Data Analyst Intern

Job Description

The International Water Management Institute (IWMI), a CGIAR Research Center, is seeking application from enthusiastic individual who is interested in contributing to the activities of the project Digital Innovations for Water Secure Africa (DIWASA), under IWMI’s internship program. The internship will be based in South Africa.

Scope of internship

The DIWASA project aims to enhance the integration of data sources into LIMCOM’s Digital Twin and the Limpopo Management Information System (LIMIS), ensuring accessibility to key datasets required for transboundary water management. The selected intern will work closely with IWMI’s Digital Twin team and the LIMIS team, supporting the incorporation of data produced by the GEF project into LIMIS. This will facilitate structured data access and interoperability, fostering improved decision-making and knowledge-sharing across the four countries within the Limpopo River Basin.

The intern will have the opportunity to work with a group of experts who have more than 10 years of experience in the field of earth observation. The selected candidate will also collaborate with key stakeholders of the DIWASA project, including ministries, universities and research centers. The intern will become a member of the water accounting platform that brings together thousands of experts who apply earth observation to solve water challenges in Africa.

During this internship, the intern will assist in the following areas:

• Collecting and compiling data from various sources, including satellite imagery, remote sensors, field surveys and government databases.
• Supporting data cleaning and preprocessing activities to ensure data accuracy, consistency and completeness for analysis.
• Integrating disparate datasets to create comprehensive datasets for analysis and modelling.
• Maintaining and Managing databases, including designing schemas, optimizing queries and ensuring data security and privacy compliance.
• Contributing to the development and maintenance of Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) pipelines to automate data workflows and processes.
• Collaborating with researchers to visualize data and communicate insights using tools such as Python.
• Documenting data engineering processes, methodologies and best practices.
• Working closely with interdisciplinary teams of researchers, scientists and analysts to understand their data needs and provide support as necessary.
• Supporting the report writing, identifying data gaps and providing recommendations for reliable data sources to be integrated into the Digital Twin.
• Drafting a list of FAIR data sources from LIMIS.
• Attending the training sessions and becoming familiar with the Water Copilot chatbot.

Requirements

• Undergraduates or recent graduates with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Computer Science, Engineering, Environmental Science or a related field.
• Strong programming skills in languages such as Python, R or Java.
• Familiarity with databases and SQL.
• Experience with data manipulation and analysis libraries such as Pandas, NumPy or dplyr.
• Knowledge of data visualization tools and techniques.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
• Passion for environmental sustainability and interest in water-related issues.
• Understanding of hydrological data and its applications in water management.
• Background in remote sensing, including experience with Google Earth Engine, Digital Earth Africa and Microsoft Earth is an added advantage.

Benefits

IWMI will provide a monthly stipend to the selected candidate during the internship period.

The research intern will be reporting to the IWMI office in South Africa. The duration of the internship will be 6 months, with the possibility of extension for another 6 months based on performance, requirements of IWMI and the availability of funds. This is a nationally recruited internship and only citizens of South Africa are eligible to apply.

To apply, visit www.iwmi.org/jobs. Applications must be submitted by 12:00 (SAST) on April 21, 2025 (Monday).

About the Organization

The International Water Management Institute is a nonprofit scientific research organization focusing on the sustainable use of water and land resources in agriculture and on the water needs of developing countries. IWMI works with partners in the South to develop tools and methods to help these countries eradicate poverty through more effective management of their water and land resources. Mission: Improving water and land resources management for food livelihoods and nature. The objectives of IWMI's work: - Identify the larger issues related to water management and food security that need to be understood and addressed by governments and policymakers. - Develop, test and promote management practices and tools that can be used by governments and institutions to manage water and land resources more effectively, and address water scarcity issues. - Clarify the link between poverty and access to water and to help governments and the research community better understand the specific water-related problems of poor people. - Help developing countries build their research capacities to deal with water scarcity and related food security issues.