Geospatial Specialist / Database Manager, Rome

• Organization: FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
• Country: Italy
• City: Rome, Italy
• Office: FAO Rome
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Closing date: Monday, 30 April 2018

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST - VACANCY ANNOUNCEMENT : 180406

Geospatial Specialist / Database Manager

Job Posting : 05/Apr/2018

Closure Date : 30/Apr/2018, 11:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit : AGAH

Type of Requisition : Consultant

Grade Level : N/A

Primary Location : Italy-Rome

Duration : 11 months/renewable

Post Number : N/A

CCOG Code : N/A

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions. Qualified female applicants and qualified nationals of non-and under-represented member countries are encouraged to apply. Persons with disabilities are equally encouraged to apply. All applications will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Organizational Setting

Enhancing animal health and production is a crucial component of any strategy aimed at improving food security and reducing poverty. The Animal Production and Health Division plays a key role in assisting Member countries in dealing with diseases within a One Health framework.

In sub-Saharan Africa, tsetse-transmitted trypanosomosis severely limits mixed livestock-crop agriculture in over 10 million km2 of highly productive land. The Programme Against African Trypanosomosis (PAAT) is an inter-agency alliance that brings together FAO, WHO, IAEA and the African Union through its Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), as well as a wide range of beneficiaries and partners in endemic countries. PAAT sets tsetse and trypanosomosis (T&T) control in a broader geographic and technical context, with attention to climate change, resilience, disease ecology, environment, conservation of natural resources, socio-economics of interventions and decent rural employment, including gender sensitive activities. Capacity development and training at institutional level are key PAAT activities. In this regard, the Atlas of tsetse and African Animal Trypanosomosis/AAT and the Atlas of Human African Trypanosomosis/HAT have become key tools for planning, monitoring and evaluation of intervention. Both Atlases are constantly maintained and updated with recent data. More recently, PAAT has been implementing the Progressive Control Pathways (PCP) for AAT to support vulnerable and resource-poor livestock keepers in tsetse-infested areas in sub-Saharan Africa.

Reporting Lines

The geospatial consultant will work under the overall supervision of the Chief, Animal Health Service/Chief Veterinary Officer-FAO, and the direct supervision of the AGAH Senior Animal Health Officer, who assists the Chief, AGAH in managing the Secretariat of PAAT.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will coordinate and implement data processing and management for (1) 'the Atlas of HAT' and (2) 'the Atlas of tsetse and AAT'. He/she will also deliver demand-driven technical support to AAT-affected countries , through training activities as well as technical backstopping and remote assistance.

Tasks and responsibilities

• The Atlas of HAT (in collaboration with WHO)
• Geo-reference, harmonize, store, manage, and regularly update and enhance the epidemiological and geographical data of the HAT database, as provided by African National Sleeping Sickness Control Programs (NSSCPs) through WHO;
• Assist WHO in HAT data management, data analysis and dissemination, including regular updates of the indicators of the WHO-led HAT elimination process; mapping of HAT health facilities in sub-Saharan Africa;

The Atlas of tsetse and AAT

• Extract Data, management and inclusion for 'the Atlas of tsetse and AAT'. This includes identifying, accessing, reviewing and processing scientific publications as from 1990 containing spatially-explicit information on tsetse and AAT distribution and prevalence;
• Provide technical assistance to countries affected by tsetse-transmitted trypanosomosis in building national Atlases of tsetse and AAT and advancing along the Progressive Control Pathway (PCP) for AAT.

Capacity Development

• Contribute to joint WHO/FAO training activities for HAT-affected countries in the framework of the Atlas of HAT (preparation of training material and datasets, execution and facilitation of training courses and subsequent follow-up;
• Contribute to capacity development in data processing for AAT-affected countries (direct or remote assistance), aimed at building national Atlases of tsetse and AAT ;

Supporting the AGAH teams

• Provide technical assistance to other FAO AGAH Teams/Programmes/Projects working on surveillance and mapping of other animal diseases, e.g. PCP-FMD, Rinderpest, PPR, GLEWS, EMPRES, GF-TADs, ECTAD, V-Merge, and other FAO AGAH activities focusing on the nexus between animal health and climate change.

Other related duties

• Assist in disseminating PAAT information products and outputs through different media (e.g. WHO and FAO/PAAT web sites) by providing illustrations, maps and datasets .

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced University degree in Information Data Management and Data Analysis or similar discipline, with a focus on geospatial data/Geographic Information Systems (GIS) ;
• At least 5 years of progressive working experience in the establishment of databases related to spatial epidemiology of vector-borne diseases, with a focus on tsetse-transmitted trypanosomosis;
• Working knowledge of English, and limited knowledge of French.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• High motivation and deep ability to plan and organize own work, prioritizing tasks, delivering results and meeting deadlines;
• Demonstrated ability to operate effectively in a team, and interpersonal skills;
• At least five years of proven working experience in international development organizations or UN agencies with mapping and establishment of databanks/databases. Extent of knowledge of FAO's mandate;
• Familiarity with designing and conducting trainings in data management and spatial epidemiology in the field of monitoring, planning and evaluation of field interventions;
• Cross-sectoral experience and expertise (e.g. mapping of other phenomena, environment, socio-economy, ecology, etc.), ability to perform well in cross-disciplinary teams;
• Proven experience in contributing to information and knowledge products, including scientific and technical publications on animal health surveillance, risk assessment and outbreak investigations ;
• Familiarity with Remote Sensing (RS), e.g. processing of satellite imagery products.

Selection Criteria

• Level, extent and relevance of past experience with GIS software, particularly ArcGIS and QGIS, along with a database management system (e.g. MS Access) ;

Experience in assisting countries on trypanosomosis control and data management ;

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 a 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 recognised in the IAU/UNESCO list.
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
• Candidates with acceptable language certificate/s should upload them when submitting their application. For details, visit http://www.fao.org/3/I8446EN/i8446en.pdf
• For other issues, visit the FAO employment website: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• For further information on categories, contract duration and honoraria, please refer to the Conditions page.

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.

Vacancies will be removed from the recruitment portal at 23:59 Central European Time (CET) on the deadline for applications date. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help, or have queries, please contact: iRecruitment@fao.org

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