Senior Data Scientist

Role overview

This position is part of the President Complex Department, within the Group Chief Economist function and the Statistics and Data Solutions division at the Jeddah headquarters in Saudi Arabia. It is a fixed-term role at job grade E3, with a closing date of 04-Jul-2026.

The role focuses on advanced statistical and data science work that supports evidence-based research, management decision-making, and country-level dialogue. It requires compiling, aligning, building, and sharing high-quality statistical indicators and predictive models, while also keeping the organization’s website updated with current data and analytical insights on the bank’s interventions and member countries. The position also involves building and sustaining governed databases and data pipelines using modern technologies and machine learning, including Microsoft Azure, while encouraging broader use of innovative data methods across the IsDB Group and its member countries. Coordination with regional and international statistical agencies is also part of the job to help align outputs with global statistical standards and initiatives.

What you will do

• Support the division’s yearly work planning, programs, and activities.
• Help shape and roll out the Institute’s strategies, policies, procedures, and guidelines.
• Contribute to the design and implementation of frameworks and tools used for economic work within the economic research and statistics programs.
• Assist with risk management work and with country, vulnerability, and debt sustainability assessments for member countries.
• Use modern visualization tools, programming languages, web technologies, and cloud analytics platforms to convert raw information into interactive dashboards, web-based analytical tools, and easy-to-read visual outputs.
• Improve aggregation approaches and statistical methods so they align with international standards and best practices, including reproducible workflows, automated indicator pipelines, and well-documented methodology.
• Refine code to improve efficiency, scalability, maintainability, security, and performance across pipelines, APIs, dashboards, and analytical applications.
• Apply AI and machine learning in data management, analysis, and quality assurance using Microsoft Azure services such as Azure Data Lake, Azure Functions, App Service, and DevOps deployment workflows.
• Design and support scalable AI solutions, including ML models, internal chatbots, and AI-enabled dashboards that improve access to data, automate validation, and support decisions.
• Identify and source relevant datasets from official, third-party, internal, and emerging sources for macroeconomic, development, and institutional analysis.
• Compile data from member countries and other official or third-party sources into usable datasets, indicators, and aggregates, including automated ingestion, transformation, and standardization of time-series, country-level, and institutional data.
• Organize and structure data with emphasis on macroeconomic analysis for sustainable development and SDG support, while helping build centralized and governed institutional repositories.
• Check data credibility through automated quality controls, anomaly detection, reconciliation methods, and documented validation processes.
• Monitor databases and production services to preserve accuracy, continuity, and performance, including cloud storage, APIs, dashboard backends, and live data services.
• Respond promptly to growing demand for new datasets by building secure access services, dashboards, and self-service analytical tools.
• Support statistical capacity building, especially for less developed countries.
• Prepare data for the Bank’s Annual Report, Occasional and Research Papers, dashboards, internal briefs, data platforms, and other knowledge products.
• Develop full-stack analytical solutions that combine data science, front-end dashboards, backend APIs, and cloud deployment.
• Contribute to cloud data architecture, including Azure Data Lake structures, curated layers, API-based access, and scalable deployment patterns.
• Create secure, scalable, reusable data services that provide controlled access to curated datasets for analysts, departments, dashboards, and institutional users.
• Help modernize the data ecosystem by converting business and analytical needs into practical technical solutions across engineering, analytics, visualization, AI, and cloud platforms.
• Carry out additional duties as assigned.

Knowledge sharing and reporting

• Support transfer of analytical findings to colleagues across the IsDB Group and to external regional hubs.
• Help organize annual and periodic events such as seminars, regional workshops, NGO seminars, and capacity-building workshops.
• Contribute to statistical outputs, publications, and releases.
• Take part in internal and external training, conferences, advocacy, dissemination, and knowledge-building activities with member countries and partner organizations.
• Report IsDB operational data to relevant global datasets and global reports.
• Help organize statistical events and capacity development initiatives, including OIC-STATCOM, regional workshops, seminars, and similar forums.
• Prepare periodic and thematic statistical reports for internal and external audiences.
• Coordinate with stakeholders on presenting division reports and publications.

Leadership and innovation

• Guide junior data scientists on complex projects and encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing.
• Lead strategic initiatives that use innovative data science methods to support decision-making and policy development.

Qualifications and experience

A bachelor’s degree in statistics, data science, programming, information management, or a closely related field is required. The role calls for at least 8 years of experience in advanced economic analysis focused on economic and development issues, including 3 years in either an international development institution or a national statistical office.

Language needs are specified as English mandatory, with Arabic preferred and French preferred.

Skills and knowledge expected

The ideal candidate should bring strong command of descriptive, inferential, and advanced statistical techniques, with the ability to explain findings clearly to non-technical audiences. The role also requires competence in data collection and management, strong familiarity with national accounts, balance of payments, and government fiscal accounts, and a solid grasp of macroeconomic relationships across accounting systems. Knowledge of major economic and social development data sources and retrieval systems is essential, along with hands-on ability in statistical tools such as STATA, R, Python, Power BI, Tableau, and JavaScript. The position also demands advanced capability in database maintenance, data synthesis, analytical thinking, accuracy, adaptability under pressure, results orientation, and practical MS Office use.

Application notes

Applicants are expected to submit a resume or CV, a copy of passport, and an academic certificate as part of the application.

If an existing IsDB regular staff member is selected through the competitive process, the current contract type and other terms and conditions will stay the same.

Important recruitment notice

The organization does not request any payment at any stage of recruitment, including job application, CV screening, interviews, or final processing. It also does not ask for applicants’ bank account details. Any false job advertisement or offer using the organization’s name should be treated as fraudulent.