Job Description

Purpose of Role

The Jakes Gerwel Fellowship is an NGO with the vision to develop fellows who are expert teachers, educational leaders and social entrepreneurs. Jakes Gerwel Fellows are at the forefront of solving the most pressing educational challenges, and in so doing, improve schools in South Africa.



The Business Intelligence (BI) Specialist is responsible for transforming organisational data into actionable insights through effective data management. This includes data visualisation, reporting, and governance. Reporting to the Head of Operations, the role supports teams in

developing and maintaining KPIs, ensures data quality and compliance (including POPIA), and contributes to process mapping and operational efficiency. The BI Specialist works closely with M&E, Programme Teams,the Systems Analyst and the Executive Team to ensure data is

accurate, accessible, and strategically aligned. The role also leads data governance efforts, including maintaining the organisational data inventory, defining data quality metrics, and supporting staff training on data standards.

Objectives of Role

Data Visualisation & Reporting

Design and maintain dashboards to support programme and organisational performance. Support teams in developing and maintaining KPIs and performance tracking tools. Create compelling and interactive data visualisations using Power BI, or other similar programmes, to support strategic and operational decision-making. Explore innovative use cases related to data analysis and visualisation, such as AI predictive modelling, automated data cleaning, and smart dashboards.

Collaboration & Insight Generation

Work closely with M&E to align indicators, reporting frameworks, and evaluation needs. Collaborate with programme teams to understand data needs and support planning. Translate complex data into accessible insights for non-technical stakeholders. Support the Executive team with Board reporting. Support funder reporting.

Data Governance & Compliance

Maintain the organisational data inventory and ensure POPIA compliance across data assets. Ensure consent mechanisms are in place for data collection and sharing. Maintain documentation for data processes, reporting protocols, and dashboard usage, including a data dictionary and metadata standards. Define and track data quality and compliance metrics (e.g., completeness, accuracy, consent coverage). Build dashboards to monitor these metrics and report to Exco. Provide staff training on data standards and governance practices.

Data Validation & Quality Assurance

Conduct regular data validation checks and track data quality and compliance metrics (e.g., completeness, accuracy, consent coverage) to support governance and reporting. Extract, clean, and analyse data from various systems (e.g., Salesforce, LMS, Excel). Ensure data accuracy, consistency, and integrity across platforms. Collaborate with programme teams, M&E and members of the Executive team to align data flows and reporting needs.

Process Mapping & Organisational Effectiveness

Lead or coordinate process mapping initiatives to improve data-related workflows and operational efficiency.

System Collaboration

Liaise with the Systems Analyst to ensure data flows between platforms (e.g. Salesforce, LMS, Asana). Support the development of data collection tools and templates. Contribute to system improvement initiatives from a data perspective.

Experience and Qualifications

Education:

Bachelor's degree in Data Science, Information Systems, Statistics or related field (or equivalent experience)

Experience

:


5 years' experience in business intelligence, data analysis or M&E Support. Proven experience with Power BI and dashboard development. Exposure to programme monitoring, reporting, and data governance environments

Skills:

Proficiency in Power BI, Excel, and data analysis techniques. Strong data cleaning, transformation, and visualisation skills. Familiarity with Salesforce and LMS platforms (preferred). Understanding of POPIA and data governance principles. Experience with KPI development and performance tracking. Process mapping and workflow documentation

Competencies

Competencies

Analytical thinking and attention to detail. Communication and collaboration across teams. Planning and organisational skills. Problem-solving and solution orientation. Adaptability and continuous learning. * Strategic insight and stakeholder engagement.