Geospatial Data Scientist

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO's values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
• All applications will be treated with the strictest confidentiality

FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

Organizational Setting

The Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA) conducts economic research and policy analysis to support 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. ESA provides evidence-based support to national, regional and global policy processes and initiatives related to monitoring and analysing food and agricultural policies, agribusiness and value chain development, rural transformation and poverty, food security and nutrition information and analysis, resilience, bioeconomy, and climate-smart agriculture. The division also leads the production of two FAO flagship publications: The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) and The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI). The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) is FAO’s main annual flagship publication with wide international recognition. It informs the international policy debate on major issues of significance for agricultural development and food security based on authoritative and comprehensive analysis.

FAO, through the ESTELLA Programme (Integrated regional platform for the innovative use of earth observation Technology and Farmer registry for the production and Validation of crop Data) implemented by ESA, supports national governments in utilizing Earth Observation (EO) data for agricultural policy targeting monitoring, development of credit and insurance schemes to farmers, and to analyze/forecast impact of disasters on crop production and market prices. ESTELLA operates in close collaboration with European Space Agency, the Université catolique de Louvain (UCLouvain) as technical partner, and UNECA’s Geospatial Unit at the regional level, with active country operations in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Senegal, and other target countries.

ESTELLA deploys state-of-the-art EO processing platforms including Sen4Stat and Sen4CAP, to produce validated crop monitoring products. A central objective is linking EO-derived products to national agricultural policies, input/subsidies, crop insurance, and agricultural credit.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Technical Adviser for Geospatial (ESTELLA Programme Lead) in the ESA Division and in close collaboration with ESA technical staff, national counterparts in Ministries of Agriculture, Developing Banks, and regional partners including UNECA and ICPAC.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will provide specialized technical expertise in EO-based agricultural monitoring, combining satellite image processing, machine learning, and ground truth validation. The focus is on delivering scalable, institutionally embedded products — including crop type maps, using the Sen4Stat processing framework under the EOSTAT protocol for crop mapping and statistical production, and the Sen4CAP processing framework under ESA's mandate on agrifood economics and policy for compliance and policy-oriented monitoring. A key emphasis is the use of EO-derived outputs for delivery of insurance and credit to smallholder farmers and evidence-based policy targeting. Work will be conducted in direct collaboration with national agencies to strengthen their capacity to produce and use EO-derived agricultural statistics operationally.

Tasks and responsibilities

EO Data Processing and Satellite Time Series Analysis

• Preprocess and analyze multi-temporal satellite image time series (Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Landsat) for crop monitoring and phenological analysis in ESTELLA target countries.
• Operate and customize the Sen4Stat processing chain, applied under the EOSTAT protocol, for the production of crop type maps and computation of crop area and yield data and agricultural monitoring products consistent with national statistical frameworks.
• Operate and adapt Sen4CAP (Sentinel for Common Agricultural Policy) workflows, under ESA's mandate on agrifood economics and policy, for crop compliance monitoring and agricultural parcel analysis, adapting them to smallholder farming system contexts in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia.
• Support the hosting, versioning, and national transfer of Sen4Stat- and Sen4CAP-derived products, including crop type maps, consistent with EOSTAT and ESA institutional protocols.
• Support the design and implementation of field data collection protocols consistent with the FAO In-Situ Data Quality Framework, including sampling design, digital data capture (ODK, KoBo, SurveyCTO), and real-time quality control.
• Conduct validation and accuracy assessment of EO-derived products using ground truth data, national survey datasets, and expert knowledge, assessing fitness for purpose in national policy contexts.
• Establish end-to-end data quality assurance workflows from field collection through harmonization, integration with EO layers, and documentation.

Institutional Collaboration and Capacity Development

• Collaborate directly with national technical counterparts (statisticians, agronomists, GIS officers) to integrate EO-derived products into official statistical production cycles and monitoring workflows.
• Contribute to ESTELLA working group coordination activities, preparing technical slides, meeting documentation, and progress reports.
• Develop training materials and facilitate technical workshops on Sen4Stat, Sen4CAP, for national staff in ESTELLA target countries.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• (For Consultants:) Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in in Environmental Science, Data Science, Geography, Agronomy, Statistics or related fields / (For PSA.SBS:) University degree or specific technical specialization in Environmental Science, Data Science, Geography, Agronomy, Statistics or related fields; Consultants with bachelor`s degree need two additional years of relevant professional
• Minimum of 1 year for category C, 5 years for category B, 10 years for category A, of relevant experience in applying EO data to agricultural monitoring, food security, or policy analysis, with a demonstrable focus on developing country contexts.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English.

FAO Core Competencies

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

Selection criteria

• Sen4Stat and Sen4CAP: Demonstrated hands-on experience operating Sen4Stat, under the EOSTAT protocol, for crop type mapping and agricultural area estimation, and/or Sen4CAP, under ESA's mandate on agrifood economics and policy, for CAP-style compliance monitoring, including configuration, execution, and output validation.
• Satellite image time series analysis: Proven expertise in processing and analyzing multi-temporal Sentinel-1/2 and/or Landsat data for crop monitoring and phenology extraction in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.
• Policy Targeting: Experience designing and implementing workflows to link EO-derived crop and yield products for policy targeting, insurance, credit scoring, or agricultural service delivery.
• Ground truth and validation: Experience designing field data collection protocols, managing ground truth datasets, and conducting rigorous accuracy assessments of EO-derived products against survey or statistical reference data.
• Programming and data science: Proficiency in Python (and/or R) for EO data processing, machine learning, and geospatial analysis. Familiarity with relevant libraries (GDAL, rasterio, scikit-learn, PyTorch/TensorFlow) is an asset.
• Institutional collaboration: Proven ability to work with national counterparts (statisticians, agronomists, GIS officers) to integrate EO evidence into operational monitoring and statistical reporting workflows.
• Capacity development: Record of preparing technical documentation, training materials, and facilitating workshops for national institutions on EO methods and tools.
• Working knowledge of French and Spanish would be an asset

Please note that all candidates should adhere to FAO Values of Commitment to FAO, Respect for All and Integrity and Transparency

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• FAO does not charge any fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview, processing)
• Please note that FAO will only consider academic credentials or degrees obtained from an educational institution recognized in the IAU/UNESCO list
• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/
• For more information, visit the FAO employment website
• Appointment will be subject to certification that the candidate is medically fit for appointment, accreditation, any residency or visa requirements, and security clearances.

HOW TO APPLY

• To apply, visit the recruitment website at Jobs at FAO and complete your online profile. We strongly recommend that your profile is accurate, complete and includes your employment records, academic qualifications, and language skills
• Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile
• Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application

• Please note that FAO only considers higher educational qualifications obtained from an institution accredited/recognized in the World Higher Education Database (WHED), a list updated by the International Association of Universities (IAU) / United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The list can be accessed at http://www.whed.net/. These qualifications should be in alignment with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) mappings.

• Candidates may be requested to provide performance assessments and authorization to conduct verification checks of past and present work, character, education, military and police records to ascertain any and all information which may be pertinent to the employment qualifications
• Incomplete applications will not be considered
• Personal information provided on your application may be shared within FAO and with other companies acting on FAO’s behalf to provide employment support services such as pre-screening of applications, assessment tests, background checks and other related services. You will be asked to provide your consent before submitting your application. You may withdraw consent at any time, by withdrawing your application, in such case FAO will no longer be able to consider your application
• Only applications received through the FAO recruitment portal will be considered
• Your application will be screened based on the information provided in your online profile
• We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline date.

If you need help or have queries, please create a one-time registration with FAO’s client support team for further assistance: https://fao.service-now.com/csp

FAO IS A NON-SMOKING ENVIRONMENT