Senior GIS officer

Organization

iMMAP is an international nongovernmental organisation that provides information management services to humanitarian and development organizations. Through information management, we help our partners target assistance to the world’s most vulnerable populations. Our core philosophy is that better data leads to better decisions and that better decisions lead to better outcomes. iMMAP’s critical support to information value chains helps to solve operational and strategic challenges of our partners in both emergency and development contexts by enabling evidence-based decision-making for better outcomes.

Background

iMMAP Inc. Iraq implements a Third-Party Monitoring Project whose goal is to conduct Third Party Monitoring (TPM) of US Department of State funded humanitarian mine action activities in Iraq at regularly scheduled intervals to confirm the accuracy of Implementing Partners’ (IP) reporting and enhance understanding and verification of the impact of these activities for affected communities.

Within the framework of its TPM project, iMMAP Inc. Iraq will conduct a post-impact assessment of cleared areas across the country, to better understand the socioeconomic impact of explosive remnant clearance for beneficiaries and the broader community. The post-impact assessment will support the donor and implementing partners in planning and prioritization of clearance activities within Iraq.

As a first step in identification of cleared areas for site visits and community engagement activities, iMMAP Inc. will conduct a desktop study utilizing satellite imagery analysis to detect post-clearance changes in land use. The GIS and Remote Expert will lead the desktop study to develop robust methodology, establish GIS tools, detect and monitor land use changes, design data visualizations and support drafting of a desktop study post-impact assessment report.

The GIS & Remote Sensing Expert will also be required to support the TPM team by developing GIS tools and systems for the project, as well as developing GIS capacities within the team. The GIS & Remote Sensing Expert will make use of GIS tools, such as ArcGIS and QGIS, and conduct data processing, analysis, and visualization through creation of interactive web maps, dashboards, web applications, story maps and other information products.

The GIS and Remote Sensing Expert position will be hybrid, with remote support provided by iMMAP Inc. Iraq. The position reports to the TPM Project Manager and will work very closely with the TPM Project Coordinator and Information Management Officer.

Description of Duties

• In coordination with the TPM team, lead the development of a methodology for undertaking satellite imagery analysis, utilizing Sentinel-2 for wide-area LULC changes monitoring and Maxar high-resolution imagery for specific areas of interest, considering annual and seasonal trends in Iraq.
• Oversee management, tasking and follow up of the assigned IMO, supporting in capacity development where required.
• Conduct assessment of the existing TPM datasets and undertake any data re- engineering required for geospatial analysis.
• Develop GIS tools to detect land use changes, including geoprocessing models to automate GIS workflows using programming and/or model builder applications where applicable.
• Lead establishment of a geodatabase, symbology library, map layers (features, attribute tables) for all cleared areas across Iraq.
• Draft technical documentation to document the GIS development process.
• Conduct geospatial analysis to provide insights to categorize and report land use types and changes across cleared areas in Iraq. 
• Create information products to visualize the key findings of geospatial analysis, including interactive web maps, static map products, dashboards, charts, statistical tables, story maps, etc.
• Support the Project Manager in drafting the desktop study post-impact assessment.
• Contributes to development of site selection methodology for conducting field visits to selected cleared areas to conduct post-impact assessments. 
• Support design and development of additional TPM information products, including dashboards, interactive web maps, story maps, etc., according to project needs.