Globaldev careers: The data analyst

CANBERRA — This year, the world’s digital footprint is expected to reach 44 zettabytes of data. With this data comes valuable insights to assist with business, policy, and research. But mining it requires experts who can turn this mass of raw data into insights. The development sector is no different. Data analysts can be used to support program development, monitor effectiveness, and more. In his work for Oxfam Australia, Derek Brown uses his data skills to help the organization understand its donors, its priorities, and how to expand its supporter base. Speaking with Devex, he discussed the path he took to end up in this line of work. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What does a data analyst do, and how do you see the impact of your work? A data analyst uses data to describe what happened, explain why something happened, predict what is likely to happen, and — ideally — prescribe a course of action to alter a predicted outcome. The specific activities of the role typically include the collection, cleaning, transformation, analysis, visualization and communication of data. In the context of my role in Oxfam’s fundraising and resource growth section, I analyze data pertaining to our supporters — that is, Oxfam’s donors and activists. I analyze patterns of behavior in our supporters to inform which opportunities we should be presenting to them to increase their impact — for example, by making a donation, participating in an event and fundraising on our behalf, or taking an action, such as signing a petition. The impact of my work is in better connecting our supporters to opportunities to make their own impact. What is the path that led you to this role? I studied a Bachelor of Business Information Systems at Monash University, which was a degree with a well-balanced mix of technical IT [information technology] subjects, like programming and data warehousing, and business subjects, like marketing and management. I completed one of my two internships at Oxfam, which was when I learned about the incredible work Oxfam does and how well the organization’s values align with my own. I decided I’d like to work at Oxfam again at some point in the future — spoiler alert: I did — but after I completed my degree I landed a fantastic role as a graduate at Deloitte in their data analytics team, honing my data skills and learning everything else to do with the profession, for the next seven years. The stars aligned in late 2018 when this role [at Oxfam] was advertised just at the right time in my career — and I was really lucky to be selected to fill it. “Problem-solving skills are essential to help you ask the right questions of the data and answer them in a way that will influence the outcome of a decision.” --— Derek Brown, supporter insights analyst, Oxfam Australia What is the best — and worst — part of the job? The best part of the job is every day being in awe of how generous our supporters are. There are hundreds of thousands of Australians who believe in our vision of a just and sustainable world without the inequalities that keep people in poverty. I don’t know if it’s the worst part of the job, but the most challenging part is the nature of analytics for marketing and fundraising — for every question you answer with data, you’re presented with three more questions. It’s a challenge to prioritize some questions over others and to know when to stop going down the one rabbit hole. What skill sets have you found to be most valuable, or what skills have you focused on building to progress your career? I’ve found the most valuable skill sets in the development of my career have been communication and problem-solving. Of course, you need the technical skills, but an analysis is only useful if it and its implications can be understood — no matter how accurate, technically challenging, or aesthetically pleasing it is. Problem-solving skills are essential to help you ask the right questions of the data and answer them in a way that will influence the outcome of a decision, which is the ultimate goal of any analytics endeavor. How have you seen your work change as the sector has changed? One shift that I’ve seen is that the best-of-breed tools and technologies are becoming increasingly accessible and affordable to the not-for-profit sector. This is a fantastic development for people with these skills from a corporate background who want to apply them in our sector. It also means that our supporters can expect a great experience when they interact with us, which they may have come to expect from their interactions with other organizations.