Data Management & Analysis Internships

About

Description

As part of its commitment to ecological sustainability across the continent, African Parks (AP) operates a Biodiversity and Science Support (BSS) unit as a support function to assist AP-managed parks and incubation partners through i) improved ecological understanding, ii) strategic conservation planning, iii) technical and analytical guidance, iv) critical decision support, and v) capacity development. Across the AP portfolio, there is a material backlog in ecological data analysis, consolidation, quality assurance, and institutional standardization across monitoring themes and platforms. To address this, AP will recruit a cohort of ten (10) Data Management & Analysis (DMA) interns to support portfolio-level ecological data backlog recovery and to embed standardized, repeatable data workflows across parks and incubator projects.

Responsibilities

• The DMA interns will report to the Head of BSS and work day-to-day under the guidance of the Data Analysis & Intern Coordinator (DAIC) and Science Interface Manager (SIM), in collaboration with the Business Intelligence (BI) Unit and relevant park-based teams
• Each intern will be assigned a thematic stream (based on their relevant skillset, experience and/or interest) and will work across parks to identify and consolidate existing datasets
• Support standardized intake and onboarding into AP monitoring systems
• Implement data quality assurance and control (including documentation and provenance record practices)
• Prepare analysis-ready datasets and automated tools to generate basic summary outputs using pre-defined scripts, templates and standard workflows (eg: R/Python scripts and/or BI templates maintained by BSS/BI)
• Interns are not expected to develop new analytical pipelines but must be able to run and adapt standard workflows and clearly document and escalate issues as needed

Qualifications

• Pursuing or completed a Bachelor's Honours, Master’s, or equivalent degree in a relevant discipline (eg: data science, computer science, statistics, environmental/ecological sciences, GIS, or related fields)
• Demonstrated interest in applied conservation work and the ability to work across multiple datasets and stakeholders in a structured, delivery-focused way
• Practical capability in data cleaning, organization, and quality control (eg: spreadsheet competence, reproducible workflows, structured documentation habits)
• A significant and demonstrable level of skill working with analytical and data tools (eg: R and/or Python, basic SQL exposure advantageous; GIS experience beneficial depending on theme)
• Strong attention to detail, clear written and verbal communication, and ability to manage tasks independently while contributing to a small, collaborative team
• Willingness to learn new tools/platforms and follow standardized protocols to deliver consistent portfolio-level outputs
• Beneficial skills: Familiarity with ecological monitoring data types relevant to one or more themes (eg: camera traps, transects, aerial surveys, telemetry, fire/remote sensing, vegetation layers)
• Experience with data standards/interoperability principles (eg: FAIR/TRUST concepts; Darwin Core/GBIF concepts for occurrence data) where relevant to the theme
• Experience producing clear summaries/visualizations or supporting dashboard/report outputs (eg: PowerBI/RShiny/ArcGIS Online-style outputs or equivalent)
• Speak French and/or Portuguese and have a willingness to travel to remote places

Application instructions:

• How to Apply If you are a driven and motivated professional with a passion for conservation, we encourage you to apply even if you do not meet every single requirement listed above. Submit a CV and cover letter to research@africanparks.org by 20th February 2026. Your application must include: The ranking of your top three (3) theme preferences. A summary (2–5 lines each) of your relevant experience and why you are a good fit for those specific themes.