Data Curation Specialist

Description

Data Curation Specialist

Location: Arlington, VA

Type: Full Time Min. Experience: Mid Level

DevTech Systems, Inc. (DevTech) is an international consulting firm dedicated to development, with 35 years of experience providing advisory services and technical assistance to government, private sector, and civil society stakeholders in more than 100 countries. DevTech core practice areas include: Economic and Data Analysis, Monitoring and Evaluation, Education and Youth Development, Gender and Inclusive Development, and Public Financial Management. The Data Curation Specialist will work on the Development Data Library of the new USAID Analytics, Data, Visualization, and Information Services (ADVISE) project. ADVISE, a five year project, is a follow-on to the USAID Economic Analysis and Data Services (EADS) project. ADVISE’s main purpose is to improve the usage of USAID data and information, so that the Agency continues to ensure its development outcomes are supported by evidence.

Overview:

The Data Curation Specialist manages the process of cleaning, documenting, archiving, and releasing datasets from the point of submission to their publication on the USAID Data Development Library platform. The Data Curation Specialist reports to the Senior Curator.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

●     Evaluate data submissions for potential value, utility and quality and to make determinations about their suitability for acquisition and curation;

●     Check data for completeness and correctness, flagging any direct or indirect identifiers to respondents and working with the data submitter to resolve issues;

●     Create an archival version of the dataset for preservation;

●     Develop dissemination versions of datasets for various audiences including USAID staff, partner organizations, and the general public;

●     Track datasets through the privacy and security review process, coordinating with project statisticians who perform a security assessment on datasets;

●     Maintain project database, recording curation actions taken with each dataset;

●     Assess metadata quality; coordinating metadata enhancement; and performing remediation to facilitate better discovery;

●     Manage permissions for those who seek to make a submission to the data repository;

●     Manage, maintain, and track provenance of digital objects and associated documentation in long-term preservation environments;

●     Assist in the development and implementation of best practices, procedures, workflows, and tools for the repository.

Qualifications

●     Education: Master’s Degree in Library or Information Science (preferred), International Development, or related field.

●     Experience: At least two years of related experience in data science, digital repository management, or related subject.

●     Knowledge: Knowledge of and interest in data curation, international development, and related fields.

●     Skills: Strong interest in database management and understanding of relational database principles, high level of data literacy, and solid grounding in the principles of data validity and integrity; knowledge of statistical software such as SAS, Stata and R preferred; excellent interpersonal and communication skills, especially with communicating technical issues to non-technical audiences; capability to work independently and collaboratively.

The applicant must be a U.S. citizen to qualify for the required U.S. government security clearance for this project. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, protected veteran status or other status protected by applicable law.

NOTE: This position description should not be construed to imply that the requirements are the exclusive standards of the position nor will it be the sole basis for any subsequent employee evaluations. Incumbents will follow any other instructions and perform any other related duties as may be required by their supervisor.