Research Project Coordinator – Remote Sensing/Geospatial Analyst – INTERNAL/EXTERNAL

at International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
Location Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Date Posted July 18, 2022
Category NGO
Job Type Full-time
Currency ETB

Description

The Position: The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) seeks to recruit a Research Project Coordinator - Remote Sensing/Geospatial Analyst expert who will provide support to the Multifunctional Landscapes Lever of the Alliance in Ethiopia and beyond to access, download, process and analyse earth observation (optical and/or radar) and geospatial data that will be used by various projects. She/he will also support coordinating various Alliance Ethiopia projects and national initiatives associated with data, analytics, DSSs and dissemination channels. She/he will be a member of the Alliance which is based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) campus in Addis Ababa.
General: The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) hereafter Alliance delivers research-based solutions that address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. The Alliance focuses on the nexus of agriculture, nutrition and environment. We work with local, national, and multinational partners across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and with the public and private sectors and civil society. With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people. The Alliance is organized into six key levers: 1) Food environment and consumer behavior - reshaping the food environment and consumer behavior toward healthy and sustainable diets; 2) Multifunctional landscapes - fostering innovation for environmental health and productive landscapes to improve livelihoods; 3) Climate action - mainstreaming climate action in the food system to reduce risks; 4) Biodiversity for food and agriculture - making agricultural and tree diversity available and safeguarding it for the diverse needs of food system actors; 5) Digital inclusion - promoting inclusion in the digital agriculture revolution for equitable benefits; and 6) Crops for nutrition and health - putting nutrition and health at the heart of crop improvement to address the triple burden of malnutrition. The candidate will provide technical support to the Multifunctional landscapes lever in Ethiopia, more specifically on the coordination and management of projects linked with database and analytics systems to support the agricultural transformation effort of the country. The candidate mainly support on accessing satellite images of different types from different sources, preprocess those datasets and conduct detailed analysis related to spatio-temporal dynamics and trends of different features. She/he will be expected to provide a vivid support for the government efforts related to the “Green Legacy” – matching options with contexts and developing monitoring systems (near real-time). A focus will be around the development of near real-time forest, land use/cover, land degradation, restoration, etc. monitoring system that can be linked with alerts and incentive mechanisms. She/he will also support the development of DSSs aimed to address agricultural bottlenecks in developing countries. She/he will liaison with national and international partners to inventory and map efforts related to ‘digital solution’ in the country to design modality for integration and harmonization. She/he will also support efforts associated with establishment of a web-based mapping applications in support of land restoration, climate smart agriculture, fertilizer recommendation, and disease surveillance works in Ethiopia with capabilities to develop link through API and an integrated dashboard. She/he will also provide mentorship and capacity building to the Alliance team, its PhD/MSc students and national partners.
Key Duties And Responsibilities
The Research Project Coordinator - Remote Sensing/Geospatial Analyst will provide technical support in the analysis of time series earth observation data to conduct change detection analysis and support monitoring exercises. She/he will specifically provide the following specific functions:

  • Uses time serious satellite and climate data to assess trend and develop future scenarios with implications of environmental and socioeconomic domains (crop yield, drought, soil carbon, soil moisture, flood, pest, and disease);
  • Develops toolkit and workflows to conduct automated change detection analysis in near real-time;
  • Assesses land use/cover, deforestation, degradation, restoration/rehabilitation, etc. using time series algorithms (Terra-I, Global Forest Watch, CCDC, CODED, LandTrendr, BFAST, SEPAL, Collect Earth Online, etc.) and develops applicable methodology in collaboration with counterparts;
  • Support the development of methods and tools to conduct earth observation-based crop yield and area estimation to help national and local assessments;
  • Works with relevant partners to accessing freely available Norway’s International Climate and Forests Initiative (NICFI) Planet data and apply for Ethiopian condition;
  • Explore and link with different global and national entities to share experiences and co-develop algorithms that can suit national and regional interests;
  • Employs earth observation data to support indetification of forest friendly livelihood options and tradeoff analysis in a forest-coffee-cereal-livestock farming system mosaic;
  • Uses earth observation data and tools to assess performance of the SLMP project in Ethiopia in terms of key ecosystem benefits and develop operations framework for future use;
  • Uses earth observation data, tools and approaches to support the Ethiopian government ‘reforestation campain’ (Green Legacy);
  • Publishes major scientific findings in journals, book chapters, blogs and other communication outlets and supports compilation and managemen of knowledge;
  • Develops training materials related to mapping and quantifying forests, and forest change;
  • Contributes to the resource mobilization efforts of the Alliance and the CGIAR Research Programs through writing research proposals, building capacity in our partners, engaging with the University sector by co-supervising postgraduate students and creating harmonization with partners;
  • Perform any other related tasks as and when requested.

Education
Minimum Requirements:

  • MSc or PhD Degree remote sensing, goespatila analysis, environemtal science, Geography or related fields with substantive coursework in remote sensing, geospatial analysis and modeling.
  • In depth technical and specialized knowledge in the field of applied remote sensing and/or geospatial analysis.

Work Experience

  • Masters degree with 9 years’ of applied experience
  • PhD degree with 3 years’ of applied experience
  • Understand farm/plot and landscape level processes, their interactions, feedbacks and emergent behavior to customize complementary technologies
  • Considerable practical and proven experience on the application of remote sensing (both optical and microwave) and geostpial analysis methods and tools
  • Evidences of relevant pubications in the area to prove experience

Additional Skills

  • Experience in agricultural, environmental, climate and related fields
  • Demonstrated experience working with open source geospatial technology stacks, e.g. PostGIS, GeoServer and Mapserver
  • Demonstrated experience in web mapping interface design and development using some of the collaborative tools and platforms: Git, GitHub, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AngularJS, JQuery, Leaflet and OpenLayers.
  • High standards for code quality, maintainability, integrity, performance, and standards
  • Excellent team player, self-motivated and independent problem solver.
  • Good communication skills and command of English.
  • In depth knowledge in a technical and specialized field of study.

Duty Station: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Position level: HG 16
Minimum Base Salary

  • Birr 99,460 per month (Negotiable depending on salary history of the candidate)

Terms of appointment: Initial appointment is for two years renewable appointment based on performance and funding availability. The Alliance offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits in line with ILRI salary applicable for its National Staff. The Alliance is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that diversity of its staff contributes to excellence. The ILRI campus is set in a secure, attractive campus with dining and sports facilities.

Applying Instructions

Applications: Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae; names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to be included in the curriculum vitae. The position and reference number: RPC/RSG/18/22 should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter. All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal: http://ilri.simplicant.com/ on

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