GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist

Organizational Setting

The FAO Representation in Uganda provides technical assistance to the Government of Uganda to achieve sustainable food, nutrition and income security through resilient, sustainable and inclusive agrifood systems. The project the incumbent will support aims to contribute to enhanced resilience and gender-responsiveness of food production and livelihood systems for food and nutrition security in Karamoja subregion using a food systems approach.

Reporting Lines

Under the general supervision of the FAO Representative, the direct supervision of the Programme Specialist, the incumbent directly supports the National Emergency Coordination and Operation Centre (NECOC) Department of Disaster Preparedness and management.

Technical Focus

The GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist will support on all aspects of the integration of FAO supported Early Warning Systems in the national systems, as well as supports the production of FAO supported multi-hazard early warning bulletins and coordinates various project activities with NECOC. The incumbent will undertake the following primary duties in close collaboration with all relevant technical personnel.

Tasks and responsibilities

The GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist will be responsible for the following:

• Lead the technical integration of FAO supported early warning systems within NECOC infrastructure (including the FAO supported web-based early warning portal) and the national multi-hazard Early Warning system.
• Lead the development of geospatial data collection protocols, storage, transmission and analysis of geospatial data.
• Support the development of statistical tools and techniques for multi-hazard monitoring.
• Identify and propose data sources as well as stakeholders whose systems could be useful for unilateral data integration into NECOC.
• Seek and design APIs for integration of such data or with stakeholders’ systems as will be identified.
• Contribute to the development of the technical design of FAO supported early warning systems.
• Develop protocols, tools or techniques to automate routine analysis of related hazard monitoring variables.
• Design, maintain and update geospatial databases as needed for the project as well as NECOC.
• Develop training materials for GIS, remote sensing, data analysis, and visualization, and deliver workshops / training events for FAO field staff and the government.
• Produce and/or review (ensure quality of) maps based on geospatial and remote sensing data as requested.
• Maintain a database of quality-assured base layers including and not limited to administrative, hydrographic, climatological, and demographic layers.
• Utilize GIS tools and remote sensing techniques to analyse and assess hazard-prone areas, vulnerability, and exposure to natural disasters.
• Perform all other duties as would be required in relation to remote sensing, data analysis, automation and integration.
• Provide training and technical support to staff and stakeholders on GIS and remote sensing applications.
• Develop training materials and conduct workshops to build local capacity in geospatial technologies.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced degree in Geospatial Sciences, Remote Sensing, Geography, Environmental Science, or a related field from a recognized University.
• A minimum of five years of relevant experience in GIS and remote sensing, preferably in the context of disaster risk management or early warning systems.
• Working knowledge of English.
• National of Uganda.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Work experience in more than one location or area of work.
• Extent and relevance of experience in GIS and remote sensing applications
• Extent and relevance of experience in computer programming languages such as python.
• Knowledge of spatial modeling and prediction techniques.
• Familiarity with geospatial databases and data management practices.
• Experience with remote sensing data processing and analysis.
• Extent of experience in disaster risk management/reduction, food security and/or agricultural meteorology.
• Experience in working with the government partners at different levels.
• Demonstrated ability to open to innovative approaches and new practices.
• Ability to deliver project outputs in a timely manner with high standard quality.
• Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills within team and with external stakeholders.

Selection Criteria

• Work experience with and expert knowledge of GIS software (i.e. ArcGIS, QGIS, GV-GIS, GRASS GIS, etc.) and database and computer programming (python) languages would be considered an advantage.
• Work experience with and knowledge of Google Earth Engine, Collect Earth is highly desirable.
• Knowledge of other languages is an asset

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION