Data Product Owner

What is Trase?

Trase is an independent non-profit partnership providing open-access data, analysis and guidance on supply chain impacts on forests, nature and people. Our goals are to motivate ambition and urgency, remove information barriers and increase understanding to guide interventions and evaluate progress. We aim to enable leadership and practical action while strengthening accountability to deliver on sustainability commitments and drive positive impacts.

Founded in 2016 by SEI and Global Canopy, Trase has grown into a widely recognized, world-leading and independent source of open data and intelligence on supply chain sustainability. It represents a global partnership of research and civil society organizations. With our 2025-2030 strategy on the horizon, Trase is poised to achieve even greater impact through open data, targeted analysis and guidance.

The role

The Data Product Owner is a new role for Trase’s open data offering, encompassing global trade, subnational supply chain maps, regional metrics on environmental and social impacts, as well as data on supply chain facilities and risk exposure. We are at a pivotal moment in Trase’s development, seeking to diversify our data offering and improve the delivery of our data products.

The primary purpose of this role is to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of Trase’s open data products, driving uptake and impact on the sustainability of commodity trade. You will work closely with Trase’s research and development (R&D) and impact teams, as well as partners, to ensure product development is informed by data and methods requirements while aligning with impact priorities.

As Data Product Owner, you will gather input from stakeholders inside and outside the team, maintain a clear vision for the data product portfolio and ensure its effective delivery. You will oversee product development decisions while playing an active, hands-on role in their delivery. Initially, this role combines product management with hands-on data science work, but as the team grows, we expect greater management responsibility.

The position will be part of Trase’s product team, working alongside data engineers, developers, a UX designer and data scientists. You will be part of a global team of leading, multinational, multidisciplinary experts.

Key responsibilities

1. Data product roadmap and portfolio management (50%) - Managing the data product roadmap of updates, improvements and new products. This includes monitoring progress, identifying delivery risks and working closely with internal teams including R&D and impact, to mitigate risks.
2. Data product strategy and user needs (20%) - Ensuring Trase’s data products align with user needs, critically appraising new innovations from R&D and partners. You will also co-own the product strategy with the Product Lead and other key team members, ensuring overall alignment of the data product roadmap with the product vision.
3. Data product delivery (30%) - Supporting the development and maintenance of data products in collaboration with the product and R&D teams. This includes delivering technical quality assurance through product sign-off against acceptance criteria and user testing.

Who you are

The ideal candidate will have a strong background in data product management and data science, with experience in sustainability within the agricultural, land-use or forestry sectors. You are motivated by making data and knowledge accessible to diverse audiences, including the private sector, governments and civil society.

You are comfortable working both independently and as part of a team in a highly flexible organization, helping set strategy and direction while delivering impactful products.

You will be willing to invest time in maintenance, monitoring, documentation and processing tasks. With strong interpersonal and communication skills, you will enjoy interacting and networking with actors from different disciplines and cross-cultural settings. Respect for colleagues and fostering a supportive, fun and collaborative working environment are key values you hold.

Essential skills and experiences

• experience managing data product projects from strategy to release, including timelines, roadmaps and product evaluation
• experience developing data products, including defining dataset scope, ensuring data quality and prioritizing features to meet user needs
• competence in acquiring, processing and analyzing data using programming language such as Python or R
• proven ability to work in interdisciplinary teams with diverse stakeholders

Desirable skills and experiences

• a strong passion for achieving environmental and social impact
• experience in an applied research or technology environment where data products are mission- and user-needs driven
• experience managing data products to deliver more sustainable commodity production systems and trade systems
• proficiency in one or more of Trase’s target languages: Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa Indonesia, French, Mandarin Chinese

How to apply

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, genders and nationalities. We particularly encourage women and non-binary individuals to apply. Please consider applying even if you do not meet all of the qualifications listed.

You do not need to be a Swedish or EU citizen, nor have a work/residence permit in order to apply for a job at SEI HQ. SEI can provide support for work permit sponsorship if required.

Please submit your application by 6 November 2024, 23:59 Stockholm local time. We only accept applications in English, submitted through our recruitment system.