Insights Analyst, CIU

Department: Mobile for Development

Team: Central Insights Unit

Location: London (hybrid working)

Position type: Fixed Term Contract until February 2026

What the hiring manager says

“The ideal candidate will bring a curious and analytical mindset, strong research skills, and a keen interest in how digital technologies can support sustainable development in low- and middle-income countries. They should be comfortable working with data and evidence, and able to communicate insights clearly and effectively, both in writing and presentations.

This role offers the opportunity to build expertise and contribute to impactful research in a collaborative and diverse team that is passionate about using digital innovation to address global inequalities. It is well suited to someone eager to further strengthen their skills in supporting the development of practical, evidence-based insights for inclusive and sustainable development.”

Nigham Shahid, Senior Insights Manager, Central Insights Unit

About the Team

The Central Insights Unit (CIU) sits at the core of GSMA Mobile for Development (M4D) and produces country- and region-specific research and analysis on the role and impact of digital technologies in advancing sustainable and inclusive development. Our work spans across many themes and verticals including digital inclusion, gender, financial inclusion, agriculture, health, utilities, humanitarian action and climate action.

The thematically cross-cutting nature of our research means that our knowledge base is wide-ranging as we bring clarity to emerging opportunities in digital development. Our work directly supports international donors to build expertise and capacity as they seek to advance digitalisation initiatives in low- and middle-income countries.

About the Role

This role offers an opportunity to contribute to research that informs sustainable development initiatives, shapes global development discourse, informs programmes and policy, and supports the responsible scaling of digital innovation across sectors such as humanitarian action, agriculture, health, climate resilience, and digital and financial inclusion.

Working closely with an interdisciplinary team, the candidate will support research projects and help produce high-quality outputs for diverse stakeholders—including donor and development partners, governments, and private sector actors. This is a unique opportunity to further develop and contribute knowledge to how digital technologies are understood and applied to tackle critical development challenges.

About You

You will bring a strong foundation in research and a passion for using digital technologies to advance development outcomes. You will thrive in a diverse team dedicated to empowering people via mobile and emerging tech., and bring many of the following:

• Strong analytical skills, including the ability to support the development of research questions, apply analytical frameworks, and help extract insights from data.
• Familiarity with qualitative research methodologies; experience in quantitative methods is a plus.
• A keen interest in the mobile industry and international development, especially in the potential for mobile and emerging technologies to drive socio-economic impact in low- and middle-income countries.
• Experience delivering or supporting research projects—either academically or professionally.
• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely in written and spoken English, especially in translating technical or complex topics for a general audience. Knowledge of a second language (e.g. French) is a plus.
• A collaborative mindset and ability to work well with colleagues across different teams.
• A proactive, self-motivated approach, with a willingness to learn, contribute ideas, and take initiative.

Capabilities:

Key capabilities for this role include:

• Contributing to the production of clear, engaging, and high-quality written outputs—such as reports, blogs, and slide decks—for a range of audiences.
• Supporting research activities across different stages of the project cycle, including helping to define research questions, conducting desk research, supporting data collection, and drafting analysis.
• Applying a foundational understanding of different research methods to help identify trends and opportunities related to digitalisation and development.
• Assisting in stakeholder engagement.
• Helping tailor research outputs to the needs of target audiences, including policymakers, industry leaders, and development practitioners.
• Collaborating closely with colleagues across GSMA’s Mobile for Development (M4D) programmes to contribute insights and ensure consistency of messaging and evidence.
• Supporting in sharing and promoting research findings, including contributing to presentations, webinars, or other communication materials.
• Providing input into team discussions and activities that shape our research and insights agenda over time.

Contract type

Worker type

What We Offer

Working at the GSMA offers you unparalleled access to the mobile industry. We offer a chance to truly shape the direction of mobile, whatever your role. By joining the GSMA, you will be exposed to a fast-paced rapidly evolving environment, working on global solutions, genuinely fascinating and industry-changing projects and a stimulating and dynamic environment designed to enable you to flourish.

In addition to architect-designed offices and competitive compensation, our benefits include fantastic learning & development opportunities, generous holiday allowances, four additional days off for professional development and many others.

To learn more about the GSMA, visit our career site, our LinkedIn page and our Twitter page.

Being You at the GSMA

We care deeply about diversity, equity and inclusivity and aspire to be the best at it. Your well-being and work/life balance is important, so flexi-time and remote working is available to all staff. We're keen to ensure everyone is equal, represented and connected so we particularly encourage applications from all demographics. The sucess of the GSMA year on year will continue to be contributed by people from all walks of life.

GSMA Values

Our values not only drive our culture – they shape how we work and interact inside and outside our global organisation.

Passionately driven

We approach everything we do with unparalleled capability, tenacity and commitment, knowing that the challenging scale, pace and complexity of our work is what leads to its world-changing impact.

Insightful leaders

We continually develop and engage our expertise, insight and creativity so that we’re always ready to respond to the changing landscape with authority, agility and nuance.

Stronger together

We lean on each other so the industry can lean on us, embracing our diversity by actively seeking out perspectives and skill sets beyond our own, fuelling each other’s successes and constantly asking how we can help.

Underpinning our values is our collective mindset to show up purposefully as good human beings every day, in every situation. When we’re at our best – we are collaborative, considerate and compassionate to others, and we create a safe space for one another to thrive, assuming positive intent in our colleagues. And if we aren’t at our best and the pressure is on – we feel free to be ourselves but still remain curious, lean into the tough stuff and we are always respectful to others and accountable for the part we play.