Principal Consultant, Data Science, Research & Evidence Practice

About the role

Oxford Policy Management is seeking a Principal Consultant to lead its Data Science team within the Research & Evidence Practice. The role will be based in one of the organisation's global offices and will apply modern data science methods to support policy‑relevant research and evaluation in low‑ and middle‑income countries.

Key responsibilities

• Lead technical delivery and quality assurance of projects that use machine learning, NLP, AI/LLM, big‑data and other advanced analytics.
• Design and implement analytical solutions for non‑traditional data sources such as text, satellite imagery, social‑media streams, geospatial and mobile‑phone data.
• Shape business development proposals and develop analytically rigorous offers for governments, funders and partners.
• Mentor and manage the Data Science team, ensuring methodological rigour and relevance to policy outcomes.
• Collaborate with other quantitative methods teams to integrate data science approaches into impact evaluations and monitoring systems.

Required profile

• Proven experience leading data‑science projects in international development or a related sector.
• Strong understanding of policy processes and the ability to translate analytical findings into actionable recommendations.
• Excellent communication skills for client interaction and team leadership.

Required skills

• Machine learning
• Natural language processing (NLP)
• AI/LLM deployment
• Big data analytics
• Text analytics
• Geospatial analysis
• Satellite imagery analysis
• Social media data analysis
• Mobile phone data analysis