Data Scientist Job at TNS in Cape Town

TNS advises clients on specific growth strategies around new market entry, innovation, brand switching and stakeholder management, based on long-established expertise and market-leading solutions. With a presence in over 80 countries, TNS has more conversations with the world's consumers than anyone else and understands individual human behaviours and attitudes across every cultural, economic and political region of the world.

The Global Brand Equity Centre (GBEC) is a centre of excellence for brand and communications research across TNS. As thought leaders in brand and communications research, the GBEC think-tank is responsible for the innovation, development and commercialization of TNS’ brand and communications offer. Part of the company’s role is to build expertise throughout TNS, and providing training and support globally. As the custodians of brand and communications business solutions, the GBEC is heavily involved in the commercialization of the product offer and regularly assists in pitching for well-known global brands. They are actively involved in thought leadership and research-into-research, and are champions of best-practice research.

Working at the GBEC, you will be uniquely positioned to get involved in many diverse workstreams, to have input into big global projects for some of the worlds’ most famous brands, to work with people across different countries and sectors, and to be on the cutting edge of new research developments.

Purpose of the role:
   

This person will be involved in a large variety of advanced data initiatives. These would include applications in big data usage, social media scraping and modelling, time series analysis, text mining, data integration and machine learning. In essence, this person will help us to broaden our horizons from basic data usage to a much more advanced and open approach to data.

Role deliverables:
   

    Data Manipulation and preparation
    Statistical analysis and management of data: Statistical analysis of project data for enhanced understanding of the data

Scope of the role:
   

    Interpretation of briefs and liaison with R&D/execs/DP
    Application of the relevant statistical routines to data using the appropriate software
    Interpretation and analysis of results
    Manipulation of data into the format required for further work
    Usage of software packages and syntax as required to perform this task
    Attends and participates in all internal R&D sessions
    Works collaboratively with R&D to complete initiatives
    Continues to read relevant journals and publications
    Produces material for publication in journals and/or presentation at conferences/seminars
    Keeps abreast of developments within the industry and academic institutions
    Proactively adds to skills set
    Recommends new techniques/software for use within the company
    Evaluates potential new software
    Aids in the fielding of support queries from international partners and colleagues



Knowledge and skills required:
   

Qualification

     Minimum: Bachelors degree (BSc most likely) with Mathematics (and Statistics advantageous)

Technical skills:

    Data analysis, including:
        Familiarity with defining data models
        Familiarity with manipulating databases (SQL and NoSQL e.g. MongoDB, Cassandra, etc.)
        Familiarity with R, Python or similar open source software
        Familiarity with practicalities of processing large datasets e.g. processing in memory vs. locally, processing in clusters (e.g. Hadoop), processing on the cloud, etc.
        Programming skills, including:
            Interacting with third party APIs e.g. Twitter, Facebook
            Implementation of Java applications and libraries
            Creation of database-driven web applications
            Understanding of infrastructure, including:
                Setup and maintenance of databases
                Setup and maintenance of web servers
                Setup and maintenance of web apps
                Familiarity with scaling data storage and processing e.g. via cloud services like Amazon Web Services
                Data visualization skills would be an advantage

 Conceptual skills:

    Constant curiosity and a thirst for knowledge
    Ability to conceptualise data models
    Ability and confidence to ‘hack’ (learn/ work out) new languages and methodologies
    Ability to convert data and meta-data into usable metrics and measurements
    Strategic, lateral and critical thinking
    Ability to add value to research results
    Ability to identify potential problems early on

 Interpersonal Skills

    Communication skills (oral and written)
    Teamwork skills
    Professional and responsible behaviour at all times when representing the company
    Upholding company values
    Motivational/self-motivated
    Proactive
    A quick learner with initiative

Deadline Date: 20.02.2014
How to Apply:

Note:
Job title: Data Scientist
Job level: Experienced (non-manager)
Job type: Client Service/Business Development
Location: South Africa, Cape Town

Apply via email:
Abigail Louw
Abigail.Louw@tnsglobal.com