Lead Data Scientist

**Role Purpose**

Shoprite, Africa's largest retailer, is on a mission to revolutionize the retail landscape through its digital innovation unit, ShopriteX. Our Data Ecosystems Team is leveraging an ecosystem of partners focused on harnessing the power of data to unlock new possibilities for financial inclusion and improved healthcare.

As the **Lead Data Scientist** within our Data Ecosystems team, you'll play a pivotal role in this exciting journey. You'll be a data visionary, leading a talented team to identify and execute strategic data initiatives that unlock valuable insights from our vast data assets, combined with those from our partners.

**Role Description**
- **Contribute towards the development of ShopriteX's data strategy to deliver best-in-class analytics and data science.**:

- Work with business stakeholders **including senior leaders**, data and software teams to identify business requirements and model and frame business scenarios that **deliver impact on business-wide processes and/or decisions.**:

- Work closely with data and software teams to shape and enable deployment of fit-for-purpose, robust solutions that will scale **across the company's ecosystem**.
- Develop, plan and prioritise data projects and delegate assigned roles and responsibilities for execution, **weighing business and technical trade-offs as required.**:

- ** Lead** the development of analytics-focused products, using machine learning, natural language processing, and mathematical / statistical techniques to develop powerful sciences that delivers business value and impact.
- Work with the data scientist team to **define models** to be created and implemented together with the approach for implementing them and monitor for accuracy, integrity and robustness.
- Support in **defining data quality expectations** and provide **ongoing tracking and monitoring** of performance of data systems and models.
- Perform sophisticated data preparation in order to reduce and shape data.
- Identify and manage data development challenges, offer suggestions, and deploy appropriate solutions.
- Communicate and present analytical findings, results and reports to **senior stakeholders**, using data visualisation techniques to tell compelling stories, while **tying progress to enterprise goals**.
- Evaluate new and emerging technologies from which to develop prototypes and proof of concepts.
- Act as a **domain expert**, sharing best practices and knowledge with data scientists, analysts and cross-functional partners.
- ** Provide support to data scientists on complex problems, integration of findings or presentation of results, requiring high-level expertise.**:

- ** Act in a technical leadership capacity, coaching and mentoring data scientists and new team members and supporting their growth and professional development.**:

- Stay updated on the latest research and developments in Data Science and adjacent fields to ensure the latest technology, techniques and methods are always applied.

**Qualifications and experience**
- Bachelor's Degree in Data Science, Computer Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Information Technology, Information Systems or a related field - (essential).
- Post Graduate Degree in the above or related fields - (desired).
- ** Expertise** in SQL, Python and data science toolkits - (essential).
- **Demonstrated experience in consistently leading and developing others whilst taking ownership for project outcomes** - (essential).
- Experience delivering project outcomes using design thinking, lean and agile principles - (essential).
- Strong proficiency in MS Office 365 with advanced Excel skills - (essential).
- Experience in a retail environment - (highly desired).

**Key competencies and work ethic**
- A **data expert **with core technical or people leadership skills. Solves **highly complex** data problems to answer business questions using their expertise in scientific disciplines.** Knows how to go deep to the very core of a problem and transform its essence into data that can be leveraged and scaled.**:

- ** Critical thinker with strong quantitative skills **- Able to collect, organise and assimilate disparate, multiple **and complex** pieces of data to draw sound conclusions and arrive at optimal solutions. Demonstrates an understanding of how one issue may be a part of a much larger **system.**:

- High level of **self-motivation** and **drive** to meet and exceed on goals and expectations and **engage and energise others to deliver on expectations**. **Comfortable taking decisions and dealing with a range of problem-solving challenges independently**.
- **Leadership skills** - Natural leader with the ability to easily establish trust-based relationships. Coaches and mentors others to deliver end-to-end business solutions in a collaborative and professional manner.
- ** Detailed, organised **and** quality focused -** Has an affinity for detail, structure and efficiency, balancing planning and execution.