Data Scientist GIS
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Job Summary
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
23 July 2026-23:59-GMT01:00 Central European Time (Rome)WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race colour national origin ethnic or social background genetic information gender gender identity and/or expression sexual orientation religion or belief HIV status or disability.
ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the worlds largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict disasters and the impact of climate change.
At WFP people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse committed skilled and high performing teams selected on merit operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment living WFPs values (Integrity Collaboration Commitment Humanity and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
To learn more about WFP visit our website: follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube LinkedIn Instagram Facebook Twitter TikTok.
WHY JOIN WFP
WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
WFP offers a highly inclusive diverse and multicultural working environment.
WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training accreditation coaching mentorship and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country regional and global offices around the world and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).
Consultant (CST-I)
Geospatial and Intelligence Unit (PRG-FG) / Programme Division (PRG)
Remote work from home station with travel expected when feasible
To 31-Dec-2026
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The Geospatial and Intelligence Unit (PRG-FG) part of the Programme (PRG) Division integrates geospatial analysis and data science capabilities toprovidea range of crucial information products in support of WFP food security and emergency operations.
The Units work ranges from monitoring of drought or extreme rainfall conditions todetection ofchanges in infrastructure assets high-granularity assessments of natural hazard impacts and mapping of cropland and crop types. This work draws on a wide variety of Earth Observation data from low-resolution long-record high-frequency variables (rainfall vegetation indices land surface temperature) to very high sub-meter resolution data as well as high-frequency field-scale resolution multispectral and SAR data from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 platforms processed at scale on the Services cloud-based computing infrastructure.
A Data Scientist issoughtto join the Data Science function in the Unit and contribute to the development of advanced analytical solutions to serve the above operations as well as make significant contributions to their operational implementation in the Services cloud computing infrastructure.
ACCOUNTABILITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
The consultant will join the PRG-FG Unit of the Programme Division at WFP HQ and work under the supervision of the Lead Data Scientistbeing responsible for:
Data Science:
The consultant will take primary ownership of analytical workleveragingstatistical geo-statistical and machine learning techniques using complex climate environmental and socio-economic data in support of the Units products and services. These could involve for example:
Advanced EO time series processing such as filtering decomposition lag-correlation analysis and forecasting.
Methodologies for multi-resolution data fusion (e.g.Landsat / MODIS) and the blending of ground-truth data with remote-sensed signals.
Methodologies for historical forecasted and projected climate data processing and modelling.
Analysis of dynamic land cover change patterns relevant for hazard mapping and environmental resource analysis using either classic or machine learning algorithms.
Coordinating with other team members to transition their work from development to production on the Services cloud-based infrastructure where/if relevant.
Teamwork:
The Consultant will be a committed and collaborative team member and will contribute to:
- supporting knowledge sharing and common practices within the Data Science function.
managingcross-functional relationships with stakeholders in the rest of the Unit to co-design impactful analytical solutions.
Supported by strategic guidance from the lead data scientist the consultant will be self-driven and able to carry out their work autonomously.
Communication and dissemination:
The Consultant willbe responsible forquality code and documentation of their work and will present their results to stakeholders as needed.
Where the opportunity arises the consultant will be expected to:
participate in scientific and humanitarian conferences workshops and meetings including to present theirwork;
contribute towritingtechnical papers and reports to besubmittedto peer-reviewed international journals.
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE CONTRACT:
By the end of the consultancy period the Data Scientist is expected to have delivered the following:
Functioning analytical workflows applying statistical geo-statistical and machine learning techniques to climate environmental and socio-economic datasets.
High-quality code and comprehensive documentation for developed models and analyses.
Evidence of cross-functional collaboration in co-designing analytical solutions with stakeholders across the Unit.
Evidence of support in transitioning analytical solutions from development to production within the Services cloud-based infrastructure in coordination with other team members.
As the need and/or opportunity arises presentation of key findings and methodologies within WFP and where possible at relevant scientific or humanitarian conferences workshops or meetings; and contributions to the preparation of technical papers or reports for submission to peer-reviewed journals.
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
University degree in data science statistics mathematics earthsciencesor other quantitativedegree.
Experience:
At least 3 years in data science related fields.
Experience withUnitedNations or World FoodProgramme or within the field of research assessment or monitoring is a plus.
Field experience including participation in assessmentstrainings and operational missions is an asset.
Knowledge & Skills:
Essential
At least 3 years in data science related fields.
Demonstrated experience and ability to apply predictive modelling machine learning and applied statistics to real world problems and applications.
Demonstrated experience with climate earth observation remote sensing agricultural and/or large geospatial data.
Excellent Python programming skillsincludingexperience with data science and raster analysis libraries (e.g. (geo-)pandasnumpyxarray etc.) for use in research data analysis and/or modeling.
Experience with machine learning algorithms and tools (e.g.PyTorch TensorFlow scikit-learn) artificial intelligence deeplearningand/or predictive analytics.
Advanced experience inusageofJupyterNotebooks.
Preferred
Experience using software engineering best practices (e.g.CI/CD testing git) and agile development practices (continuous delivery collaboration iterative development).
Experience working with cloud technologies or distributed computing platforms such as AWS Azure GoogleCloudetc. particularly for machine learning applications.
GIS skills and/or experience (QGIS GDAL ArcGIS Pro Google Earth Engine).
Languages:
Fluent English with excellent technical reporting ability; good spoken and written knowledge of another official UN language (Arabic Chinese French Russian and Spanish) and/or Portuguese (one of WFPs working languages) is an advantage.
Candidate anticipated his BIS from 29/04 to 29/05 and was already informed that he will lose 2% increase as he will not be complete 11 months of service. He was entitled to the 3 months BIS but reduction was approved to 1.5 months (JM/MC). Tentative new EOD is on 15 July.
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
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Click here to access WFP Leadership Framework
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation please contact:
NO FEE DISCLAIMER
The United Nations does not charge any application processing training interviewing testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee please disregard it. Furthermore please note that emblems logos names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.
REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email LinkedIn or any other channel.
We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete and that all sections are filled in including your employment history academic qualifications language skills and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed please apply and submit your application.
If you experience technical issues while submitting your application you may contact us at . Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.
At the application stage the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport certificates recommendation letters etc.) may be requested later in the process.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs job requirements merit and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse all forms of discrimination any kind of harassment sexual harassment and abuse of authority. Therefore all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) International Civil Service Commission (ICSC) FAO Finance Committee WFP External Auditor WFP Audit Committee Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.
Required Experience:
IC
About Company
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. The mission of WFP is to help the world achieve Zero Hunger in our lifetimes. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest an ... View more
