Geospatial Data Scientist

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

Organizational Setting

FAO Statistics Division (ESS) has the mandate to:
Collect analyze and disseminate agrifood systems data from member countries generating statistics and accompanying briefs in FAOSTAT RuLIS and other relevant platforms.
Work directly with countries to develop national statistical strategies strengthen institutional and technical capacities and improve statistical systems.
Develop and promote international food and agricultural statistical standards as well as methods and tools for collecting analyzing and disseminating data.
Ensure stronger governance of FAOs statistical system.
Foster consistency of FAOs Statistical programme with the Strategic Framework.
Ensure statistical excellence through the implementation of statistical standards and quality assurance mechanisms.
Position FAOs presence in statistical discussions at global level.

Within this mandate ESS is collaborating with technical FAO divisions and decentralized offices to develop and promote Earth observation (EO)-based solutions to produce data and statistics needed for evidence-based decision-making in support of food security and food system transformation. ESS and its partners also provide technical assistance to countries on the use of EO data in the production and quality assurance of agricultural statistics including through the implementation of initiatives such as the FAO-EOSTAT the 50x2030 Initiative and the World Programme for the Census of Agriculture (WCA). Finally ESS through its Data Lab for Statistical Innovation supports FAO divisions and offices in the design and experimentation of innovative solutions using new methods and data sources including those related to geospatial information to produce actionable information (e.g. for climate resilience early warning systems and disaster impact assessments) and statistics for the implementation of FAO Strategic Framework.

Reporting Lines

The selected candidate will work under the supervision of the Team leader of the Methodological Innovation team in the Statistics Division (ESS) in close collaboration with the Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA) FAO regional and country offices and other relevant FAO divisions/offices on the development promotion and capacity development activities of EO-based solutions for food and agriculture statistics and evidence-based decision-making including through the activities of the EOSTAT 50x2030 Initiative WCA and Data Lab for statistical innovation.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will provide technical support to ESS-led geospatial activities related to the use of Earth Observation (EO) data for the production and quality assurance of agricultural statistics. The focus will be on providing expertise in applying EO data to address the practical realities and data challenges of agricultural monitoring and statistical production in developing countries in close collaboration with ESS and relevant technical partners.
The incumbent will have responsibilities in the following areas of work: Development and application of EO based methodologies for agricultural statistics; Integrated data systems interoperability and quality assurance; Validation and quality assessment of EO derived products; Collaboration with countries and partners; Capacity development outreach and knowledge transfer; Communication dissemination and policy relevance.

Tasks and responsibilities

Design implement and validate EO based methodologies and indicators for crop area and yield climate resilience early warning systems and disaster impact assessments to enhance existing national agricultural statistical frameworks while ensuring scalability and fitness for purpose in developing country contexts (small holder farming systems mixed cropping common land tenure).

Support the preprocessing and use of EO satellite images and time series and the preparation and use of EO datasets for the EOSTAT the 50x2030 Initiative and the WCA activities as needed.
Apply geospatial data science and machine learning approaches (e.g. for crop type and land cover mapping improved area frames and farm registers for scalable statistical indicators derived from various sources (survey data national statistics geospatial data including EO time series and other auxiliary information)) with the objective of filling statistical data gaps and improve statistical processes.
Design and support integrated data collection strategies combining EO census survey and in situ data including data collection and sampling protocols for in situ data and their integration in agricultural surveys/censuses and the design of digital data collection systems (e.g. ODK SurveyCTO) to generate essential ground-truth data for model calibration validation and complementary socio-economic analysis.
In line with EOSTATs framework for in situ data quality assurance establish end-to-end data quality assurance protocol from real-time monitoring during field work to post-collection cleaning harmonization and documentation of integrated datasets using tools like R SPSS and QGIS.
Foster data interoperability by linking census/survey and statistical datasets with geospatial data layers (e.g. climate soil satellite-derived products) and aligning them with national and global data frameworks.
Collaborate with and/or provide technical assistance to national technical counterparts (statisticians agronomists policy analysts) to integrate EO-derived evidence into official statistical production cycles national crop forecasts early warning bulletins and disaster impact assessments.
Contribute to the expansion of the EOSTAT and the Data Lab for statistical innovation initiatives notably by establishing effective collaboration with partners contributing to the scoping of activities and priorities and assessing data availability needs gaps and opportunities.
Contribute to capacity development activities tailored to the operational needs of national agricultural and statistical agencies notably by preparing adapted training material technical documentation notes and inputs to training or knowledge-sharing activities and providing tailored training and technical assistance to national counterparts.
Support outreach activities to foster use of EO data access services and platforms in developing countries (e.g. cloud-based EO services and APIs) in line with ESS guidance.
Translate geospatial analysis and trends into clear actionable technical notes policy briefs and programme recommendations addressing agriculture production productivity and climate adaptation needs.
Support the dissemination of geospatial products produced by the Statistics including the preparation and maintenance of relevant ISO compliant metadata in FAO Agro informatics platforms.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in Environmental Science Data Science Informatics Geography Statistics or related fields; Consultants with a bachelors degree need two additional years of relevant professional experience;
Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience in applying EO Data to agricultural monitoring food and agriculture statistics or evidence-based policy analysis with a demonstrable focus on developing country contexts;
Working knowledge of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Selection Criteria

Extent and relevance of work experience in:

oApplying EO data to address real-world agricultural and data challenges in developing countries (e.g. for national crop area estimation yield monitoring and forecasting drought monitoring disaster assessment and development of area frames);
oConducting satellite image classification in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes typical of developing countries;
oDesigning and managing complex agricultural data collection (e.g. the development of data collection and sampling protocols for in-situ data their integration in agricultural surveys and the design of digital data collection systems (e.g. ODK SurveyCTO);
oPre processing and analysing satellite image time series for agricultural monitoring and statistical applications;
oPerforming in situ data cleaning processing and analysis in combination with other datasets (survey statistical and geospatial data) using appropriate statistical and spatial tools (e.g. R SPSS QGIS);
oTranslating geospatial insights into clear policy advice programme recommendations or technical reports tailored for national government and development partners;
oDesigning validating and applying operational context-appropriate EO-derived indicators for crop performance productivity and climate impacts taking into account local agronomic practices;
oManaging data integration interoperability and quality assurance processes for geospatial applications;
oSupporting capacity development and institutional strengthening including the preparation of training materials facilitation of and providing technical support to national institutions
oWorking with agricultural statistics and geospatial data produced by national agencies in developing countries;

In addition candidates will be assessed on:

oDemonstrated understanding of the structure constraints and opportunities of agricultural statistics systems and farming systems in developing countries;
oProven ability to collaborate effectively with both technical and non-technical national counterparts to integrate EO-based evidence into existing national monitoring reporting and statistical production workflows;
oProficiency in the use of spatial analysis tools (notably R and QGIS) including experience in addressing common data quality issues in developing regions.
oAbility to work independently with minimum supervision.

The following are considered as assets:

oKnowledge of Sen4STAT methodology and tools;
oKnowledge of Spanish and French

HOW TO APPLY

To apply visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate complete and includes your employment records academic qualifications and language skills
Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
Once your profile is completed please apply and submit your application

Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED) a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at These qualifications should be in alignment with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) mappings.

Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work character education military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
Incomplete applications will not be considered
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Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

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• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender nationality background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct and to uphold FAOs values
• FAO as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status objectives and mandate including sexual exploitation and abuse sexual harassment abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

FAOs commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.