Open to opportunities

Panashe Simon

@panashesimon

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Data analyst and population scientist driving actionable, evidence-based insights.

South Africa

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What I'm looking for

I seek a data role where I can apply demographic and statistical skills to drive policy or program decisions, with opportunities for mentorship, impact-focused projects, and career growth.

I am a Data Analyst and Population Scientist with hands-on experience in applied statistics, demographic analysis, and data-driven reporting gained through roles at a national statistics agency and in healthcare. I specialize in Python, R, SQL and statistical modelling, and I have completed IBM certifications in Data Science and AI that reinforced my skills in data manipulation, visualization and predictive modelling.

I have supported national census activities, contributed to demographic research with international agencies, and improved data quality and reporting in healthcare by automating processes and analysing utilization trends. I bring rigorous data validation, strong communication, and a collaborative approach to transform complex datasets into actionable recommendations for decision-makers.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Data Analysis Graduate

Current

Genfin Medical Aid

Feb 2025 - Present (9 months)

Managed and verified member and claims data to improve reporting accuracy; applied Python and Excel to analyse healthcare utilization trends and identify cost drivers, and supported reporting automation to enhance decision-making.

Python Excel Data Cleaning SQL Data Visualization Report Automation Healthcare Data Analysis Pandas

Social Statistics Intern

Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency

Sep 2022 - Aug 2023 (11 months)

Conducted quantitative analysis using SPSS and Excel to support demographic and social reports; prepared statistical bulletins and visual presentations and ensured data integrity through validation and quality assurance.

SPSS Excel Data Validation Data Visualization Reporting Data Data Quality Assurance

Education

Degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework

University of Zimbabwe

Bachelor of Science (Honours), Population Science and Applied Demography

2020 - 2024

Grade: Upper Second class (2.1) — 68% average

Activities and societies: Worked with UNICEF, IOM and UNFPA on migration, fertility and mortality research; participated in 2022 population and housing census with ZIMSTAT assisting in data validation, visualization and report writing.

BSc (Hons) in Population Science and Applied Demography with specialization in demographic methods and statistical computing; final project analyzed migration patterns using demographic techniques.

Coursera / IBM

Professional Certificate, Data Science Foundations

Activities and societies: Developed skills in Python, Jupyter Notebooks, data manipulation and visualization.

Completed IBM Data Science Foundations certification covering data structures, databases, Python and data science workflow.

Coursera / IBM

Professional Certificate, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

Activities and societies: Worked with NumPy, Pandas, Matplotlib and scikit-learn to build and evaluate predictive models and perform data visualization.

Completed IBM certification on Data Science, Python, and AI focusing on practical Python, machine learning and AI applications.