeconomy in Africa. The Centre has about 500 international and national staff, operations in more than 40 countries in Africa, and over 300 partnerships with diverse organisations across the world. For additional information, visit: (www.icipe.org).

Please also download icipe’s Vision and Strategy 2026-2030: https://www.icipe.org/content/icipe-vision-and-strategy-2026-2030

icipe seeks to recruit a Research Officer I (Geospatial Data Clerks) under the Integrated Data & Analytics Platform. The positions are tenable in Nairobi at the icipe Duville campus. This is a two-year contract, renewable subject to continued position needs, funding for the position, and the staff member’s performance. This is a nationally recruited position. A competitive compensation package will be offered to the right candidates. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Overall Purpose of the Job

The Geospatial Data Clerks will provide data and modelling support of the Vector Atlas project being implemented by the Integrated Data & Analytics Platform.

Specific duties

• Collect and collate data (occurrence, bionomic, and insecticide resistance) from various sources (e.g. literature, VectorBase, MalariaGEN, Malaria Atlas Project).
• Cleaning, quality control checks and exploratory data analysis of insecticide resistance (IR) dataset.
• Learn and apply predictive mathematical models, combining ecology, tropical niche models and machine learning approaches.
• Combine models through ensemble modelling.
• Engage with external partners, data custodians, and researchers to acquire, harmonize, and curate relevant datasets, including unpublished or restricted-access data, for expanded project use.
• Design and deliver training workshops, webinars, and technical guidance to strengthen staff and partner capacity in geospatial data management, analysis, visualization, and application for research and decision-making.
• Collaborate with developers and GIS experts to co-develop automated data abstraction platforms that enhance the user interface and functionality of VBD platforms in icipe.

Requirements/ qualifications

• Bachelor’s in computer science, Bioinformatics, Population Biology, or related field, or any other related field from a recognized University.
• At least 5 years of work experience in a relevant area.
• Knowledge and skills in big data analytics.
• Good understanding of data security, data infrastructure, and governance.
• Knowledge of programming languages (e.g., R, C++, Python, and PERL).
• Experience in genomics, population genetics, data manipulation, and computational biology.
• Knowledge of commonly used tools for variant detection (samtools, bowtie2, BWA, IGV, ANNOVAR, and GATK) and file formats (BED, VCF, FASTA/Q, BAM, and FASTQ).
• Knowledge of commonly used and publicly available bioinformatics databases (e.g. GenBank, Uniprot, DDBJ, Ensemble, GEO, SRA, ExAC, ESP, ClinVar, VectorBase, KEGG, HGMD, OMIM, PubMed, and UCSC
• Self-motivated with strong organizational and interpersonal skills and leadership skills

Reporting

This position reports to the Senior Research Scientist.

• Collect and collate data (occurrence, bionomic, and insecticide resistance) from various sources (e.g. literature, VectorBase, MalariaGEN, Malaria Atlas Project).
• Cleaning, quality control checks and exploratory data analysis of insecticide resistance (IR) dataset.
• Learn and apply predictive mathematical models, combining ecology, tropical niche models and machine learning approaches.
• Combine models through ensemble modelling.
• Engage with external partners, data custodians, and researchers to acquire, harmonize, and curate relevant datasets, including unpublished or restricted-access data, for expanded project use.
• Design and deliver training workshops, webinars, and technical guidance to strengthen staff and partner capacity in geospatial data management, analysis, visualization, and application for research and decision-making.
• Collaborate with developers and GIS experts to co-develop automated data abstraction platforms that enhance the user interface and functionality of VBD platforms in icipe.

• Bachelor’s in computer science, Bioinformatics, Population Biology, or related field, or any other related field from a recognized University.
• At least 5 years of work experience in a relevant area.
• Knowledge and skills in big data analytics.
• Good understanding of data security, data infrastructure, and governance.
• Knowledge of programming languages (e.g., R, C++, Python, and PERL).
• Experience in genomics, population genetics, data manipulation, and computational biology.
• Knowledge of commonly used tools for variant detection (samtools, bowtie2, BWA, IGV, ANNOVAR, and GATK) and file formats (BED, VCF, FASTA/Q, BAM, and FASTQ).
• Knowledge of commonly used and publicly available bioinformatics databases (e.g. GenBank, Uniprot, DDBJ, Ensemble, GEO, SRA, ExAC, ESP, ClinVar, VectorBase, KEGG, HGMD, OMIM, PubMed, and UCSC
• Self-motivated with strong organizational and interpersonal skills and leadership skills