Closing date: 08 Jun 2017
Summary: The Open Algorithms (OPAL) is looking for a Program Director to begin as soon as possible for 12 months including a 1-month trial period.
About the project: The Open Algorithms (OPAL) project is a socio-technological innovation to leverage private sector data for public good purposes by “sending the code to the data” in a privacy preserving, predictable, participatory, scalable and sustainable manner. It has two main objectives: providing a far better picture of human reality to official statisticians, policymakers, planners, businesses, and citizens, while enabling greater inclusion and inputs of all members of societies on the kinds and uses of analyses performed on data about themselves. OPAL, developed by a consortium composed of Data-Pop Alliance, Imperial College London, the MIT Media Lab, Orange and the World Economic Forum, builds on years of work of this group and others, and is a key milestone towards realizing a vision where data is at the heart of societal development around the globe, in support of the UN Sustainable Developments Goals and democracy. OPAL will start with pilots in Senegal and Colombia with funding from the Agence française de développement (AFD) provided to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI). In its initial phase of OPAL’s deployment, requests for pre-determined indicators—e.g. population densities—will be sent via the platform through pre-developed algorithms running on the companies’ data servers, behind their firewalls, in a privacy-preserving manner, and results will be made available via an interface. Local engagement and empowerment will be central to the development of OPAL: needs, feedback and priorities will be collected and identified through local workshops and discussions, and their results feed into the design of future algorithms. These algorithms will be open, therefore subject to public scrutiny and redress. A local advisory committee on ethics and development—CODE in French and Spanish—will provide guidance and oversight to the project, to ensure it abides by key ethical principles. In addition, training will be delivered around the project to foster its use and diffusion as well as capacities and connections more broadly.
About the position:
The OPAL Program Director will oversee the development of OPAL’s first 2 pilots in Senegal and Colombia on a daily basis in close coordination with key local partners and the OPAL core team. The OPAL Program Director will manage the core global OPAL team as well as oversee the local workstreams leading up to the launch of the first versions of the OPAL platform in early 2018 as well as follow-up and further platform updates after the launch.
They will be responsible for promoting the development of the OPAL project particularly around local regulation/privacy environment, capacity building, and algorithm development community; representing the project in selected instances; and leading global coordination of the core OPAL team, key partners, and oversight bodies.
Key functions of the OPAL Program Director will include:
Coordinate global and local partnership structure
Ensure coherent project development and management including regular coordination with the OPAL team and core partners and liaising with the global and local advisory boards
Develop a lead tracking process for partnership management – reaching out to new partners, follow-up for expressions of interest, maintaining and developing key relationships for short and long term project development
Oversee the budgets, contracting and administrative processes jointly with a Program Assistant at ODI dedicated to the OPAL project
Promote visibility of OPAL project and organize events and dissemination strategies around key moments and milestones of the OPAL project development globally and locally including identifying strategic partners for event implementation, designing events and branding with core partners e.g. Telcos and NSOs, and overseeing delivery of such events and strategies
Guide the identification and prioritization of user needs and use case definition and translation into technical, governance and capacity building workstreams in particular
Significant contributions to the impact evaluation and business model development of OPAL
Contribute to the definition and reporting of the tracking of the project and pilot objectives
Support with fundraising efforts
The OPAL Program Director will be hired as an ODI contractor (on behalf of Opal Consortium) for 12 months. The salary range is 55000/65000 euro per year.
They will sign an NDA along with her/his contract regarding aspects of the project that require discretion and confidentiality. The PM will agree to represent the OPAL project only in their capacity as OPAL Program Director and to comply with the reporting conditions laid out in the contract. They will report to the OPAL Executive Committee (EC) Chair. Regular updates will be required in written form as well as through calls and meetings with the EC. Status updates as well as feedback from the EC will be vital for the global project design and development.
About you:
Experienced professional with minimum 5-7 years of work experience focused on management of complex technical projects and large budget involving multiple partners. Proof of successful past experience in a similar position
Advanced academic background in public administration and/or business administration
Interest in development issues and developing countries contexts, including Africa and/or Latin America, preferably having spent time in developing countries
Experience working in the technology industry and managing technical projects, ideally related to the telecom industry
Experience working with government institutions and civil society organizations
Excellent writing, facilitation, anticipation and organizational skills
Maturity, rigor, ability to remain calm under stress and to work and maintain relationships with people and team from different cultural and professional backgrounds; outstanding work ethics and drive
Professional fluency in English; professional working proficiency in French with proficiency in Spanish preferred
Ideally located Europe and willingness to travel internationally to manage the project and to represent the project at international events
How to apply:
Please send your application to nshoup@opalproject.org by 08/06/2017 including:
CV or Resume (max 2 page)
Cover letter with 2 references
Statement of Integrity, Eligibility and Social and Environmental Responsibility – compiled, signed and scanned. Each candidate should compile this is compulsory standard statement as required by the AFD. Download it from here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5841944cf7e0ab4b3cc18ae4/t/5928667c9de4bbe2b52698ec/1495819908314/statement+of+integrity.pdf