GIS and Remote Sensing Specialist [Open to internal and external applicants]

Tiered Approach

In line with the commitment to safeguard capacity and support personnel already in the Organization, a majority of UNDP UNCDF/UNV vacancies are advertised using a tiered application process whereby:

• Tier 0: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV IP staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments, whose posts will be abolished, or contracts will be terminated or not renewed during 2026.
• Tier 1: Other UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding permanent (PA) and fixed-term (FTA) appointments
• Tier 2: UNDP/UNCDF/UNV staff holding temporary appointments (TA), personnel on regular PSA contracts, and Expert and Specialist UN Volunteers
• Tier 3 or no tier indicated: All other contract types from UNDP/UNCDF/UNV and other agencies, and other external candidates

Please make note of the Tier(s) indicated in the vacancy title, if any, and ensure that you satisfy the eligibility to apply.

About the Role

The Congo Basin, home to over 200 million hectares of tropical forest, represents one of the world’s most vital carbon sinks and biodiversity reservoirs. Sadly, the region continues to experience alarming rates of forest loss. Over one million hectares of forest is lost annually, driven by small-scale agriculture, infrastructure expansion, and unsustainable logging practices. Despite its ecological and climate significance, Central African forests receive only 11% of forest climate financing worldwide. This deforestation not only undermines global climate goals but also threatens the livelihoods of over 75 million forest-dependent communities. 

On this basis, a coalition of donors – Belgium, Denmark, the European Union, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Kingdom of Norway, the Netherlands, the Republic of France, the Republic of Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – together with Central African partner countries – Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Gabon – have decided to enter into a collaborative partnership to establish the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). The CAFI Trust Fund is the principal means to implement the Central African Forest Initiative. It is administered by the MPTF-Office, that also provides the Secretariat services.

CAFI’s objective is to recognize and preserve the value of the forests in the region to mitigate climate change, reduce poverty, and contribute to sustainable development. This objective will be attained through the implementation of country-led, national scale REDD+ and Low Emissions Development (LED) investment frameworks that include policy reforms and measures to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable development. 

In response, Payments for Environmental Services (PES) have emerged as a strategic and innovative performance-based financial instrument to incentivize conservation, enhance community resilience, and mobilize sustainable finance. PES schemes offer direct financial rewards to local actors (farmers, indigenous groups, and landowners) for maintaining or restoring ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, watershed protection, and biodiversity conservation. These voluntary contract-based arrangements have proven effective in aligning economic incentives with environmental stewardship, especially in regions where traditional conservation funding is limited.

Governments of Congo Basin countries and CAFI have designed a standardized regional PES programme and committed to scale it to address the drivers of forest loss while providing direct support to local actors. Groundbreaking digital tools tailored to the context of the Congo Basin countries have been developed to ensure unprecedented transparency, accountability, and measurable impact. PES are foreseen to become a major part of CAFI’s portfolio in the coming year.

To support the effective management, monitoring, and transparency of PES schemes, a dedicated digital PES tool has been developed. The system supports the full PES implementation cycle, from project setup and beneficiary enrolment to field monitoring, validation, and payment execution, while ensuring data integrity, traceability, and accountability.

The tool currently supports six types of PES activities: Agroforestry, Reforestation, Deforestation-Free Agriculture, Natural Regeneration, Assisted Regeneration and Conservation.

The PES digital tool is structured around five core modules:

• Administration - to create, configure and manage PES projects
• Admission - to manage PES beneficiaries' applications, enrolment and contract generation  
• Monitoring - to track and evaluate field visits results and inform payment decisions  
• Payment - to initiate and track PES payments to beneficiaries through mobile money services  
• GIS Portal - to visualize contracted PES areas as national allowed areas for PES on interactive maps  

Scope of Work

The objective of this assignment is to strengthen CAFI’s geospatial data architecture, analytical systems, and digital workflows in support of the PES MRV framework and broader programme monitoring, reporting, and decision-making processes across all CAFI countries.

Under the supervision of the relevant CAFI manager, the GIS and Remote sensing specialist will support the design, implementation, and operationalization of geospatial data systems, automated workflows, GIS tools, and spatial reporting processes. The Specialist will also be responsible for compiling, quality-checking, managing, and reporting spatial data submitted by implementing organisations and partner institutions, and for supporting partners in complying with CAFI spatial data submission requirements.

Key Responsibilities

The GIS and Remote sensing specialist will be responsible for:

• Identify, assess, validate, and document geospatial and related datasets relevant to CAFI’s MRV indicators and programme monitoring needs;
• Continue the development of CAFI’s PES GIS platform within existing ESRI systems, including ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Server, ArcPy workflows, ArcGIS Experience Builder, and related solutions;
• Support deployment, maintenance, and improvement of GIS services, applications, and workflows within CAFI’s enterprise architecture;
• Design and document end-to-end geospatial workflows for data ingestion, processing, analysis, visualization, and dissemination;
• Contribute to the development and continuous improvement of CAFI’s GIS database and related geospatial data structures;
• Establish and apply protocols for metadata, traceability, and quality assurance of geospatial data;
• Ensure compatibility with PostgreSQL/PostGIS, OGC services, and Python-based geospatial libraries where relevant;

Partner Support, Interoperability & Field Integration

The GIS and Remote sensing specialist will support:

• Implementing organisations and partner institutions in preparing and submitting spatial data in the required formats and according to agreed protocols;
• Providing technical guidance on GIS methodologies, field data workflows, and relevant equipment for teams using CAFI PES tools;
• Providing technical assistance to improve the preparation, formatting, transmission, and usability of partner-submitted spatial data;
• Advising on linkages between CAFI PES geospatial systems and relevant national tenure registries and land information systems;
• Promoting good practices in spatial data quality, field data standards, and operational reporting;
• Supporting the effective use of geospatial tools in field implementation, monitoring, and verification processes.

Reporting, Documentation, and Knowledge Management

The GIS and Remote sensing specialist will be responsible for:

• Preparing monthly progress reports on activities, outputs, challenges, and planned next steps;
• Reporting on the status, completeness, and quality of spatial data submissions from implementing organisations and partner institutions;
• Delivering technical documentation for workflows, scripts, datasets, systems, and developed tools;
• Preparing user guidance and operational documentation to support the sustainability and handover of geospatial systems;
• Contribute to technical notes, lessons learned, and other knowledge products related to geospatial monitoring and spatial data management;

Institutional Arrangement

The incumbent will work under the PES Lead in the CAFI Secretariat, under the day-to-day technical supervision of the PES Information System Manager.

Competencies

The incumbent is expected to demonstrate the following competencies:

• Achieve Results: LEVEL 3: Set and align challenging, achievable objectives for multiple projects, have lasting impact
• Think Innovatively: LEVEL 3: Proactively mitigate potential risks, develop new ideas to solve complex problems
• Learn Continuously: LEVEL 3: Create and act on opportunities to expand horizons, diversify experiences
• Adapt with Agility: LEVEL 3: Proactively initiate and champion change, manage multiple competing demands
• Act with Determination: LEVEL 3: Think beyond immediate task/barriers and take action to achieve greater results
• Engage and Partner: LEVEL 3: Political savvy, navigate complex landscape, champion inter-agency collaboration
• Enable Diversity and Inclusion: LEVEL 3: Appreciate benefits of diverse workforce and champion inclusivity