313 Academic Research jobs in Nairobi
Research and Data Specialist
Posted today
Job Viewed
Job Description
About CHANCEN International
Chancen International is a non-profit financial institution providing ethical, fair, and responsible financing to help young Africans access quality tertiary education. Using an innovative Income Share Agreement (ISA) model, we cover students' tuition fees, allowing them to study without financial barriers. Graduates repay a portion of their income once employed, creating a sustainable funding cycle that supports future generations. By empowering young people with education, we enable their transition to meaningful employment, fostering economic mobility and strengthening communities.
Headquartered in Kigali, Rwanda, and operating in Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, Chancen International has helped over 5,000 young people access education leading to dignified work. Our focus on marginalized populations ensures these youth gain the skills needed to thrive and contribute to building strong economies and peaceful nations.
We are committed to creating an inclusive and positive working environment where each individual can flourish and achieve their full potential. Our actions are guided by our company values: Authenticity, Curiosity, Courage, Stewardship and Fairness.
**Job Summary
The Research & Data Specialist will play a key role in strengthening Chancen's ISA underwriting and portfolio analytics by ensuring high-quality data input, interpreting macroeconomic and market trends, and integrating external datasets. This role sits within the Financial Planning and Analysis team and supports pricing, risk analysis, and portfolio optimization efforts. The Specialist will work closely with the Tech, Finance, and Impact teams to improve how Chancen collects, organizes, and analyzes data across countries and portfolios.
Key Responsibilities**
1. Data Input & Quality Assurance
- Maintain standardized input templates (ISA, PEI, employment); enforce schema, validation, and audit trails.
- Run QA checks (completeness, outliers, duplicates, cohort consistency); reconcile discrepancies with data owners.
Publish data quality reports and escalate recurring issues with corrective actions.
Underwriting Support
Ingest and harmonize PEI datasets (enrolment, completion, placement, salary distributions/percentiles).
- Compute placement rate, time-to-placement, salary progression curves by program/PEI/country.
Produce quarterly PEI scorecards to inform pricing guardrails (share %, thresholds, caps) and affordability checks.
Market & Macro Trend Analysis
Track inflation, minimum wage, unemployment, sector demand, and youth income trends; maintain a macro indicator pack per country.
Write concise insight briefs (one-pager) highlighting risk/opportunity and recommended parameter changes.
Country Partnerships & Data Procurement
Build strong working relationships with Country Managers, PEIs, ministries/labour bureaus, and relevant agencies across different countries.
- Map, source, and procure priority datasets (employment, wage, placement, census/sector data, PEI admin data); maintain a live source register with refresh cadences and owners.
- Lead data-sharing requests and negotiate MoUs/DSAs with support from Legal/Compliance; ensure licensing terms, usage rights, and privacy are respected.
- Set SLAs for delivery, quality, and format with country partners; monitor adherence and escalate risks early.
Track procurement budget and cost per dataset; propose cost-effective alternatives when needed.
Data Systems & Integration
Align datasets to the data warehouse schema; define data contracts and SLAs with Tech.
- Co-build/maintain dashboards for portfolio health, outcomes, and underwriting inputs (BI tools).
- Version control for data artifacts, queries, and calculations; maintain data dictionary.
Requirements
Educational Qualifications
Minimum Bachelor's Degree in project management, analytics, Economics, Statistics, Applied Economics
Technical Skills, Competencies, and Experience
- Bachelor's in Economics, Data Science, Statistics, Finance, or related field.
- 3–5 years in research/data analysis/credit modelling or adjacent roles.
- Proven experience cleaning, joining, and analysing education/employment datasets and building BI dashboards.
- Familiarity with income-based repayment/loan portfolios/credit scoring is advantageous.
- Experience across African markets preferred; strong written and verbal communication.
- Experience collaborating with country teams and external data owners (government, PEIs, research firms).
- Working knowledge of data licensing, privacy, and DPAs (GDPR/local equivalents) is a plus.
Senior Research Scientist - Materials Science
Posted 5 days ago
Job Viewed
Job Description
Responsibilities:
- Lead independent research projects in materials science.
- Design, conduct, and analyze experiments related to material synthesis and characterization.
- Develop novel materials with tailored properties for specific applications.
- Publish research findings in high-impact peer-reviewed journals.
- Present research at national and international conferences.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate research into potential products.
- Mentor junior researchers and provide scientific guidance.
- Stay current with the latest advancements and trends in materials science.
- Contribute to the development of intellectual property and patent applications.
- Ph.D. in Materials Science, Chemistry, Physics, or a related field.
- 7+ years of post-doctoral or industry research experience in materials science.
- Demonstrated expertise in at least one area of materials science (e.g., polymers, ceramics, metals, nanomaterials).
- Proficiency in various materials characterization techniques.
- Strong publication record and presentation experience.
- Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills.
- Effective communication and collaboration abilities.
- Proven ability to conduct independent research and manage projects remotely.
Principal Research Scientist, Biomedical Engineering
Posted 4 days ago
Job Viewed
Job Description
Senior Pharmaceutical Research Scientist (Biochemistry)
Posted 19 days ago
Job Viewed
Job Description
Responsibilities:
- Design and conduct in vitro biochemical and cellular assays to evaluate drug candidates.
- Investigate the mechanism of action of novel therapeutic compounds.
- Identify and validate new drug targets using a range of biochemical and molecular biology techniques.
- Develop and optimize bioanalytical methods for quantifying drug and target engagement.
- Analyze and interpret complex experimental data, presenting findings and recommendations.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, and DMPK.
- Contribute to the preparation of regulatory documents and scientific publications.
- Manage multiple research projects simultaneously, ensuring timely progress and high-quality results.
- Stay current with scientific literature and emerging technologies in drug discovery and biochemistry.
- Mentor junior scientists and contribute to a collaborative research environment.
Qualifications:
- PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Pharmacology, or a closely related field.
- Minimum of 7 years of post-doctoral research experience in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry.
- Extensive experience in assay development, enzyme kinetics, protein purification, and characterization.
- Strong understanding of molecular biology techniques, cell-based assays, and signaling pathways.
- Proven track record of successful drug discovery contributions, evidenced by publications or patents.
- Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills with a meticulous attention to detail.
- Superb written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a globally distributed, remote team.
- Experience with biostatistics and data analysis software.
- Demonstrated ability to think creatively and innovatively.
Remote Lead Scientist - Biomedical Research
Posted 14 days ago
Job Viewed
Job Description
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead and mentor a team of postdoctoral fellows, research assistants, and technicians in a remote setting.
- Design, develop, and implement cutting-edge research projects in areas such as oncology, infectious diseases, or neurobiology.
- Oversee experimental design, data collection, and rigorous data analysis.
- Secure research funding through competitive grant applications and collaborations.
- Publish research findings in high-impact, peer-reviewed scientific journals.
- Present research outcomes at international scientific conferences and internal meetings.
- Collaborate with internal and external collaborators, including industry partners, to advance research objectives.
- Ensure compliance with all laboratory safety protocols, ethical guidelines, and regulatory requirements.
- Manage research budgets, equipment, and resources effectively.
- Stay abreast of the latest scientific advancements and methodologies in the relevant field.
Research Scientist - Bioinformatics
Posted 19 days ago
Job Viewed
Job Description
Key Responsibilities:
- Analyze diverse biological datasets, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics data.
- Develop, implement, and validate bioinformatics pipelines and algorithms for data analysis.
- Utilize statistical methods and machine learning techniques to identify patterns and derive biological insights.
- Collaborate closely with experimental scientists to design studies, interpret results, and contribute to manuscript preparation.
- Contribute to the development of new research hypotheses and experimental strategies.
- Manage and organize large biological datasets, ensuring data integrity and reproducibility.
- Develop custom scripts and software tools to support research needs.
- Stay current with the latest advancements in bioinformatics, computational biology, and relevant biological fields.
- Present research findings at scientific meetings and contribute to publications in peer-reviewed journals.
- Participate in grant writing efforts to secure funding for research projects.
- Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, Computer Science, Statistics, or a related quantitative field.
- Minimum of 4-6 years of relevant research experience in bioinformatics or computational biology.
- Proficiency in programming languages such as Python and R, with experience in relevant libraries (e.g., Biopython, NumPy, SciPy, ggplot2).
- Experience with next-generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis.
- Solid understanding of statistical methods and machine learning algorithms.
- Familiarity with Unix/Linux operating systems and command-line tools.
- Experience with database management and query languages (e.g., SQL).
- Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex technical concepts to diverse audiences.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a remote team environment.
Lead Research Scientist
Posted 19 days ago
Job Viewed
Job Description
The ideal candidate will possess a Ph.D. in a relevant scientific discipline (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science) with a proven track record of independent research and publication. Extensive experience in experimental design, data analysis, and scientific writing is paramount. Strong leadership and project management skills are essential for guiding research teams and ensuring project success. You will be expected to stay abreast of the latest scientific advancements in your field and identify opportunities for novel research.
This is a remote-first opportunity, demanding exceptional communication, collaboration, and self-management skills. You must be able to work effectively within a virtual team environment. Responsibilities will also include developing and validating new research techniques, presenting findings at scientific conferences, and contributing to the intellectual property portfolio of the company. A minimum of 8 years of post-doctoral research experience is required. Familiarity with relevant laboratory techniques, advanced statistical analysis, and computational modeling is highly advantageous. If you are a visionary scientist with a passion for pushing the boundaries of knowledge, we invite you to apply and lead transformative research efforts for our client.
Be The First To Know
About the latest Academic research Jobs in Nairobi !
Principal Research Scientist - Genomics
Posted 13 days ago
Job Viewed
Job Description
Responsibilities:
- Design, direct, and execute novel research projects in genomics and related fields.
- Develop and optimize advanced genomic analysis pipelines and methodologies.
- Analyze and interpret large-scale genomic datasets (e.g., whole-genome sequencing, RNA-Seq, epigenomics) using bioinformatics tools and statistical modeling.
- Collaborate with interdisciplinary teams of scientists, bioinformaticians, and statisticians to advance research objectives.
- Prepare and present research findings at international conferences and publish in peer-reviewed journals.
- Secure external funding through grant writing and proposal development.
- Mentor and supervise junior scientists and research staff.
- Contribute to the strategic direction of the research division and identify new areas of scientific inquiry.
- Maintain meticulous laboratory notebooks and research records in a digital format.
- Stay abreast of the latest advancements in genomics, bioinformatics, and related scientific disciplines.
- Participate in virtual journal clubs, seminars, and collaborative working groups.
- Ph.D. in Genetics, Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics, or a closely related field.
- Minimum of 10 years of post-doctoral research experience in genomics.
- Demonstrated track record of leading independent research projects and securing funding.
- Extensive experience with various next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and platforms.
- Proficiency in programming languages relevant to bioinformatics (e.g., Python, R, Perl) and statistical analysis.
- Expertise in using bioinformatics tools and databases for genomic data analysis.
- Strong publication record in high-impact, peer-reviewed journals.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills for remote collaboration and scientific dissemination.
- Proven ability to mentor and lead research teams effectively.
- Experience with computational biology and machine learning applied to biological data is highly advantageous.
- Ability to work autonomously and manage multiple research projects concurrently in a remote setting.
Lead Research Scientist - Bioinformatics
Posted 18 days ago
Job Viewed
Job Description
Responsibilities:
- Lead and conduct advanced bioinformatics research projects.
- Develop and apply computational methods for biological data analysis.
- Manage and analyze large genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic datasets.
- Collaborate with biologists and other researchers to interpret findings.
- Mentor junior scientists and contribute to team development.
- Author research papers and present findings at conferences.
- Contribute to grant writing and funding applications.
- Ph.D. in Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, or a related field.
- Proven experience in leading research projects.
- Expertise in programming (Python, R) and statistical analysis.
- Strong knowledge of machine learning and data mining techniques.
- Experience with high-throughput sequencing data analysis.
- Excellent scientific writing and presentation skills.
- Demonstrated ability to work independently and collaboratively in a remote setting.
Lead Research Scientist - Biomaterials
Posted 5 days ago
Job Viewed