Senior Manager, Data Science

About Accion

Accion is a global nonprofit on a mission to create a fair and inclusive economy for the nearly two billion people who are failed by the global financial system. We develop and scale responsible digital financial solutions for small business owners, smallholder farmers, and women, so they can make informed decisions and improve their lives. Through targeted investment strategies, advisory solutions, and expert thought leadership, we work with local partners to develop and scale cheaper, more accessible, and customer-friendly financial solutions. Since 1961, Accion has helped build more than 230 financial service providers serving low-income clients in 75 countries, reaching more than 350 million people. More at https://www.accion.org.

About Accion Advisory

The Accion Advisory team combines decades of on-the-ground experience with insights into new technologies to help our partners become more sustainable and scalable. We work with a variety of organizations focused on serving the financial needs of low-income people and businesses in emerging markets. With a presence in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, our team provides strategic and operational support to strengthen our partners and maximize their impact on underserved customers.

Our team includes Regional Program Managers (RPMs) who drive new business and provide local insights to meet customer needs, and Practice Area Leads who build technical expertise, ensure execution excellence, and capture synergies across practice areas and regions. Practice Area Leads focus on improving engagement efficiency, enhancing execution, and developing reusable tools and resources for Accion Advisorys expertise.

Position Summary

We are looking for a senior manager who has a passion for developing and scaling responsible financial solutions for underserved people globally. If you have experience in developing and disseminating data driven models such as credit scoring models, customer segmentation models, and analytics capabilities using cutting edge ML modelling techniques then you might be a perfect fit for this role.

Your experience should ideally include executing projects on the ground, working with financial institutions/financial product providers to develop, deliver and manage advance machine learning and other statistical models that help them score/segment low income and underserved customers to deliver financial products and services to them.

As a Senior Manager, you will work on projects that aim to design, develop and implement data driven models using innovative approaches and new age techniques. You will help our clients, who are mainly financial service providers that serve underserved, low income and new to credit customers, to design and implement customer-centric financial products and services that address their needs and preferences. Your role would be to support various programs that Advisory is implementing and collaborating with multiple stakeholders such as financial institutions, platforms, program sponsors/donors and internal stakeholders to design and deliver financial solutions.

You will support program managers and other team members in developing Accions strategy to execute and implement delivery of financial products under various programs. To succeed in this role, you should have a strong understanding and working experience to design customer-centric financial products and services by designing and developing models required to implement and manage financial products either directly with Financial Service Providers (FSPs) or consulting organizations that support and work with FSPs or new age fintech companies. You should also have strong analytical skills and business acumen, as well as excellent communication and interpersonal skills. You should be willing to travel within and outside the Asian region as required by the project.

Fluency in English is a must.

Position Responsibilities

Advisory Project Support to FSPs, platforms, program sponsors/donors and any other internal stakeholders:

• Lead the development and control of statistical transactional analytic models, integrating applicable Machine learning relevant AI techniques.
• Coordinating with the Data Analysts for all the data requirements for ML algorithm deployment, statistical analysis, and tool development.
• Managing, developing, and implementing statistical models to support credit, collection, account maintenance, recovery processes, customer profiling and segmentation for product related marketing and uptake etc.

• Validating, through statistical tools, the consistency of the information required for constructing the statistical and expert models required.
• Guiding to continuously validate the prediction capabilities of the statistical models developed and implemented.
• Coordinate the preparation and documentation of the specific ML developments and follow up on related results.
• Developing and presenting training material to facilitate the implementation of the risk-based segmentation tools and other models developed.
• Contributing to the development of monitoring and maintenance tools for the risk-based segmentation tools implemented
• Building capacity and assisting FSPs in implementing Accions Portfolio Risk Management tools, which are designed to help in:
• Monitoring and evaluating performance indicators of the loan portfolio and identifying trends for business growth, product acceptance, product cycle stage, and risk levels
• Ensuring that overall business plan objectives are met and advising management on performance through timely reporting
• Producing portfolio quality analysis reports (Net flow/trend analysis, vintage analysis, early payment defaults, and was/is analysis)
• Evaluating the credit process flow to identify opportunities for improvement and recommendations for corrective strategies and tools
• Participate in conducting ongoing reviews and analyses of credit portfolios to determine delinquency patterns and recommend appropriate actions
• Collaborating in the development of policy and process guidelines for new products or commercial initiatives

Other Support

• Supporting business development by creating and presenting project proposals, effectively communicating the value of Advisorys modeling and analytics services, and integrating them into partner solutions. Contributing to strategy and operations by identifying trends, growth opportunities, and market positioning in risk, modeling, and data-driven solutions. Enhancing Accions capacity through knowledge sharing, documenting project results, and disseminating insights via workshops, webinars, blogs, and team debriefs.

Position Qualifications

• 8+ years of progressive experience in lending or retail operations in reputed FSP, consulting organization, or fintech
• Education:
• Minimum of MSc/MA in Economics, Finance, Mathematics, Statistics, or Business.
• MBA or equivalent with a background in or inclination toward infotech, financial services, or social sector is preferred.
• Knowledge of Web programming languages like Python and Java.
• Knowledge of Microsoft SQL Server or MySQL or PostgreSQL
• Knowledge in DevOps tools like Git, Jenkins, Docker is ideal

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Get Hired
• Advanced statistical and financial skills, Credit Risk Modeling/Analysis, Data Mining, Financial knowledge; background in financial analysis with statistics or programming is preferred.
• Hands-on experience working in the design, build and implementation of financial solutions/services. Strong experience in score-building and statistical analysis
• Innovative mindset for designing and developing business models; experience in digital lending preferred.
• Strong relationship-building, customer service orientation, and ability to inspire and motivate.
• Proven project leadership and coordination skills from conception to delivery.
• Influential leadership with the ability to impact organizational decision-making.
• Skilled in creating and sharing clear, engaging project documentation and presentations.
• Expertise in structuring complex problems and applying analytical tools for solutions.
• Curious, entrepreneurial mindset with a focus on fintech and financial inclusion.
• Excellent interpersonal skills; experience in multicultural environments preferred.
• Multitasking ability, positive attitude, and a no job is too small approach.
• Team-oriented, adaptable to semi/unstructured environments.
• Passion for global work and alignment with our mission.

Commitment to organizational values:

• Excellence: Delivering high-quality work with honesty and integrity.
• Respect: Valuing diverse perspectives, honoring commitments, and fostering encouragement.
• Passion for Social Change: Prioritizing collective impact, valuing the greater good, and celebrating team achievements.

Travel Requirements

• Travel up to 30% domestically and occasional international trips

Accion is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. Accion seeks qualified applicants without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, creed, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability, medical condition, military and veteran status, gender identity or expression, genetic information, change of sex or transgender status, or any other basis protected by law. Accion is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities.