Spatial Data Officer

Contract

This is a P-3 contract. This kind of contract is known as Professional and Director staff. It is normally internationally recruited only. It's a staff contract. It usually requires 5 years of experience, depending on education.

Salary

The salary for this job should be between 105,404 USD and 138,019 USD.

Please keep in mind that the salary displayed here is an estimation by UN Talent based on the location and the type of contract. It may vary depending on the organization. The recruiter should be able to inform you about the exact salary range. In case the job description contains another salary information, please refer to this one.

Org. Setting and Reporting The objective of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is to combat desertification, land degradation and mitigate the effects of drought through effective action at all levels, supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements, in the framework of an integrated approach which is consistent with Agenda 21, with a view to contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. The functions of the secretariat are, among others, (a) to make arrangements for sessions of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and its Subsidiary Bodies established under the Convention and to provide them with services as required; (b) to compile and transmit reports submitted to it; (c) to facilitate assistance to affected developing country Parties, on request, particularly those in Africa, in the compilation and communication of information required under the Convention; (d) to coordinate its activities with the secretariats of other relevant international bodies and conventions. The Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Unit serves the Committee on Science and Technology (CST) and the Committee for the Review of the Implementation of the Convention (CRIC). It links scientific knowledge with implementation, planning and policies, with the aim to ensure that findings and opportunities produced by science are effectively channeled to benefit field activities to implement the UNCCD. At the thirteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 13), country Parties adopted the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework (decision 7/COP.13) that not only provides guidance to all UNCCD stakeholders and partners on how to implement the Convention, but also serves as a monitoring tool for the CRIC to assess implementation efforts undertaken by Parties. Under this strategic framework and every four years, Parties report, among others, on the progress towards five strategic objectives related to the condition of ecosystems and populations, drought, global environmental benefits and financial and non-financial resources to support the implementation of the Convention (i.e. strategic objectives 1-5). Indicators used for reporting on the UNCCD 2018-2030 Strategic Framework are those identified by Parties in decisions 22/COP.11 (for strategic objectives 1, 2 and 4), 11/COP.14 (for strategic objective 3) and 11/COP.14 (for strategic objective 5). In line with various decisions adopted by its Conference of the Parties (COP), the UNCCD secretariat has the mandate of facilitating reporting by country Parties through the provision of guidance, default data and an online reporting platform. Leveraging its reporting mechanism, the UNCCD has also begun a process of transforming its existing databases in order to collect data from national statistical systems for the purposes of reporting on SDG indicator 15.3.1 (i.e. “Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area”) and providing a storyline for the UN’s annual global SDG progress report. Under the general supervision of the Chief of the STI unit, the incumbent will be responsible for all UNCCD geospatial and relational data management, applied spatial analytics, earth observations, mapping, geodatabase and applications development and data visualization.

Responsibilities Specifically, the incumbent will be responsible for the following duties:

1. Coordinate the design, implementation and management of a virtual data centre that builds on national reporting, leverages other secretariat and GM data, and contributes to the UNCCD overall mission; 2. Coordinate the strategic planning, implementation and management of all geospatial and relational data related matters; 3. Facilitate the task force put in place by the secretariat’s management team on issues relating to data management that impacts both the operations of the secretariat and the Global Mechanism and advise and liaise with management on the needs identified and potential solutions; 4. Represent the UNCCD secretariat on external committees and meetings relating data and data management, as relevant to the UNCCD; 5. Manage and maintain all geospatial data associated with the UNCCD monitoring framework, indicators and metrics in support of national reporting. 6. Liaise with technical partners on relevant environmental data initiatives and projects, including partners engaged in the Group on Earth Observation Land Degradation Neutrality Initiative (GEO LDN Initiative) ; 7. Manage the development the UNCCD geospatial data management platform for reporting (PRAIS4) that integrates map files, tabular data summarizing the geospatial data inputs, analytical and decision support and visualization tools, with particular focus on those that already or potentially could be part of the GEO LDN Initiative federated approach to analytical tool and application programming interface (API) development ; 8. Evaluate and recommend new and emerging data sets that can be used as default data for national reporting or complementary data to support analysis, disaggregation and/or visualization; 9. Supervise the acquisition, processing and transfer to Parties of default data for reporting; 10. Oversee the quality assurance, analysis, harmonization, integration and synthesis of geospatial data and information submitted by Parties; 11. Perform targeted spatial analyses and generate reliable statistics for UNCCD and SDG reporting; 12. Provide technical backstopping to Parties for data validation and analysis; 13. Contribute to the substantive delivery of capacity building activities and produce training materials with geospatial content; 14. Prepare technical assessments, reports, and official documents; 15. Develop and contribute to communications materials including website/social media visualizations and other approaches to communicating the findings from the UNCCD national reporting process for internal and external audiences; 16. Performs any other job-related activities required to achieve the goals and objectives of the team, the Unit, the Programme or the secretariat and the Global Mechanism.

Competencies Professionalism: Knowledge of geography, geographic information systems (GIS), web and mobile solutions development, and the development and management of spatial and relational database systems; all areas of work. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work

Planning and organizing: Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies. Identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required. Allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work. Foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning. Monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary. Uses time efficiently.

Teamwork: Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others’ ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; places team agenda before personal agenda; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings.

Education Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in land system science, remote sensing, geography, statistics, environmental sciences, geographic information systems (GIS) or similar is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.

Work Experience A minimum of five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in geospatial and relational data management, applied spatial analytics, earth observations, mapping, geodatabase and applications development, data visualization or related area is required.

Experience in the use of quantitative methods for analysis is essential. Technical expertise in land degradation monitoring, land cover change analysis, land productivity (i.e. net primary productivity/vegetation indices) analysis, soil modelling and/or drought monitoring using a range of remote sensing techniques, image sources, and GIS is required.

Excellent computer skills specifically with relational data base managements systems (e.g. SQL, Oracle, MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL) and knowledge of statistical software is desired

Experience with leading remote sensing and GIS software products (e.g. ArcGIS, QGIS) and specific skills on geo-processing through scripting and automation (e.g. Python, R, JavaScript) is desired.

Languages For the post advertised, fluency in oral and written English is required. Knowledge of another UN official language would be considered an advantage.

Assessment Evaluation of qualified candidates may include an assessment exercise which may be followed by competency-based interview.

Special Notice This position is open for recruitment for an initial period of one year and may be subject to extension.

Individual contractors and consultants who have worked within the UNCCD in the last six months are ineligible to apply for professional and higher temporary or fixed-term positions and their applications will not be considered.

United Nations Considerations According to article 101, paragraph 3, of the Charter of the United Nations, the paramount consideration in the employment of the staff is the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. Candidates will not be considered for employment with the United Nations if they have committed violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law, sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, or sexual harassment, or if there are reasonable grounds to believe that they have been involved in the commission of any of these acts. The term “sexual exploitation” means any actual or attempted abuse of a position of vulnerability, differential power, or trust, for sexual purposes, including, but not limited to, profiting monetarily, socially or politically from the sexual exploitation of another. The term “sexual abuse” means the actual or threatened physical intrusion of a sexual nature, whether by force or under unequal or coercive conditions. The term “sexual harassment” means any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation, when such conduct interferes with work, is made a condition of employment or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment, and when the gravity of the conduct warrants the termination of the perpetrator’s working relationship. Candidates who have committed crimes other than minor traffic offences may not be considered for employment.

Due regard will be paid to the importance of recruiting the staff on as wide a geographical basis as possible. The United Nations places no restrictions on the eligibility of men and women to participate in any capacity and under conditions of equality in its principal and subsidiary organs. The United Nations Secretariat is a non-smoking environment.

The paramount consideration in the appointment, transfer, or promotion of staff shall be the necessity of securing the highest standards of efficiency, competence, and integrity. By accepting an offer of appointment, United Nations staff members are subject to the authority of the Secretary-General and assignment by him or her to any activities or offices of the United Nations in accordance with staff regulation 1.2 (c). In this context, all internationally recruited staff members shall be required to move periodically to discharge new functions within or across duty stations under conditions established by the Secretary-General.

Applicants are urged to follow carefully all instructions available in the online recruitment platform, inspira. For more detailed guidance, applicants may refer to the Manual for the Applicant, which can be accessed by clicking on “Manuals” hyper-link on the upper right side of the inspira account-holder homepage.

The evaluation of applicants will be conducted on the basis of the information submitted in the application according to the evaluation criteria of the job opening and the applicable internal legislations of the United Nations including the Charter of the United Nations, resolutions of the General Assembly, the Staff Regulations and Rules, administrative issuances and guidelines. Applicants must provide complete and accurate information pertaining to their personal profile and qualifications according to the instructions provided in inspira to be considered for the current job opening. No amendment, addition, deletion, revision or modification shall be made to applications that have been submitted. Candidates under serious consideration for selection will be subject to reference checks to verify the information provided in the application.

Job openings advertised on the Careers Portal will be removed at 11:59 p.m. (New York time) on the deadline date.

No Fee THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.