Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Specialist

Result of Service

Duties and Responsibilities a.) General activities: • The consultant will be responsible for keeping the HUB Coordinator informed and having to obtain validation of his/her activities in the full project cycle. b.) Specific technical responsibilities: • Design, build and maintain the project’s geographic information system and geodatabase for the three prioritized neighbourhoods (Unión Victoria, Obrero and Iberia), consolidating the cartographic, social, demographic, environmental, urban and public-service layers required for the formulation of the Habitat Management Plan (PGH). • Produce the base and thematic cartography needed for the Territorial-Supports Study (Estudio de Soportes Territoriales) and the territorial diagnosis of the PGH, including land use, public space, risks and hazards, infrastructure, housing deficit and coverage of public utilities. • Georeference and map the eleven critical waste-accumulation points and other field information identified during micro-targeting, generating spatial analyses that inform decisions on the circular-economy chain and on the siting of the three pilot urban solutions. • Systematize and digitize the outputs of community participatory mapping (actors’ maps, community perception of problems, opportunities and aspirations) so they can be integrated into the diagnosis and into the Plan de Vida Deseable and Plan de Vida Posible. • Develop spatial analyses (site suitability, accessibility, environmental restrictions) to support the prioritization of projects and interventions of the Integral Territorial Operation (OTI) and the co-design of the pilot urban solutions led by women and youth. • Prepare maps, plans, dashboards and other geographic outputs for technical documents, presentations and the PGH adoption instrument (Decree). c.) Coordination, validation and quality: • Keep the project’s geographic information aligned with official sources and with the methodological guidelines of the Ministry of Housing, City and Territory (MVCT) for the formulation of Habitat Management Plans. • Validate the quality, consistency and metadata of the spatial information produced, ensuring that it is reliable, reproducible and transferable to the local government. • Support the supervisor and the technical team in reviewing and approving the cartographic and geographic components of the PGH and of the project deliverables. d.) Implementation and field activities: • Carry out and/or accompany field data-collection activities (GPS surveying, mapping of critical points, community mapping workshops) in the three prioritized neighbourhoods, following the applicable security protocols. • Provide geographic information support to the participatory workshops of the PGH (Plan de Vida Deseable, self-diagnosis, prospective and prioritization) and to the co-design sessions of the pilot urban solutions. • Attend the technical (virtual and in-person) meetings required to meet the scope and objectives of the consultancy, including coordination spaces with the local government, the Comité de Barrios y Veredas de Paz and the partner agencies. • Strengthen the GIS and territorial-information capacities of the local government and community organizations, contributing to the transfer of tools and to the linking of Tumaco with networks of practice and South–South cooperation. • Provide inputs for progress reports, for the identification and mitigation of project risks, and for the systematization of good practices. e.) Others: • Other activities requested and by mutual agreement with the HUB Coordinator of The Andean Countries of UN-Habitat, within the framework of this consultancy and without prejudice to the achievement of its responsibilities. • The consultant will participate in work and follow-up meetings, both with other consultants, as well as with the Coordinator and team of the Andean Countries HUB of UN-Habitat and with the staff of the projects. • The consultant shall be responsible for ensuring that all activities comply with the principles of United Nations integrity. *Overall Contract Duration: 3-month contract with possibility of extension (deliverables are defined for the 8-month implementation cycle, months 1 to 8 of the project work plan). The Consultant shall assist the implementation of the above-mentioned project according to the indicated responsibilities. Schedule of Deliverables The Consultant shall deliver the following products, in line with the operational schedule of the project (months 1 to 8 of the work plan). Each deliverable must be submitted in digital format, validated by the supervisor of the contract, and is the condition for the corresponding payment.

Work Location

San Andrés de Tumaco, Nariño, Colombia

Expected duration

* 3 months

Duties and Responsibilities

Background UN-HABITAT is the United Nations Human Settlements Programme, which promotes socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities in order to provide adequate shelter for all. The programme is currently headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, and is supported by the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean -ROLAC-, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The programme is guided by the principles defined through: The Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements, The New Urban Agenda, The Habitat Agenda, The Istanbul Declaration on Human Settlements, The Declaration on Cities and Other Human Settlements in the New Millennium, and Resolution 56/206. Through its advocacy, UN-HABITAT seeks to mitigate the negative effects resulting from accelerated and unsustainable urbanisation processes, becoming a guarantor of the benefits of sustainable urbanisation, and contributing to the reduction of urban poverty and the improvement of the quality of life of the population. In Colombia, UN-Habitat accompanies the implementation of the project “CONEXIÓN PAZÍFICO SOSTENIBLE: Sustainable income generation as a basis for durable solutions and inclusive territorial peace in Tumaco”, financed by the Multi-Partner Trust Fund and implemented jointly with IOM and UNDP, together with the Government of Colombia. The project seeks to generate sustainable income for the displaced and host population in three neighbourhoods (Unión Victoria, Obrero and Iberia) of Commune 5 of the District of San Andrés de Tumaco (Nariño), with an emphasis on women and youth, based on the popular and circular economy, within the framework of CONPES 4180 on Durable Solutions. Within this framework, UN-Habitat leads the territorial and habitat dimension of the project. Its actions concentrate on three lines: (i) specialized technical advice to the local government of Tumaco for the formulation and implementation of the Habitat Management Plan (Plan de Gestión del Hábitat – PGH) of the three prioritized neighbourhoods, under the Barrios y Veredas de Paz programme (Decree 1470 of 2024), with an emphasis on territorial planning oriented to productive systems of the circular and popular economy and to sustainable territorial development; (ii) the strengthening of the capacities of the local government, public-utility companies and civil society to drive territorial productive solutions based on the circular economy, linking Tumaco to regional and global networks of practice and to South–South cooperation; and (iii) the design and implementation of three pilot urban solutions led by women and youth, with a gender and differential approach, oriented to the circular and popular economy and to the improvement of habitational conditions in Commune 5. To ensure the proper development of these actions, the present Terms of Reference define the profile of a specialist who will accompany the UN-Habitat technical team in the field and in the production of the technical inputs required by the project.

Qualifications/special skills

Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, Land Management or Territorial/Urban Planning or related fields is required. A first degree in areas related to Geography, Cadastral and Geodetic Engineering, Topographic Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture, Environmental Engineering, Urban or Territorial Planning and/or related is required. A first-level university degree in combination with two (2) additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree. A minimum of three (3) years of professional experience in the management of Geographic Information Systems and the production of cartography is required, including the handling of GIS software (e.g. QGIS and/or ArcGIS), spatial databases and the processing of geographic and remote-sensing data. Experience in territorial diagnostics, land-use or territorial-planning instruments, and in the production of thematic cartography for urban or territorial planning is required. Previous experience working with local governments and/or communities, in territories affected by the armed conflict, and/or with the United Nations system is desirable. Knowledge of the Habitat Management Plan (PGH), the Barrios y Veredas de Paz programme (Decree 1470 of 2024) and/or CONPES 4180 on Durable Solutions is desirable.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For this post, English and Spanish is required. Knowledge of another UN Official Language is desirable.

Additional Information

Not available.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.