Technical Advisor (Climate and Seasonal Monitoring) P4, RAM-C, Rome, Italy,

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WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.

Are you an experienced Climate and Seasonal Monitoring expert interested in further developing your professional experience while contributing to ending global hunger? Are you passionate about helping those in need? Would you like to join a global organization investing in its people?
If so, an exciting & fulfilling career awaits you! Join our diverse and passionate team that works on varied and international projects directly contributing to saving & changing millions of lives around the globe.

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS

Applications must be submitted by Sunday, March 5, 2023 (10:59 PM CET)

WHO WE ARE

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), is a highly prestigious, reputable & world’s largest humanitarian organization, operating in more than 120 countries and territories, bringing life-saving assistance in emergencies, building pathways to peace, stability, and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change and supporting sustainable and resilient livelihoods for a world with zero hunger.

At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high-performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.

To learn more about WFP, visit our website: UN World Food Programme (WFP), and follow us on social media to keep up with our latest news: YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

WHY JOIN US?

• WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
• WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment
• WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities
• A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe
• We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section)

ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT

The position is based in RAM-C and reports to the Senior Climate, and Earth Observation Advisor.

Earth Observation and Climate data is a fundamental component of the Research, Assessment, and Monitoring (RAM) Division analytical activities, providing crucial information products for hard-to-reach areas such as many of the L3 Emergencies WFP is currently involved in.

This area of work is handled by the Climate and Earth Observation Team in RAM (RAM-C). RAM-C runs the Seasonal Monitor System, a global medium-resolution satellite-based monitoring system of growing season conditions for the early detection of drought-related impacts on crop and pasture availability. In the past few years, two major developments took place:

• The activities of analysis and reporting on the progress of the season were largely devolved to RAM teams at the regional level, based on routine mapping products prepared and made available by HQ. A few COs have also developed their own monitoring capacity.
• RAM-C developed and put in operation, a fully featured cloud-based platform (Humanitarian Data Cube, HDC) to deliver routinely all the required satellite and climate inputs that both HQ and the regional teams require for their evidence generation work in climate hazard impact assessment.

The HDC is now moving to a phase of becoming the central point of access in WFP for analysis-ready, high-quality Earth Observation and climate data. The vision is now to promote access to the HDC outputs directly by RAM officers at the RB and CO level so they can progress towards analytical independence using verified, standard computing resources, with RAM-C moving to a role of guidance and scientific supervision. This will also enable a stronger presence of WFP in international fora and communities of practice (GEOGLAM, MED-AMIN). This will also expand the range of analytical services that RAM-C provides to external users (RAM’s Seasonal Explorer), teams in other divisions such as PRO-C (Country climate analysis, livestock insurance, Anticipatory Action) and EME (Integrated Context Analysis) as well as the portfolio of services that WFP can provide in climate-related technical assistance to Governments.

These new capacities bring new challenges in terms of coordination, analytical guidance, research and development, production of user-oriented information, and staff capacity development. Overcoming these challenges is essential for WFP to equip itself with the technical and human resources it needs to face up to the ongoing climate crisis.

JOB PURPOSE

The role of the Technical Advisor for Climate and Seasonal Monitoring is required to lead an expansion of the analytical capacity at RB and CO level in climate-related evidence generation (seasonal monitoring, climate analysis, and scenarios) as well as improve the scope and range of WFP’s climate information portfolio. The position will also lead a considerable amount of cross-divisional work at the HQ level and make significant contributions to Government technical support initiatives in the areas of seasonal monitoring and early warning.

The post is technically advanced, requiring substantial professional experience in food-security related applications of EO and Climate data, expertise in methodological research and development, but also requires advanced skill levels in coordination and professional engagement to effectively foster the participation of RBs and COs in the developments that lie ahead.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES (not all-inclusive)

Seasonal Monitor System:

• Lead the Seasonal Monitor system, overseeing data flows and output preparation, and ensuring a routine availability of quality-controlled, standardized long-time series of Climate and EO data and derived indicators in coordination with the Data Science and Infra-structure teams.
• Identify advanced algorithms to generate new or improved key climate and EO data products for Seasonal Monitoring and Climate Analysis and coordinate their operational implementation (testing, benchmarking, and validation) with the Data Science and Infrastructure Team.
• Coordinate response to analytical requests from the field, preparing or supervise the preparation of analytical briefs and liaising with RB and COs as appropriate.

Regional and Country Climate Analysis:

• Lead the preparation of Country Climate Analysis reports upon demand from RBs, COs or from PRO-C (Climate Change and Disaster Reduction Unit).
• Considering current developments in RAM-C’s EO data infra-structure, develop a strategy for Country Climate Analysis (CCA) in terms of a revamped computational ability and on-demand production of CCA inputs

RB and CO-level Expansion of Analytical Capacity:

• Support the preparation of Seasonal Monitor reports to the Regional Bureau level, facilitating access to all relevant outputs, and ensuring timely production of the bulletins. Troubleshoot and assist as required.
• Establish a network of knowledge through leading regular joint Seasonal Monitor calls with Regional RAM-C units. The aim is to ensure analytical consistency, quality reporting and timely inputs to downstream applications, while providing wider skill sets to younger staff.
• Lead the preparation of guidance and capacity development materials in techniques of seasonal monitoring, climate analysis and assessment of natural hazard impacts

Cross-Divisional and External Engagements:

• Explore the connection of CCA diagnostics to programmatic activities at CO and RB level and support to preparation of ICA reports in coordination with the EME Division.
• Lead WFP presence in the CM4EW GEOGLAM initiative and manage contributions of WFP Regional Bureaus in the preparation of the regular reports of this community of practice
• Ensure WFP presence in international meetings and scientific conferences on topics relevant to Seasonal Monitoring and Early Warning
• Identify data analytics platforms and knowledge hubs of relevance to WFP’s Seasonal Monitoring and Climate analysis and lead cooperative work as appropriate and beneficial to RAM-C and the wider WFP.

QUALIFICATIONS AND KEY REQUIREMENTS

EDUCATION:

• University degree in physics, geography, agriculture, environmental sciences, or a similar relevant discipline.

EXPERIENCE:

• At least 8 years of professional experience in the field of early warning and food security-related agro-meteorological analysis
• Strong remote sensing analysis, GIS and data management skills
• Experience in early warning and remote sensing (interpretation and analysis) and familiarity with the specialized software applications associated with them
• Good presentation and team working skills, with the ability to follow and develop a given scope of work.

LANGUAGE:

• Fluency (level C) in the English language.
• Intermediate knowledge (level B) of a second official UN language: Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish, and/or Portuguese (A WFP’s working language) will be an asset.

MORE ABOUT YOU

You have:

• High level of R and/or Python programming, expert usage of GIS software (ArcGIS and QGIS) and geo-analytical platforms (Google Earth Engine), Windows/Office.

• Strong knowledge in processing and analysis of time series of climate and Earth Observation data and in the evaluation of new products and platforms.

• Expert knowledge in seasonal monitoring, early warning, and drought hazard assessment

• Strong experience in sourcing scientific methodologies from published peer-reviewed articles in the scientific press.

WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK

These are the common standards of behaviour that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.

Different expectations of behaviour are defined depending on your grade and role/responsibilities within WFP.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• This is an International Professional position (non-rotational) and is open to all nationalities.
• This is a Limited Fixed Term Appointment. A Limited Fixed-Term Appointment (LFT) position is a non-mobile staff appointment in the international professional category for a limited period for up to 4 years. The position is based in Rome, Italy and the selected candidate will be expected to relocate. ​
• WFP offers an attractive compensation and benefits package in line with ICSC standards (http://icsc.un.org) including basic salary, post adjustment, relocation entitlement, visa, travel and shipment allowances, 30 days’ annual leave, home leave, an education grant for dependent children, a pension plan, and medical insurance.
• The selected candidate will be required to relocate to Rome, Italy to take up this assignment.

REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

• We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, and complete, and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN Grade (if applicable).
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
• Please make sure you upload your professional CV in the English language
• Kindly note the only documents you will need to submit at this time are your CV and Cover Letter
• Additional documents such as passports, recommendation letters, academic certificates, etc. may potentially be requested at a future time
• Please get in touch with us at wfprecruitment@wfp.org in case you face any challenges with submitting your application
• Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

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All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.

No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.

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