Consultant (Junior Data Scientist)

World Fish

World Fish

Data Science
Malaysia
Posted on Nov 11, 2025

Background

WorldFish implements a diverse and growing portfolio of projects across small-scale fisheries, aquaculture systems, digital transformation, and food systems research. A high volume of reports, scientific articles, training materials, and technical documentation is generated by multidisciplinary teams, often requiring final content review to ensure scientific clarity, accuracy, and alignment with programmatic priorities.

The consultant will develop and implement data-driven solutions for coastal fisheries monitoring and research, working closely with international teams. This role is fully remote, with flexible hours, and deliverables will be agreed upon with the project manager.

Scope of Work

The Consultant will support the Asia–Africa BlueTech Superhighway (AABS) Project in advancing data-driven fisheries monitoring, analytics, and visualization systems. The consultant will contribute to the development and automation of data pipelines, applications, and dashboards that enable evidence-based decision-making across coastal fisheries in Africa and Asia.

The specific scope of work will include:

  • Functional and documented data processing pipelines and APIs for fisheries and environmental datasets.
  • At least two operational dashboards or applications demonstrating fisheries data visualization and analysis.
  • Automated reporting templates for recurring analytics outputs.
  • Documentation and capacity-building materials to support adoption by partners and users.
  • Stay current with emerging tools, frameworks, and methods in environmental informatics, open data, and applied AI for fisheries.
  • Recommend improvements to existing workflows and contribute to the scalability and interoperability of the Peskas and AABS digital systems.
  • Work closely with international research and data teams at WorldFish and national partners in Kenya, Zanzibar, and Mozambique to integrate and harmonize data from multiple sources.
  • ·Contribute to documentation, training materials, and collaborative repositories that strengthen local capacity in digital data management.
  • Engage in regular sprint reviews and code-sharing activities using GitHub, promoting best practices in version control and team collaboration.
  • Develop analytical scripts and tools to generate automated insights for fisheries management and research.
  • uild interactive dashboards and applications (e.g., Shiny, React, or Next.js) to support visualization and dissemination of fisheries data.
  • Automate reporting workflows (e.g., using Quarto or R Markdown) to generate reproducible, policy-ready outputs.
  • Develop and maintain reproducible data workflows for fisheries, vessel tracking, and environmental datasets using R or Python.
  • Design and implement APIs and data integration pipelines to connect field data, cloud databases, and visualization platforms.
  • Manage databases (e.g., MongoDB, Airtable, SQL/NoSQL) and ensure data integrity, security, and accessibility within the Peskas ecosystem and AABS data infrastructure.

Skills, Experience and Knowledge

  • Proven experience as a data scientist, data engineer, or research software engineer, ideally in an applied or research context. Strong proficiency in R or Python for data analysis and workflow automation.
  • Solid understanding of GitHub workflows and collaborative coding practices (branching, pull requests, reviews, secure secrets management).
  • Experience with databases (MongoDB, SQL/NoSQL), data integration platforms (e.g., Airtable), and cloud storage/infrastructure (Google Cloud or similar).
  • Familiarity with application and dashboard development (Shiny, React, Next.js, Tabler UI, Mapbox). Experience with automated report generation (Quarto, R Markdown, or similar).

Consultancy Duration

The consultancy is expected to run until March 2026 and may only be extended based on funding availability.

Evaluation and Selection

Applications will be evaluated based on the qualifications and experience of the consultant, the quality and feasibility of the proposed approach and work plan, the relevance of previous work examples and the most competitive proposal. Shortlisted candidates may be invited for an interview or request additional information before final selection. This opportunity is open for all applicants.

How to Apply

Interested consultant are invited to submit the following materials for consideration no later than 23:59 (MYT) 17 November 2025:

  • A brief cover letter outlining relevant experience related to this consultancy requirement.
  • A CV highlighting similar past assignments.
  • A financial proposal indicating the total cost for the task.

We will begin reviewing applications as soon as they are submitted and may made an offer before the submission deadline.

Our Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Commitment

Over 40% of WorldFish staff is women with some 30 nationalities represented and contributing to its dynamic multicultural work environment. WorldFish is committed to promoting a work environment where diversity and inclusion are valued and we seek to have gender balance in the organization. We aim to also seek balance across other diversity dimensions.

People in WorldFish are treated equally irrespective of gender, ethnicity/race, national or social origin, disability, religion, political affiliation, age, family size, marital status or any other form of personal identity.

We are an equal opportunities employer and strongly encourage qualified women and men from developing nations to apply.