Afghanistan: Statistical Programme/GIS Specialist

Jun 29, 2020 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN
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The FAO in Afghanistan assists the Government to develop policies, programmes, and projects to address the root causes of hunger and malnutrition; to help the Government develop the agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors and to use the environmental and natural resources suitably. It participates in the development of FAO’s field projects in the country and implements it, including the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the damaged relevant sectors.

FAO assistance in Afghanistan achieves its objectives through capacity development and direct project implementation in four specific areas of FAO’s technical expertise:

  • Better governance through the improved capacity for policy planning, land reform, decentralization, and management of common natural resources;
  • Fostering expansion of irrigation and field water management;
  • Intensive agriculture for surplus commercialization, value chains development, and job creation;
  • Supporting vulnerable farmers for improved food & nutrition security, resilience, and emergency response to natural and man-made disasters and climate change.

The post is located in Kabul – Afghanistan and will have some travel missions inside the country as required and subject to security permitting.

Project Background:

The Statistical Programme/GIS Specialist will report directly to the FAO Representative in Afghanistan as his/her supervisor. On technical aspects, s/he should consult with the Lead Technical Officers (LTO) based at FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok – Thailand and National Policy Analyst based at FAO Representative in Kabul – Afghanistan. Moreover, s/he maintain close coordination and consultant with NSIA (National Statistics & Information Authority of Afghanistan) and FAO counterpart MAIL (Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock) to carry out frequired tasks;

Reporting Lines:

The Consultant will work directly with the project Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and National Policy Analyst. He/she will have overall responsible for review of existing reports, project documents, policies and strategies in the country with more focus on the links with Geospatial initiative and finally develop a national geospatial strategy. Further to this, the consultant will also prepare the end of assignment report containing findings, conclusions and recommendations for the future

Technical Focus:

The Consultant will work directly with the project Lead Technical Officer (LTO) and National Policy Analyst. He/she will have overall responsible for review of existing reports, project documents, policies and strategies in the country with more focus on the links with Geospatial initiative and finally develop a national geospatial strategy. Further to this, the consultant will also prepare the end of assignment report containing findings, conclusions and recommendations for the future reference.

Tasks and Responsibilities

  • Conduct research and compile relevant information on priority themes, available classified images, sampling plan, and reference data collection approach of NSIA;
  • Select software tools for crop area estimation combining classified images and reference data;
  • Provide training to NSIA technical staff on the selected software tools;
  • Assist NSIA and MAIL (Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Livestock) in selecting priority crops for yield estimation;
  • Check the availability and applicability in the R package of suitable estimators combining classified images with reference samples, calibration, regression, and small area estimators;
  • Perform R programming and analysis support of analysis datasets, listings, summaries, and tables; and provide training to the NSIA technical staff;
  • Identify the missing modules and data preparation programs, and suggest changes if necessary;
  • Compute the required estimators for crop statistics and SDGs indicators with a greater focus on SDG2 indicators that can be addressed with the available data and provide on the job training the NSIA technical staff; and
  • Any other task as required within the framework of the assignment.

Candidates will be assessed against the following:

Minimum Requirements

  • University degree in in Computer Science, GIS (Geographical Information System), Statistics or closely related fields
  • At least seven (7) years of relevant practical experience in performing the tasks described above in international development reporting and statistical applications system/sub-systems and Remote sensing and image processing experiences with at least three (3) years in ArcGIS Server, its operationalization and configuration, using statelltie images for agriculture area and crop measurements and other similar fucntions/duties;
  • Working knowledge of English and limited knowledge of one of the other FAO languages (French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian).

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

  • Work experience in more than one location or area of work, particularly in field positions;
  • Strong statistical programming skills in R and GIS software (ArcGIS or QGIS); proficiency in SAS is desirable;
  • Extensive experience in the design of short- and long-term goals for the development and as well as Remote sensing and image processing experiences;
  • Extensive experience in strategic planning for data and information systems, preferably using GIS data and systems (academia, industry, and research);
  • Experience in qualitative analysis and field research;
  • Experience in inter-governmental processes and discussions related to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals considered as an asset; and
  • Good interpersonal communication, report writing, and computing skills and must be fluent in English;
  • Experience with program and communication with the United Nations, FAO or other international agencies;
  • Demonstrated inter-personal ability to work as an effective team member in complex multi-cultural environments.
  • Demonstrated initiative and ability to deliver results within tight deadlines.
  • Work experience in Afghanistan or other hardship duty stations would be an asset;
  • Demonstrated ability to work and perform duties under security restricted conditions;

Additional Information

FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)

Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list.

If you are in possession of language certificate/s from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT), please attach the certificate/s when submitting the application.