Risk Analyst Geographic Information System

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. We are currently seeking to fill the position of Geographic Information System Risk Analyst, which will be based in the Emergency Preparedness Branch (OSEP) at our Headquarters in Rome, Italy. The selected candidate will be offered an international consultancy contract for an initial period of 6 months.

Background

The WFP Emergency Preparedness Branch (OSEP), in collaboration with other relevant units, is developing a Spatial Risk Calendar (SPARC) to support emergency preparedness and programme planning. To support emergency preparedness and early warning SPARC will combine data layers covering hazard exposure and population vulnerability to determine baseline probabilistic levels of humanitarian impact associated with particular hazard types, on a monthly basis, at a sub-national level, around the globe. To support programme design it will identify subnational areas with varying degrees of exposure to natural shocks, and population vulnerability, on a monthly/seasonal level.

Key Responsibilities

Reporting to the Head of the Analysis and Early Warning Unit, the Consultant will be responsible for the following key duties:

• Provide technical coordination of SPARC project development;
• Provide conceptual guidance for SPARC development, as well as individual components;
• Develop code to automatically process large data sets related to natural hazards and population vulnerability;
• Process large datasets according to project specifications and coordinate their integration into the SPARC platform with the GIS Web Developer;
• Perform other related task as required.

Qualifications & Experience Required

Education:

Advanced University degree in Geographical Information Systems.

Experience:

• At least 5 years of professional experience in GIS risk analysis;
• Experience working in international scientific environments.

Technical Knowledge & Skills:

• Advanced risk analysis and GIS spatial analysis skills;
• Familiarity with spatial databases;
• Advanced development skills (Arcpy) is mandatory;
• Advanced editing on vectors using topology rules;
• Knowledge of the main GIS/Remote Sensing software: ERDAS, ENVI ArcGIS 10; QuantumGIS and other open source software knowledge is an asset.

Competencies:

• Ability to communicate clearly and concisely both orally and in writing;
• Good analytical and conceptual skills;
• Ability to work both with minimal supervision and as part of a team;
• Ability to establish effective working relations with persons of different national and cultural backgrounds.

Language

Fluency in both oral and written English.