African Energy Futures (AEF) and the African Climate Foundation (ACF) are recruiting for two positions as they establish a shared Strategic Data & Intelligence Unit.
The new unit will improve how African energy and development data are gathered, governed, analysed, visualised and used.
It will build and maintain an online data visualisation platform, develop evidence-based narratives and provide strategic analytical services to grant-making and regranting organisations.
The new unit will improve how African energy and development data are gathered, governed, analysed, visualised and used.
It will build and maintain an online data visualisation platform, develop evidence-based narratives and provide strategic analytical services to grant-making and regranting organisations.
Job Summary
- Employer: African Energy Futures Initiative / African Climate Foundation
- Job Type: Contract
- Location: Harare, Zimbabwe
- Category: Data Science
- Closing Date: 2026-10-04
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the technical design, development and continuous improvement of the online data platform and visualisation tools.
- Translate user needs into product roadmaps, prototypes, specifications and tested releases.
- Work with Ember to adapt or integrate relevant platform components.
- Design for accessibility, low-bandwidth use, maintainability and multilingual expansion.
- Implement analytics, usage monitoring and user-feedback processes.
- Design scalable data ingestion, transformation, storage, metadata, versioning and publishing pipelines.
- Integrate structured and unstructured data from public, partner and internal sources.
- Implement validation, provenance, reproducibility and access-control standards.
- Maintain technical documentation, source-code repositories, testing processes and backups.
- Identify, prototype and deploy AI applications for data discovery, extraction, classification, cleaning, summarisation, visualisation and research.
- Develop retrieval, search and assisted-analysis tools.
- Evaluate open-source and commercial technology options.
- Establish human-in-the-loop processes to address hallucination, bias, confidentiality, intellectual property and security risks.
- Monitor relevant AI developments and provide practical guidance to ACF and AEF teams.
Requirements
- A degree or equivalent practical experience in computer science, data engineering, information systems, software engineering, computational science or a related field.
- At least 6 years of relevant experience in software, data platforms, data engineering or applied AI.
- Strong proficiency in Python and SQL .
- Experience with APIs, databases and modern web-based data visualisation.
- Practical experience with cloud infrastructure, deployment, version control, testing and secure data workflows.
- Hands-on experience applying large language models or machine-learning tools to organisational use cases.
- Strong English written and verbal communication skills.
How to Apply
To apply, please visit: africanclimatefoundation.bamboohr.com
Frequently Asked Questions
What qualifications and certifications are typically required for an AI & Data Platforms Lead role in Zimbabwe?
Most employers require a Master's degree in Data Science, Computer Science, or a related quantitative field, plus 5-7 years of experience in data engineering or AI platform management. Certifications in cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, along with Python, SQL, and machine learning frameworks, are highly valued. Local universities such as the University of Zimbabwe and NUST offer relevant programs, though international certifications often carry more weight with international organizations.
What are the typical day-to-day responsibilities of an AI & Data Platforms Lead in Zimbabwe?
Daily tasks include overseeing data pipeline architecture, managing cloud infrastructure, ensuring data security compliance, and leading a small team of data engineers and analysts. You will also collaborate with program teams to design AI solutions for energy and climate projects, troubleshoot technical issues, and report to senior leadership. Given Zimbabwe's connectivity challenges, you may spend significant time optimizing systems for low-bandwidth environments and ensuring data resilience.
How does local work culture in Zimbabwe affect expectations for this senior technical role?
Zimbabwean workplaces, especially in the NGO and international development sectors, emphasize hierarchical respect and relationship-building alongside technical excellence. Punctuality is valued but flexibility is common due to infrastructure challenges like power outages and internet instability. Employers expect you to mentor junior staff and engage with local stakeholders, blending global best practices with contextual understanding of African energy and climate landscapes.
What realistic career progression paths exist for AI & Data Platforms Leads in Zimbabwe?
With strong performance, you can advance to Regional Data Director for Africa, Chief Technology Officer, or transition into climate policy advisory roles leveraging your technical expertise. Many professionals also move into consulting or founding data-driven startups serving the African market. Building a portfolio of successful cross-border projects and publishing research on African energy data significantly accelerates progression.
What typical benefits should I expect or negotiate for this role in Zimbabwe?
International organizations and well-funded NGOs typically offer medical aid covering private healthcare in Harare or South Africa, pension contributions, and generous annual leave of 20-25 days. Housing allowances, relocation support, and professional development budgets are common for senior roles. Always confirm whether benefits are USD-indexed or local currency, as this affects real value given Zimbabwe's economic volatility.
How should I apply and what do Zimbabwean employers in this sector prioritize in candidates?
Apply through LinkedIn, organization websites, and specialized boards like ReliefWeb or DevNetJobs, tailoring your CV to highlight African energy or climate project experience. Employers prioritize demonstrated impact over credentials alone, so quantify achievements in previous roles and include links to GitHub repositories or deployed models. Strong references from previous supervisors in similar development contexts, and willingness to travel regionally, significantly strengthen your application.
