Geospatial Specialist, Rome, Italy
Organization: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Country: Italy
City: Rome, Italy
Office: FAO Rome
Closing date: Friday, 26 February 2021
CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST - VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT : 2100477
Geospatial Specialist
Job Posting: 12/Feb/2021
Closure Date: 26/Feb/2021, 10:59:00 PM
Organizational Unit : NFO
Job Type: Non-staff opportunities
Type of Requisition : Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)
Grade Level : N/A
Primary Location: Italy-Rome
Duration : Up to 11 months
Post Number : N/A
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
Tags agricultural engineering capacity development climate change climate change mitigation computer science continuous improvement data analysis data collection data entry data visualization environmental management food security forest conservation forest management forest products forest resources information systems knowledge sharing landscape ecology poverty reduction quality control remote sensing report preparation translation transparency
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
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list If you are in possession of language certificate/s from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT), please attach the certificate/s when submitting the application.
For more information, visit the FAO employment website
HOW TO APPLY
To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Only applications received through the recruitment portal will be considered.
We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline
If you need help please contact: Careers@fao.org
