Founded by economic thought leaders and technologists, World Data Lab is a data science enterprise that uses peer-reviewed methodologies to model and forecast demographic dynamics, spending power and labour market outcomes. Our platforms — World Data Pro, the World Poverty Clock and the Africa Youth Employment Clock — enable governments, businesses and development partners to make better decisions, from designing labour market policy to identifying the next million consumers.

In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and the Development Policy Research Unit at the University of Cape Town, WDL produces the Africa Youth Employment Outlook (AYEO), the flagship annual report tracking the trajectory of youth employment across the continent against the goal of 30 million dignified and fulfilling jobs for African youth by 2030.

Turn WDL's youth employment data into the narrative that shapes how Africa's policymakers, funders and media understand the continent's labour market. You will own the Africa Youth Employment Outlook end to end, drive WDL's thought leadership on youth employment, and represent the organisation externally — with the Mastercard Foundation as our core partner, and across the wider community of stakeholders working on youth employment in Africa. This is a writing and representation role built on a foundation of data fluency. You will not build the models — but you must understand them well enough to interrogate them, know what they can and cannot say, and translate them into arguments that hold up under scrutiny.

THE CHALLENGE

1. Own the Africa Youth Employment Outlook

• Serve as lead author and editorial owner of the annual Africa Youth Employment Outlook — from outline and analytical framing through drafting, revision, fact-checking and final publication.
• Set and hold the production timeline, coordinating inputs from WDL's data science team, the DPRU at UCT, and the Mastercard Foundation.
• Interrogate the underlying analysis: pressure-test findings, verify every figure against source, and ensure the report never claims more than the data supports.
• Maintain the analytical and editorial standard of the report as WDL's most visible public product.

2. Translate data into narrative and insight

• Take complex labour market, demographic and forecasting outputs and build them into clear, argued narratives for non-technical audiences.
• Identify the story inside the data — the finding that changes a decision — rather than summarising the data descriptively.
• Produce the full range of insight outputs: reports, policy briefs, blogs, op-eds, briefing notes and data-led commentary.
• Work directly with data scientists to shape analysis at the design stage, so that the questions being modelled are the questions stakeholders are actually asking.

3. Drive thought leadership and media engagement

• Develop and publish thought leadership on African youth employment under WDL's name and, where appropriate, as a named author.
• Pitch WDL findings to journalists, editors and media houses across African and international outlets; build and maintain those media relationships.
• Co-author articles and commentary with external partners — researchers, funders, government institutions and other stakeholders.
• Build a public profile as a credible voice on African labour markets, and use it to extend the reach of WDL's data.

4. Present insights to the Foundation and external stakeholders

• Present youth labour market insights to the Mastercard Foundation — including senior leadership — with the confidence and command that context requires.
• Represent WDL in meetings, roundtables, panels and convenings with our wider stakeholder community — multilateral and regional development institutions, UN agencies, government ministries, national statistics offices, research institutions and private sector partners.
• Build presentations and briefings that are analytically rigorous and rhetorically effective — and deliver them personally.
• Act as a visible external face of WDL's youth employment work, developing the relationships that turn a report into influence.

5. Support partnership and engagement objectives

• Feed insights into partnership development, funding proposals and stakeholder engagement across WDL's Africa portfolio.
• Coordinate dissemination activity around the AYEO — launches, webinars, subnational data releases and follow-on engagement.
• Work with colleagues across WDL's global hubs to ensure insights are consistent, accurate and well-positioned.

Essential

• Master's degree in Economics, Development Economics, Public Policy, Statistics, Communications or a related field. A strong Bachelor's with exceptional relevant experience will be considered.
• 5+ years of experience in a role where writing was the primary output — research institution, think tank, multilateral organisation, development agency, publication or similar.
• Demonstrable excellence as a writer. A portfolio of work you have authored or contributed substantially to — reports, briefs, articles, journal pieces or op-eds — is required; shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a written exercise.
• Proven ability to work with quantitative data and build narratives from it. You must be able to read a dataset, question a methodology, spot an inconsistency and know when a number does not say what someone wants it to say.
• Track record of thought leadership: published work you have authored or made a substantial contribution to — reports, articles, journals, briefs or commentary — and experience getting that work in front of media or policy audiences.
• Excellent presentation and public-speaking skills, with experience presenting to senior audiences across funders, government and development institutions.
• Working knowledge of African labour markets, youth employment dynamics, and the policy and donor landscape around them.
• Fluent in English.

Desirable

• Existing media relationships across African and international outlets.
• Working proficiency in R, Python or Stata — enough to interrogate an analysis and produce your own exploratory cuts, not to build production models.
• Familiarity with data visualisation tools and a good eye for how a chart carries an argument.
• Experience working as a delivery partner to a major foundation or development institution.
• Experience in a startup or high-growth environment.

What we are looking for

The person who succeeds in this role writes with authority, is comfortable working with quantitative analysis and confident questioning how a figure was arrived at, and represents WDL credibly in senior external settings. They are relationship-driven rather than transactional, careful about what the data does and does not show, and ambitious about the reach of the work.

OUR OFFER

• Ownership of a flagship publication with genuine reach across African policy and development.
• A platform to build your own public profile on one of the continent's defining issues.
• Direct exposure to the Mastercard Foundation and to a wide stakeholder community across policy, development and the private sector.
• A mission-driven, international team with hubs across Africa, Europe and the US.
• Competitive compensation, an annual professional development budget, and flexible working.

OUR RECRUITMENT PROCESS

For your application: send your CV, a cover letter, and two to three writing samples that demonstrate data-driven narrative work — authored or co-authored

• 1st Interview: A first meet and greet with our HR Manager and Hiring Manager to understand your background and expectations. Technical interview with a future colleague to discuss your skills, experience and expertise.
• Final Interview: Final Qualification Interview with our Senior Vice President.
• Final Steps: Receive feedback and, if successful, an offer.

The deadline for applications is 21 of October.