Position Title: Head of Data & AI
Employer: Inkomoko
Employment: Full-Time | Contract
Place of Work: Addis Ababa - Ethiopia
Posted date: 3 months ago
Deadline: Submission date is over
Inkomoko supports entrepreneurs to grow their businesses in order to improve livelihoods, create jobs, and help communities thrive.
In 2025, Inkomoko was listed by the Financial Times as the 8th fastest-growing company in Africa, supporting entrepreneurs across East and Central Africa to grow thriving businesses and build inclusive, resilient economies.
Founded in 2012, Inkomoko has worked with more than 100,000 entrepreneurs, including thousands of refugee entrepreneurs. Inkomoko provides a combination of training, consulting, access to finance, and market-level systems change. We are the largest investor to refugee entrepreneurs in Africa.
Inkomoko has 780+ staff in 45 offices across Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Through Inkomoko’s 2030 strategic plan, we are adding 3 additional countries to serve more than 550,000 entrepreneurs and growing our $30M loan fund to impact 7M lives.
INKOMOKO VALUES
All staff at Inkomoko are connected to a shared set of organizational values:
- Purpose: be solutions-oriented, produce high-quality work, and be a global leader.
- Achievement: push yourself to reach beyond what you previously thought possible.
- Improvement: be humble, engage in continuous growth through open & accurate feedback
- Bravery: willing to take risks, create a safe space for others, be compassionate, and inclusive.
- We Eat Goat: we celebrate success and support each other in hard times. We do this work together in the spirit of turikumwe, tuko pamoja, abren nen, Kula na sawa, On est ensemble.
Inkomoko is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Refugees, women, and persons who reflect the diverse communities we serve are strongly encouraged to apply.
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY & RESPONSIBILITIES
The Head of Data & AI will lead the organization’s data strategy and artificial intelligence initiatives, ensuring data-driven decision-making and leveraging AI to create innovative solutions that drive business growth. This role requires a visionary leader with deep technical expertise and strong business acumen to align data and AI capabilities with organizational goals.
The Head of Data & AI will deliver Inkomoko’s enterprise data strategy and applied-AI products (credit scoring, risk early-warning, fraud detection, program-impact prediction) that are ethical, explainable, and drive better decisions for entrepreneurs and staff. The role is open to candidates based in Addis, Kigali, Juba, Nairobi or N'Djamena.
Key Responsibilities:
Data Strategy & Infrastructure
- Together with the Director of Products and Innovation, develop and execute a Data & AI Implementation Strategy aligned with organizational goals.
- Lead data transformation initiatives in data infrastructure, analytics, AI products, automation.
- Define and enforce data governance frameworks, policies, and ethical AI guidelines..
- Standardize and govern all data sources (client, portfolio, operations, external).
- Drive adoption of data-driven decision-making across departments.
Data Infrastructure & Engineering
- Oversee design and management of data warehouses, data lakes, and integration pipelines.
- Design and maintain scalable, multi-country data architecture.
- Implement scalable cloud-based data platforms (e.g., Azure, AWS, GCP).
- Improve data reliability, consistency, and accessibility across the organization.
AI/ML Product Leadership
- Lead design, training, testing, and production deployment of AI solutions (credit scoring for thin-file clients, predictive risk models, NLP for WhatsApp/IVR, impact forecasting).
- Champion responsible AI: bias mitigation, explainability, and ethical guardrails.
- Lead development of AI/ML models, NLP systems, generative AI solutions, and automation tools.
- Manage AI lifecycle: problem definition → data preparation → modeling → evaluation → deployment.
- Introduce automation (RPA, intelligent workflows) to improve operational efficiency.
Governance & Compliance
- Own data governance framework: quality, lineage, access controls, and IP protection.
- Lead enterprise-wide master data management practices.
- Ensure full compliance with GDPR, central-bank rules, donor requirements, and Inkomoko’s IP Policy.
Insights, Analytics & BI
- Deliver executive dashboards and drive data literacy across Programs, Credit, Finance, and Leadership.Lead predictive analytics projects for forecasting, segmentation, and decision intelligence.
- Introduce self-service BI tools and build analytical capacity across teams.
- Lead predictive analytics projects for forecasting, segmentation, and decision intelligence.
- Introduce self-service BI tools and build analytical capacity across teams.
Team & Culture
- Build a high-performing, interdisciplinary Data & AI team.
- Mentor staff and build data literacy across departments.
- Oversee vendor relationships and implementation partners.
WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR
- Master’s or Bachelor’s in Data Science, Computer Science, Statistics, or equivalent.
- 10+ years in data engineering, analytics, or ML; at least 5 years leading teams.
- Hands-on experience shipping production ML models, ideally in credit or financial inclusion.
- Expertise in modern data stacks (dbt, Snowflake/AWS, Airflow, etc.) and ML frameworks.
- Strong understanding of data governance, privacy regulations, and ethical AI practices.
- Excellent leadership, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
Preferred Skills:
- Expertise in cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP).
- Proficiency in Python, R, SQL, and AI/ML frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch).
- Experience with big data technologies (Hadoop, Spark).
- Strategic thinker with ability to translate data insights into business impact.
Key Competencies:
We are looking for someone who:
- Synthesizes Data - Leverages key information, data, and insights to enhance both client and team member experiences.
- Adapts Approach to Situations - Adjusts the team's approach to meet the shifting demands of impact; able to quickly adapt to suit the context and drive to positive outcomes for their department.
- Enhances Competitive Advantage - Creates new and better ways to drive organizational success, with a future-focused mindset (at least 2 years ahead), through innovation and leveraging external relationships and opportunities.
- Uses his/her Technical expertise to coach and guide staff to meet and exceed expectations.
Benefits
WHAT YOU'LL GET
This role is inside a high-growth, mission-driven social enterprise. By joining, you’ll access:
- A leadership role with regional influence and the opportunity to shape Inkomoko’s financial future.
- Meaningful work that directly contributes to sustainable livelihoods and job creation across East and Central Africa.
- Competitive salary, and potential Performance-based bonus
- Incredible company culture, with opportunities for learning and growth
- Diverse colleagues across the region, and policies that demonstrate commitment to equity and inclusion
- A dynamic and entrepreneurial team environment committed to innovation and social impact
- Ability to make a significant social impact to your community
- Health insurance for self and family
- Staff savings and provident fund, negotiated bank rates for long-term employees
- Generous annual leave, parental leave, and sabbatical options.
