National Soil Information and Data Specialist

Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, for better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life, leaving no one behind.

FAO is a specialized agency of the UN that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. FAO's goal is to achieve food security for all and ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives. With 195 Members (194 countries and the European Union), FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.

FAO Country Offices, working under overall corporate guidance and in line with the Strategic Framework, offer policy advice and support to countries in the mandated areas of FAO, facilitated through partnerships, resources and an active country programme to provide technical assistance, develop capacities and deliver core services while fully observing international standards of accountability to establish leadership and strengthen impact at the country level. 

The offices deliver on the programmatic priorities of each country as agreed in their respective Country Programming Frameworks (CPFs) aligned to the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) and ensure effective and efficient operations with adequate human and financial resources. 

Specifically, FAO Country Offices: 

•    advocate, inform and support policies and investments in the areas of FAO’s mandate;
•    provide technical assistance and deliver core services; 
•    assist and catalyse partnership and resource mobilization activities to support agrifood systems transformation; 
•    position FAO as the specialized/authoritative technical agency in food and agriculture and agrifood systems transformation; and 
•    ensure risk-smart and accountable operations and management.  

FAO is implementing the project ‘Soil mapping for resilient agrifood systems in Central America and sub-Saharan Africa (SoilFER) project in Ghana’ – GCP/GLO/1127/USA. The project aligns with FAO’s Programme Priority Areas BP1: innovation for sustainable agriculture production; BP5 ‘Digital agriculture and BE 1: Climate change mitigation and adapted agrifood system, and contribute to SDGs 2.1, 2.4 and 5B.

The position is in the FAO Country Office of Ghana.

Reporting Lines

The National Soil information and Data Specialist will report to the FAO Representative in Ghana, as well as to the project management team in HQ, which is hosted in the NSL.

Technical Focus

Programme soil monitoring system design, implementation, coordination and supervision based on standard international practise and the knowledge of the local conditions, culture, language and institutions of the country of assignment.

Tasks and responsibilities

•    Supervise data collection, systematization and harmonization of soil maps and legacy data (in coordination with existing institutions and initiatives in Ghana).
•    Support the design and supervision of soil surveys and sampling at the national level, using advanced soil survey techniques and methodologies, to generate high-quality soil data and associated metadata, through rigorous quality control and quality assurance measures and in collaboration with the soil laboratory experts
•    Support the development of digital soil maps, based on soil survey data, and integrating soil data into decision support tools and applications for farmers and local institutions 
•    Support the design and supervision of a soil monitoring system, including the selection of monitoring sites, to be implemented through the establishment of a national soil spectral library and estimation service 
•    Support capacity development in digital soil mapping and modeling
•    Facilitate the organization of workshops on soil data with stakeholders and partners
•    Liaise with the project team to ensure timely delivery of survey outputs, including data, maps, scripts, reports and training sessions
•    Perform any other duties as assigned by the FAO Representative

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements 
   
•    University Degree in Agricultural Science, Soil Science, Geographical Information Systems, Computer Science or any related field
•    At least 3 years of experience in digital mapping and analysis
•    Working knowledge (Level C) of English 
•    National of Republic of Ghana

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

•    Adequate evidence of GIS and other software for mapping at Regional, national or sub-national level
•    Experience with remote and proximal sensing, and Geospatial analysis technologies 
•    Familiarity with use of GIS software and high-level programming languages like Python and R
•    Familiarity with digital soil mapping or development of digital maps in general 
•    Familiarity with use of GIS software and high-level programming languages like Python and R 
•    Familiarity with remote and proximal sensing technologies 
•    Familiarity with spatial and non-spatial data analysis, and data visualization

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION