Senior GIS Officer

at  Rainforest Alliance

POSITION SUMMARY:

To achieve our vision requires the smart use of technology to deliver capability and capacity at both scale and pace, so that we can do the most good. We are therefore looking for an experienced Senior GIS Officer to lead all aspects of the development both GIS operations and R&D activities in our organization.
Reporting to the GIS Manager, you will be responsible for identifying and leading new GIS research and development opportunities which are aligned to our organizational 2030 sustainability vision. As required, this will involve working with GIS organizations, educational institutions, government bodies and other NGO’s; to ascertain their GIS technological and organizational requirements. Then as appropriate, with the GIS Manager, develop opportunities and solutions that are aligned with our organization’s objectives.
To be successful as the Senior GIS Officer, you should have an excellent technical proficiency, as well as superior GIS technology skills working in a distributed multicultural environment. You will need to demonstrate current knowledge of developments in different fields of remote sensing and hyperspectral satellite data analytics.

WHO WE ARE:

The Rainforest Alliance is creating a more sustainable world by using social and market forces to protect nature and improve the lives of farmers and forest communities. To achieve our mission, we partner with diverse allies around the world to drive positive change across global supply chains and in many of our most critically important natural landscapes.
Our alliance spans 70 countries and includes farmers and forest communities, companies, governments, civil society, and millions of individuals. Together we work to protect forests and biodiversity, take action on climate, and promote the rights and improve the livelihoods of rural people.
As an international nonprofit organization with more than 30 years of experience in sustainability transformation, we understand that the social and economic well-being of rural communities is tightly connected to ecosystem health. This knowledge has shaped our rigorous programs to advance sustainable land-use and commodity production.
At the Rainforest Alliance we combat climate change, protect forests and biodiversity, promote human rights, and improve livelihoods. The enormity of the social and environmental challenges we are facing requires working together in a broad alliance. This is why we bring farmers, forest communities, companies, and consumers together to change the way the world produces, sources, and consumes.

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Lead the management and execution of significant research initiatives in Remote Sensing and GIS, targeting, undertaking educational initiatives a major plus
• Develop GIS models of increasing sophistication using AI / ML to address critical environmental challenges, including but not limited to water quality, forest monitoring, landcover/land use, soil, and climate impact assessments with actionable results
• Work with RA, government and other NGOs as required to ensure GIS projects are aligned with RA, EU and UN global sustainability goals, experience with developing and writing program strategies, grant applications, or budget proposals is therefore essential
• Integrated cutting-edge methodologies to enhance environmental research accuracy and relevance.
• As appropriate undertake and or direct fieldwork data collection and analysis to support GIS model development
• As directed, work with educational programs and institutes to develop GIS related environmental programs, and training material in GIS and RS techniques
• Ensure a culture of design excellence, maturity, quality, collaboration, planning, and responsiveness in the engineering teams
• Communicating to a wide range of senior stakeholders, including other technology and data departments, aligning them to the GIS delivery roadmap and strategy.

ROLE REQUIREMENTS:

• Master’s degree in Geographic Information Technology, Computer Science, or a related field; a PhD preferred.
• Proven minimal of 10 years’ experience in leading GIS development and operations
• At least 5 years of management experience in an international GIS environment, developing and leading innovative projects in geospatial data analysis, ideally with significant contributions to climate change forestry monitoring, or water management.
• Experienced people manager with a proven ability to coach, supervise and motivate staff, ideally through continuous transformation
• Experience in remote sensing software such as ENVI, SNAP, and ERDAS.
• GIS Platform skills e.g. familiarity with using ArcGIS and QGIS.
• Programming & Data Analysis knowledge, e.g. experience in MATLAB, Python, R, SQL.
• Excellent English interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills, including ability to present ideas in a user-friendly non-technical language
• Strong Analytical and Spatial statistics skills
  Job Level: 3
  Salary: Commensurate with experience
  Deadline: 26 July 2024
  Notes: Only candidates authorized to work in the Netherlands, the UK or Kenya will be considered.
  If you have any questions about the job vacancy, please contact the HR department: recruitment@ra.org