Result of Service

The consultant will provide specialized technical support to the G20 Global Land Initiative (GLI) by delivering high quality assistance in system maintenance, digital tool enhancement, general web/database application development. This role will contribute directly to strengthening the Initiative’s information infrastructure through the development, upgrading, and maintenance of applications, online tools, and web components essential for effective data management, reporting, and stakeholder engagement. By supporting both routine maintenance and the creation of new digital solutions, the consultant will help ensure the reliability, usability, and continuous improvement of the GLI’s digital platforms in alignment with programmatic and donor requirements.

Work Location

Home-based.

Expected duration

252 days between April 2026 to March 2027.

Duties and Responsibilities

Background note: Desertification, along with climate change and the loss of biodiversity were identified as the greatest challenges to sustainable development during the 1992 Rio Earth Summit. Established in 1994, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management. The Convention seeks to support countries to address Desertification, Land Degradation, and Drought (DLDD). (www.unccd.int) The G20 (or Group of Twenty) is the annual international forum for the governments of 19 industrialized countries and the European Union (EU). The G20 Leaders' Declaration, issued in November 2020, launched the "Global Initiative on Reducing Land Degradation and Enhancing Conservation of Terrestrial Habitats" (G20 Global Land Initiative). Building on existing initiatives and on a voluntary basis, the G20 countries share the ambition to achieve a 50 per cent reduction in the amount of degraded land by 2040. The G20 Global Land Initiative, with oversight from UNCCD, will focus on building capacity, engaging the private sector, empowering civil society and showcasing success. Engagement with the private sector, including in relation to mining, agriculture and forestry, will be key to encourage support for land restoration efforts and the adoption of sustainable land management practices. The Initiative Coordination Office seeks a web GIS developer consultant to assist the G20 GLI team conduct Geographic Information Science (GIS) activities and maintain and develop web applications. Duties & Responsibilities: Under the guidance of the Information Management Officer, the consultant will: 1. Systems Maintenance & Continuous Delivery - Monitor data platform performance, troubleshoot issues, and maintain deployment scripts and documentation to support continuous delivery across development, testing, and production environments. - Perform enhancements and maintenance tasks for the internal GLI information management system. 2. Regular Monitoring & Reporting - Establish a system for continuous monitoring of data platform traffic and user behavior. - Generate monthly traffic reports highlighting trends, anomalies, and engagement patterns. - Produce quarterly analytical summaries to inform management and platform improvement decisions. - Set up automated alerts for unusual activity (e.g., sudden traffic drops or spikes). 3. Data Backup & Retention - Implement daily incremental and weekly full backups of platform usage logs and datasets. - Apply a long term data retention policy to prevent loss of historical analytics data. - Conduct regular integrity checks and restoration drills to ensure backup reliability. - Utilize secure, compliant storage solutions aligned with UN data protection and cybersecurity standards. 4. Contribution to Analytical Tool Development - Define and maintain standardized data structures and metadata schemas for analytics. - Support the development of dashboards and automated analytics pipelines. - Ensure collected data feeds seamlessly into KPI tracking and reporting tools. - Collaborate with technical teams to integrate monitoring insights into platform upgrades and analytical tool enhancements

Qualifications/special skills

- Bachelor’s degree (BA/BSc or other) in Information Technology and Web GIS Development or a closely related field is required. - Minimum 2 years of experience in web and/or database software development is required. - Strong understanding and hands-on experience with JavaScript, HTML, CSS, XML, web scripting, and SQL programming is required. - Experience working with relational databases such as MySQL and PostgreSQL is required. - Familiarity with source code control tools such as GitHub or Perforce is required. - Knowledge of digital content management systems, including WordPress and Drupal is required. - Familiarity with modern web and database technologies, including ReactJS, AngularJS, and NodeJS is desireable. - Knowledge of GIS technical concepts and applications, including: Spatial data visualization, Geospatial data processing is desireable. - Experience with GIS tools relevant to agriculture, health, and population datasets is desireable. - Experience with Microsoft SharePoint Apps, including: Power Automate, Power Automate Flow, Power BI, Forms ,List is desireable.

Languages

- Fluency in spoken and written English and Arabic is required. Knowledge of an additional official UN language is an advantage.

Additional Information

Only individuals who can act as independent, individual economical operators are qualified to apply. Individuals who can provide their services only on account of an institution or enterprise are not eligible under this procedure. Individuals engaged under a consultancy or individual contract will not be considered “staff members” under the Staff Regulations and Rules of the United Nations Secretariat and will not be entitled to benefits provided therein (such as leave entitlements and medical insurance coverage). Their conditions of service will be governed by their contract and the General Conditions of Contracts for the Services of Consultants and Individual Contractors. Consultant and individual contractor is responsible for determining tax liabilities and for the payment of any taxes and/or duties, in accordance with local or other applicable laws. For remote consultancies, the selected candidate will be required to have a laptop or desktop PC (with Windows 11 or newer) or Mac (with the latest MacOS update), as well as a reliable, high-speed internet connection. An Office 365 license will be provided by the UNCCD to enable the candidate to access official emails, SharePoint, OneDrive and other office applications, such as Word and Excel. Further computer requirements: An antivirus application which receives regular updates; Browsers must be a newer version with regular updates enabled; Regular Windows 11 updates should be enabled with Windows laptop or PC. In addition, a mobile phone will be required to enable Multifactor Authentication (MFA) through SMS or the Authenticator App.

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.