Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist

Organizational Setting

GIS and remote sensing capacity is essential for FAO Bangladesh activities in the Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Sector and forms an important input to natural resource base management for national food security. Increasingly, government and development partners need geospatial datasets to identify areas vulnerable to socio-economic driven impacts, assessments of natural disasters, tree and forest assessment and montoring, Greenhouse Gas Reporting, and developing baseline indicators and monitoring processes for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicators. FAO and its government partners need specialized support and training to apply GIS methods for a variety of spatial planning needs.

Reporting Lines

The Remote Sensing and GIS Specialist is SC9 and will work under the overall managerial administrative leadership of the FAO Representative in Bangladesh, direct supervision of the International Consultant for Forest Inventory and Assessment, and the technical backstopping of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) at FAO Bangkok.

Technical Focus

This position will support GIS/RS work for projects related to environment, forest, and climate change. Support and training for the monitoring of land cover for SDG indicators are emphasized.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Coordinate the implementation of GIS/RS related activities, prepare maps of land use change and land degradation, forest cover and others to support the identification of key geographic areas where to implement activities; • Work with the international and national colleagues to reinforce government capacities for RS and GIS based monitoring and information management; • Provide technical support for providing recommendations for scaling-up sustainable land management at national scale in line with national strategies and plans; • Participate and contribute in relevant national and international events for capacity building/experience sharing; • Provide trainings to government partners in basic GIS applications such as making maps with forest inventory data; • Coordinate the preparation of geospatial databases, maps and descriptive statistics for major land degradation types; • Provide support for the calculation of the land degradation indicators; • Provide support in the development of web based geospatial information sharing platform (geoportal); • Examine the existing thematic maps on forestry and other land uses and assess their quality in terms of thematic details, dates of production, methods of production, and precision; • Define the specifications of the land cover/use map to be produced and methodology to be applied; • Define the specifications of the remote sensing data needed and help their procurement. Use should be made of existing data and resort to purchase only if the existing data is judged not suitable or incomplete; • Assist in planning and organizing satellite image classification and interpretation including field checking and validation. • Provide training to the national personnel in forest/land cover/use mapping and change detection; • Assist in any other tasks under the projects at the instruction of the FAO Representative, the LTO, or Team Leader.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• University degree in Remote sensing, GIS, forestry, environmental sciences, or a closely related field; • Five years of relevant experience related to software for remote sensing, GIS and database management • Working knowledge of English (level C) • National of Bangladesh.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Excellent knowledge in GIS applications for natural resource management; • Quality of both oral and written communication skills. • Demonstrated ability to provide training and transfer knowledge; • Demonstrated initiative and ability to deliver results within deadlines.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing)
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For additional employment opportunities visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.