UNDP Jobs - 70005- GIS Assistant

GIS Assistant

Location :

Baghdad, IRAQ

Type of Contract :

Individual Contract

Starting Date :

10-Jan-2017

Application Deadline :

05-Jan-17 (Midnight New York, USA)

Post Level :

National Consultant

Duration of Initial Contract :

One Year

Languages Required :

Arabic English

Expected Duration of Assignment :

One Year

UNDP is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality and culture. Individuals from minority groups, indigenous groups and persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence. UNDP does not tolerate sexual exploitation and abuse, any kind of harassment, including sexual harassment, and discrimination. All selected candidates will, therefore, undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

Background

UNDP has been a major partner of the Government of Iraq in addressing the challenges in areas of environment, energy, and disaster and climate risks management. Environmental protection is core to UNDP’s development mandate. UNDP plays a strong role in forging connections between development and environmental sustainability for achieving sustainable development goals. UNDP Iraq has established a dedicated programme team on Environment, Energy and Climate Change (EECC) that aims to respond to the need of the Government of Iraq by embarking on a host of programmes/projects environment, renewable energy, disaster management and climate change. The objectives are to develop capacities at the national, regional and local level toward promoting resilience based development by addressing the risks associated with environmental degradation, climate change and disasters shocks. The EECC team has been engaged to support the Government of Iraq in achieving a set of priority results: (a) implementation of strategies on Disaster Risk Reduction; (b) development of a comprehensive national response plan for flood risks in Tigris river valley; (c) Community risks education and awareness; (d) promoting investment in solar energy in Iraq; and (e) building capacities to address the issues on sustainable water and climate risks management. For geographic analysis and mapping on environmental information and data, UNDP EECC seeks to hire a GIS Assistant with demonstrated ability and research experience on GIS based analysis and mapping in the areas of Natural Resources Management, and experience in using Remote Sensing technologies. The position will be based in Baghdad and will work in close coordination with the UNAMI GIS Centre under the overall guidance of the Portfolio Manager for Environment in UNDP

Duties and Responsibilities

The Individual will be doing the following activities:
• Responsible for preparation, updating and proper achieving of GIS based mapping and datasets in the areas of environmental profiling, disaster risk management, renewable energy and climate change.
• Collection and collation of spatial and non-spatial data from open and proprietary sources (including government, private, institutional and open sources) in the areas of natural resource management and land use/land cover mapping.
• Perform GIS based analysis and thematic mapping for the environment team of UNDP Iraq.
• Systematic mapping of disaster vulnerable regions in Iraq – especially along the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.
• Develop plans for satellite image data acquisition and processing and interpreting using remote sensing software, in consultation with national teams and other experts in the section.
• Provide project and technical support to the implementation of the projects under environment portfolio using remote sensing (ERDAS Imagine) software.
• Collaborate closely with the experts in the UNAMI GIS Centre and facilitate exchange of geographic data and information in order to maximize GIS service delivery and enhancing the quality of GIS based product.
• Assist in performing quality control (QC) on all products generated and disseminated including data and maps.
• Assist in providing geographic information and remote sensing training and education programs for UNDP and UN staff.

Competencies

Excellent computer skills, working knowledge of office automation software and practical knowledge of information technology (IT) are desirable; Knowledge and practical experience of the following software is highly desirable: ArcGIS Server (or equivalent); Web mapping technology (WMS, WFS, etc); RDBMS (Oracle, Informix, MS SQL Server, etc.); Other GIS software such as MapInfo, etc. Experience of graphic art software such as Adobe Illustrator is also highly desirable.

Required Skills and Experience

At least 6 years of experience with spatial planning including GIS analyses and Remote Sensing image interpretation ERDAS Imagine; geographic/terrain analysis, image processing, Solar energy site selection, Vegetation cover classification , flooding soil types and Marshland, GPS, geo-spatial related information technology, etc., ArcGIS (ArcInfo, ArcEditor, ArcView and its extensions). Work experience with UN field operations or in a multinational environment would be an asset. Knowledge of geographic information system design and development, geo-database design and management, software programming languages and web technology is desirable. University degree in Cartography, Computer science, Environmental Science, Geography or other related field with a strong emphasis in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) & Remote Sensing.