Data Scientist – Financial Innovation

Organisation Overview (Samhita.org)

  • Samhita is a social impact consulting firm, with a vision to build a 'better normal'. The
    better normal reimagines business environments where social value is an integral
    aspect of growth, putting stakeholders and environmental guardianship at the centre
    of business strategy, a strategy that evolves from inputs to outcomes, from
    individuals to ecosystem, and from delivering services to building capacity and
    enabling the market.
  • To do this, we support companies to align their core competencies with the needs of
    the social sector, and build catalytic partnerships with stakeholders with in-depth
    knowledge and networks to execute sustainable, outcome-oriented social impact
    initiatives.
  • This approach bridges the gap between purpose and action, and forges business
    responsibility strategies that balance people, pro- t and planet, thereby creating a
    better normal for communities, environments and businesses.

 

Role Overview

  • The role sits within the Financial Innovation team, which is responsible for all
    financial products like returnable grants, credit guarantee backed loans, pre credit
    scores and other behavioural scores that Samhita will create/manage in collaboration
    with its partners, to help micro, nano and solo entrepreneurs get access to capital
    and increase their incomes.
  • This role will involve hypothesis testing, statistical modelling using logistic regression
    and other ML techniques to design, build, validate and maintain behavioural scores
    such as the Pre-Credit Score and the Human Capital Score.
  • Apart from building and managing scores, this role will also involve other standard
    and ad-hoc analyses of the customer and partner data for insights with regards to
    operational efficiency and effectiveness of programs and interventions. Storytelling in
    the form of dashboarding will be necessary to present insights.
  • In order to perform the above-mentioned functions, the person will need to closely
    liaise with internal stakeholders such as the Implementation team, Technology team
    etc. and also with external stakeholders like alliance partners.
  • The role is integral for the organisation’s REVIVE Alliance, through which we hope to
    reach out to 10 million individuals in the next 5 years.

Role Brief:

  • Use of statistical modelling techniques such as logistic regression and ML techniques
    like XGB, Random Forest as needed to build behavioural scores
  • Research to find the optimal solution for a given use case, keeping in mind
    operationalisation and explainability requirements
  • Hypothesis testing, scenario analysis, finding correlations in data, and other standard
    and ad-hoc analyses to uncover drivers of program effectiveness and operational
    efficiencies and thereby help drive a culture of data driven decision making in the
    organisation
  • Collaboration with internal Samhita-CGF and clients/partners for data collection
  • Streamlining and consolidating data in a format that can be easily used for reporting
  • Responsible for reviewing the data for anomalies/inconsistencies
  • Communicating with the internal teams on regular intervals for data requirements and
    changes
  • Critical thinking to challenge norms, and strive for continuous improvements in data
    products and processes
  • Troubleshooting data related queries
    Skills Required
  • BA/BSc. Degree in Computer Science, Decision Sciences, Data Science, Data
    Analysis or related field
  • 2-4 years of relevant experience
  • Experience with R/Python
  • Experience with SQL databases
  • Proficiency in MS Office Word, Access, Excel
  • Knowledge of Microsoft BI and Tableau will be an advantage but not essential
  • Problem solving mindset and being open to working in an agile environment
  • Basic knowledge and understanding of information collection, analysis, distribution
    systems and modern database systems or ability to adapt
  • Problem solving, time management, interpersonal and critical thinking skills
  • Team player and self-starter

Work Location: Mumbai/Delhi

Why Samhita?

  • Make a big difference: Take, own and implement.
  • Leadership: This is the perfect opportunity to go beyond traditional roles and lead
    cutting-edge management and research strategies. The candidate shall work
    alongside the brightest minds, in an environment that fosters growth and creativity
  • Impact: Working with Samhita will provide you with an opportunity to bring about a
    positive change in the lives of millions – doing well by doing well
  • Work Culture: Samhita has a team of young, hard-working, and dynamic individuals
    who strive for excellence while maintaining a humble outlook. Our work has been
    strengthened and supported by international and domestic donor agencies and
    foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Rockefeller
    Foundation, Tata Trusts, GIZ, DFID, the World Bank, International Finance
    Corporation, UNDP and the Power of Nutrition.
  • Learning: Increase your problem-solving capabilities by delving into complex
    challenges.