National Specialist on Digital Soil Mapping

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

FAO seeks gender, geographical and linguistic diversity in its staff and international consultants in order to best serve FAO Members in all regions.

• 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 staff are subject to the authority of the Director-General, who may assign them to any of the activities or offices of the Organization.

Organizational Setting

FAO Azerbaijan Partnership and Liaison Office, in close cooperation with the government and its in-line Ministries/Agencies, contributes to the sustainable agri-food systems, and supports the government with addressing issues food security, agriculture and rural development, natural resource management in the country. FAO’s technical assistance, provided mainly through projects, includes institution building, development of knowledge and competencies, and exchange of experience among FAO member countries.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall supervision of the FAO Representative in Azerbaijan, the programmatic guidance and direct supervision of the Assistant FAO Representative, and the technical guidance of the Lead Technical Officer (LTO), the National Specialist on Digital Soil Mapping will work in close coordination with the National Project Coordinator and project team (national and international consultants).

Technical Focus

The National Consultant on Digital Soil Mapping will provide technical expertise in the systematization, calibration, and validation of soil data, ensuring the development of high-resolution digital soil property and suitability maps. The Specialist will also support capacity-building efforts by delivering training sessions on digital soil mapping techniques, data harmonization, and GIS-based soil assessments in alignment with international standards.

Tasks and responsibilities

• Provide overall control over data collection, systematization and harmonisation of soil maps, datasets,
• Make calibrations and cross validations of existing soil maps (hard copies)
• Contribute to the Az SIS spatial data infrastructure design and preparation
• Selection of input data, predictors and for national digital soil maps
• Determine the software tools, modules, scripts and data for producing of digital soil maps
• Support the training sessions on soil survey and data collection
• Deliver training sessions on digital soil mapping, data preparation, harmonisation, as well as trainings to the the national staff on digital soil mapping techniques and producing the soil property maps and to guide the development of the soil suitability case studies
• Quality assessment and quality check of collected soil data, information and analyses
• Conduct evaluation, validation, preparation and harmonisation of national soil profile database
• Guidance in preparation of high resolution (100-250m) digital soil maps of soil properties and threats and uncertainty assessments
• Consultations and guidance in producing of digital soil property and uncertainty maps using the recent Digital Soil Mapping techniques and tools
• Guidance in preparation of soil suitability maps for selected crops
• Validation of the output of digital soil property and threat maps processing on test sites
• Control work in preparation of the soil risk and soil suitability maps
• Development of symbology for national soil maps and national soil grids of soil properties
• Support the validation of national digital soil maps
• Participating in preparation of soil suitability maps for different agricultural crops
• Assistance in preparation of meta data for all produced GIS layers compatible with GloSIS and INSPIRE data standards

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• Advanced university degree in agricultural sciences, soil science or related field and focus on spatial data analyses, data science, geostatistics, digital soil mapping
• Minimum 5 years of experience in digital soil mapping, environmental modelling, spatial data analyses
• Working knowledge (level C) of English
• National of Azerbaijan or resident of the country with valid work permit

FAO Core Competencies

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

Technical/Functional Skills

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively with colleagues and partners developing effective working relationships
• Experience with UN system is considered 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 a fee at any stage of the recruitment process (application, interview meeting, processing).
• Applications received after the closing date will not be accepted.
• Only language proficiency certificates from UN accredited external providers and/or FAO language official examinations (LPE, ILE, LRT) will be accepted as proof of the level of knowledge of languages indicated in the online applications.
• For other issues, visit the FAO employment website\: http\://www.fao.org/employment/home/en/
• 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
• 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

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