Geographic information system (GIS) officer

Background

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was severely hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that left an estimated 1.5 million displaced, principally within the capital of Port-au-Prince, as well as the surrounding region. The level of damage caused to public and private infrastructure has led to the establishment of hundreds of spontaneous displacement sites. Immediately after the earthquake, IOM launched large-scale relief humanitarian operations to assist victims all over the country.

IOM Haiti's Data Management Unit (DTU) is engaged in several data collection and data analysis activities in support of different IOM and other stakeholder's programmes for post earthquake emergency assistance, reconstruction and recovery in Haiti. In particular, data is collected through IDP sites assessments - Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), individual IDP registration, building inventory and household enumeration in selected earthquake affected neighborhoods for the Overcoming Land Tenure Barriers (OLTB) project and location data on basic services and infrastructure. The unit has also integrated all the geospatial data collection and analysis for the IOM mission projects since its establishment after the January 2010 earthquake.

In 2011, IOM Haiti engaged in a project to provide basic data on the building, housing, households and tenure status (owner, renter, etc), as well as the basic social services and the location of the community infrastructure for all Haiti earthquake affected areas. Activities include update of Census cartography (3300 SDE/ census block units) and building inventory (location, status and use) for an estimated of 60,000 buildings. The project will be implemented jointly with the Haitian national institutions (Office of Statistics - Institut Haitien de Statistique et Informatique (IHSI) and Center for Geospatial Information - (CNIGS)). IOM has been tasked by the Joint UN country team to lead the project activities and provide technical support to national institutions.

As a result of this new project, IOM needs to expand its GIS capacity and establish a multifunctional GIS unit that will act as the base for data collection, mapping and application of new methodologies for cartography update and spatial analysis.

Context

Under the overall supervision of the Programme Manager (Data Management Unit), the successful candidate will be responsible for the management of the GIS Unit. He/ she will be responsible for the development of the methodologies, implementation and liaison of activities with respect to the unit's engagement in data collection, and the mapping and geospatial analysis for IOM programme activities. He/ she will seek to establish synergies with partners engaged in GIS activities in Haiti and will advise on a harmonized and unified approach.

Core functions/ responsibilities

- Develop the work plan for the GIS unit and design its implementation modalities through close collaboration with IOM Haiti Programme Managers and external partner agencies, donors and national counterparts.
- Plan, develop and supervise the implementation of all activities of the spatial data collection, mapping and analysis, ensuring the quality of the output and the efficient allocation of resources to achieve the identified objectives.
- Provide technical guidance and supervise the GIS analysts, technical advisors, project assistants and operational teams and assign tasks in compliance with the GIS unit's work plan and implementation strategy.
- Develop standard GIS data management procedures for regular input and output of materials and statistics. Ensure proper documentation of the GIS unit's activities. Ensure timely and accurate provision of project results and requested outputs.
- Develop and organize methodology and related documents to improve the work flow for update of census cartography.
- Develop strong links with other GIS staff in the affected area to promote coordination and information-sharing between organizations.
- Identify requirements for spatial analysis and products relevant to activities of the humanitarian community. Liaise with other information providers on spatial data issues.
- Conduct analysis and relate separate datasets to create analytical products.
- Work closely with ISHI, CNIGS and other agencies, to identify their needs and advise on the GIS products and services the GIS unit can offer to enhance their work.
- Prepare and distribute maps, report and documents in various formats (hard-copy, digital and web-compatible). Manage the GIS department map store and product.
- Support and oversee the performance of the staff. Provide training and develop national skills in GIS.
- Perform such other duties as may be assigned.

Desirable competencies

Behavioural

- takes responsibility and manages constructive criticism;
- works effectively with all clients and stakeholders;
- promotes continuous learning; communicates clearly;
- takes initiative and drives high levels of performance management;
- plans work, anticipates risks and sets goals within area of responsibility;
- displays mastery of subject matter;
- contributes to a collegial team environment;
- creates a respectful working environment free of harassment and retaliation, and promotes the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse (PSEA);
- incorporates gender-related needs, perspectives, and concerns, and promotes equal gender participation;
- displays awareness of relevant technological solutions;
- works with internal and external stakeholders to meet resource needs of IOM.

Technical

- correctly applies knowledge of specialized IT disciplines;
- anticipates and prepares response to changing IT needs of the relevant organizational unit;
- delivers optimal IT solutions within defined resource parameters.

Desirable qualifications and experience

- Completed advanced university degree in Computer Science, preferably in Geographic Information Systems, or alternatively, a combination of relevant training and experience;
- five years of practical experience in GIS Systems , two years of which are spent at an international level;
- experience in planning and implementation of field mapping logistics as well as advance knowledge in the use of ArcGIS desktop applications, ArcSDE, ArcGIS server and SQL Server;
- previous work experience and strong practical background in remote sensing, image processing, geo-spatial databases and disaster risk reduction specifically with ENVI or ERDAS, SQL server;
- previous work experience in Census Mapping using mobile mapping systems and Geo-database modeling;
- familiarity with Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and other automated cartographic principles, systems or technologies;
- previous project management experience; data management programme preferred;
- familiarity with the region an advantage.

Languages

- Thorough knowledge of French and English.
- Working knowledge of Haitian Creole an advantage.