Posted to IASSIST on: 2017-05-24
Employer: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Employer URL: http://www.healthdata.org/
Description
IHME has an outstanding opportunity for a Data Services Specialist on the Geospatial Analysis team. The Data Services Specialist will be responsible for meeting the data seeking, sourcing, and management needs of research teams within the Geospatial portfolio at IHME. The Data Services Specialist will work closely with a dynamic team of researchers and staff at all levels to understand the unique analytical goals and processes of a given research team in order to best identify, describe, and organize data relevant to its specific needs. This position will be an important liaison between researchers and Data Indexers, providing contextual and subject knowledge to guide the seeking and description of datasets. This position will also be integral to coordination of and engagement in data seeking efforts to support needs across the Geospatial research teams. A successful Data Services Specialist will have enough knowledge of both the research and data management practices to identify and suggest improvements to tools, processes, and workflows.
The Data Services Specialist will be a member of a complex organizational structure that involves multiple individuals on different teams (research teams, IT, Data, Global Engagement), each with a variety of responsibilities and highly specific subject knowledge. This environment requires that the Data Services Specialist be able to effectively communicate with a diverse group of people. This position also requires creativity, flexibility, and tenacity to acquire the information and resources necessary to successfully complete tasks. In addition, the Data Services Specialist will be an advocate for proper data management and must feel comfortable providing advice and enforcing established practices.
Responsibilities include:
- Carry out data seeking, identification, and documentation projects specific to internal research teams in a timely manner and produce high-quality results.
- Work directly with a team of researchers and staff at all levels to identify and manage health data sources appropriate to the needs of the research team. Includes interacting in a collaborative manner with other staff and team members to accomplish organizational goals and exemplifying and promoting proper data management.
- Be an expert on the data IHME has access to and on international data resources; be articulate when conversing with researchers looking for this information.
- Conduct research for proper metadata for datasets, including publishers, authors, and contributing and funding organizations.
- Catalog data accurately and completely in an online content management system.
- Become familiar with the analytical goals and processes of the Geospatial research teams to understand the dimensions and uses of health data by IHME researchers.
- Communicate effectively to senior management and faculty when issues arise with data projects.
Minimum qualifications:
- Master’s degree in library science and two years’ related experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience
- Demonstrated organizational skills, self-motivation, and flexibility
- Demonstrated expertise in the domain of health and demographic data sources
- Experience working directly with researchers to meet various data management needs in an academic research environment
- Experience working with relational databases and schema
- Comfort with looking at data files in order to evaluate and describe the contents
- Previous indexing or cataloging experience
- Interest in global health and global health research
- Ability to work in a highly structured role that calls for precision and meticulous attention to detail while operating in a fast-paced, energetic, entrepreneurial environment
- Strong sense of focus and attention to detail
- Familiarity with Drupal or other online content management system
- Online research skills
- Familiarity with statistical vocabulary
Desired:
- Familiarity/comfort with assessing materials in languages other than English
Archived on: 2017-05-25