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:
Food environment and consumer behavior - reshaping the food environment and consumer behavior toward healthy and sustainable diets;
Multifunctional landscapes - fostering innovation for environmental health and productive landscapes to improve livelihoods;
Climate action - mainstreaming climate action in the food system to reduce risks;
Biodiversity for food and agriculture - making agricultural and tree diversity available and safeguarding it for the diverse needs of food system actors;
Digital inclusion - promoting inclusion in the digital agriculture revolution for equitable benefits; and
Crops for nutrition and health - putting nutrition and health at the heart of crop improvement to address the triple burden of malnutrition.
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.
Minimum Requirements:
Education:
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.
