Geospatial Specialist

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

_______________________________________________________________________________________

FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender and nationality

People with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply

All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

The incumbent may be re-assigned to different activities and/or duty stations depending on the evolving needs of the Organization

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Organizational Setting

The Forestry Division (NFO) leads FAO's work in promoting sustainable forest management and providing leadership on the environmental, social and economic dimensions of forestry, including its contributions to poverty reduction and food security and nutrition. It liaises with member countries, civil society and the private sector in aspects ranging from development of effective forest policies to forest conservation and management issues, and strengthens the role of forests in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Division also collects, analyses and disseminates information on the world's forest resources and on the production, trade and consumption of wood and non-wood forest products.

The post is located in the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) Team.

As part of the global assessment activities the FRA team assists selected countries to generate better information about their forest resources using Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing (RS) data and tools. This is achieved through a series of capacity development workshops and targeted support in selected countries.

Reporting Lines

The Geospatial Specialist will work under the overall supervision of the NFO Director, the technical supervision of the FRA Senior Forestry Officer/Team Leader and in close collaboration with the FRA team and RS specialists in other FAO units.

Technical Focus

Provision of technical advice or expertise for: (i) compilation and data analysis; (ii) RS capacity development workshops in selected countries; and (iii) support the FRA team with report preparation and data analysis.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Support the FRA Remote Sensing Survey (RSS) implementation:
  • Support preparation of Collect Earth and Collect Earth Online surveys for national and regional data collection
  • Support the organization of virtual RSS workshops
  • Collect global FRA RSS samples
  • Support collection and analysis of remote sensing data for the FRA RSS
  • Conduct quality control of data collected for the FRA RSS
  • Contribute to the drafting of FRA working papers on the FRA RSS methodology
  • Support other FRA RSS activities as required.

• Capacity Development
  • Support the development of the FRA RSS training exercises and other materials for the national and regional workshops
  • Support the organization of the FRA RSS capacity development workshops and carry out training activities in selected countries
  • Support the preparation, review and translation of manuals, tutorials and other training material for the FRA RSS.

• Support the development of geospatial tools for data visualization and analysis
  • Support the development of the user-friendly geospatial tools
  • Support the integration of the geospatial tools into FRA on-line data entry, analysis, reporting and dissemination platform
  • Support the documentation of the geospatial tools

• Other support to the FRA team
  • Produce content for FRA website (texts, maps, figures, etc.), documents and communication materials as requested
  • Assist the FRA team with the preparation of ready-made slides/presentations related to the FRA Programme
  • Perform other related duties as required

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree (for Consultants) or relevant educational background (for PSAs) in Agricultural Engineering, Computer Science, Environmental Management, Geography, IT Engineering, Professional Software Engineer or closely related discipline
• Minimum 1 year of relevant experience in research, compilation and analysis of RS and field data in corporate environment and/or international NGOs
• Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of one of the other FAO languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian) for Consultants; working knowledge of English for PSAs.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in Collect Earth Online
• Extent and relevance of work experience in applying GIS and RS for forest and land cover/land use assessments
• RS capacity development of national and international experts
• Familiarity with different satellite imagery products and their processing
• Familiar with landscape ecology and vegetation description
• Relevance of experience in different geographical areas
• Familiarity with the FRA process
• Ability to operate effectively in a team, contributing positively to team operations and working relationships
• Sound oral and written communication skills in at least two UN languages
• Ability to work under pressure and availability to travel to developing or transition countries.

Selection Criteria

• Relevance of working experience
• Performance in the interview
• Languages spoken
• Academic qualifications.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

_______________________________________________________________________________________