Job Summary
The Data Scientist II sits within IPA's General Research and Data Science (GRDS) team, which provides technical support across IPA's research portfolio and builds the data science, data engineering, and research quality capabilities the organization relies on. The Data Scientist II owns technical projects from initiation to delivery, applying data science methods to concrete research and data support needs. The role combines hands-on technical work with the judgment to plan independently, anticipate risks, and recommend a course of action when problems require escalation. The Data Scientist II also serves as a technical reference for colleagues and represents IPA's technical standards in work with country offices, sector programs, public policy teams, and external partners.
This posting targets the Data Scientist II level; IPA will also consider strong candidates at the Data Scientist I level whose experience and trajectory fit the role.
Responsibilities
Project Ownership and Technical Delivery (50%)
- Lead assigned projects from initiation to delivery: plan tasks,



track progress, anticipate risks, and report status and decisions to the manager without requiring follow-up.
- Provide high-quality technical support to IPA country offices, sector programs, public policy teams, and research projects.
- Develop Scopes of Work for direct technical support engagements and conduct research quality audits of ongoing projects.
- Apply reliable technical judgment when advising internal and external partners.

Data Science Methods and Engineering (35%)
- Apply data science methods — including predictive modeling, natural language processing, large language models, and geospatial analysis — to concrete research and data support needs.
- Develop and maintain SQL and Python data models, analytical pipelines, and other software solutions.
- Deliver advanced technical outputs in SurveyCTO, Stata, R, SQL, Python, and other relevant tools.
- Support testing and debugging of

📌 Data Scientist II (Colombia)
🏢 Innovations For Poverty Action
📍 Colombia