ICT Officer

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world’s most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS’ strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support.

Not Required - part of GPO/NYPO

The Department of Operational Support (DOS) is responsible for the delivery and maintenance of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, systems and software applications in support of the operational requirements of Peacekeeping Missions, Special Political Missions, as well as Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and DOS at Headquarters.

ICT is one of the fundamental components that enable substantive work of field missions. Timely and secure communications and information exchange within and between UN Peacekeeping Missions and Headquarters is critical to meet the core strategic, operational and tactical mandate of the United Nations. It is of paramount importance that robust, fault tolerant and scalable ICT infrastructure is in place to maintain operations in the event of natural or manmade disasters, disruption in the theatre of operation, or as Security Council mandates change.

The Service for Geospatial, Information and Telecommunications Technologies (SGITT) at the Unite Nations Global Service Center (UNGSC) provides a critical role as the as the resilient operational hub for the support and delivery of technology services and solutions to field operations and a broad range of Secretariat and United Nations system clients. As a unified, singular service provider, SGITT provides reliable, resilient and innovative, geospatial, communications and information technology services, including centralized connectivity, hosting and monitoring support, ensuring that staff members in field missions and at Headquarters have access to critical enterprise systems.

UNOPS has signed a financial Agreement with UNGSC to Technical Support for Groundwater Exploration, Geophysical Surveys, Existing Wells Assessments and Rehabilitation, Remote Groundwater Monitoring and Geospatial Analyses and support field missions on specific complex geospatial analyses and geophysical surveys which require skills and experience.

The ICT Officer – Geospatial Analyst will carry out his/her tasks within the United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC)/Geospatial, Information and Telecommunication Technologies Service (SGITT)/Client Solution Delivery Section (CSDS. The position forms part of the Geospatial Remote Mission Support Service (GRMSS), a centrally managed remote support framework delivering geospatial data products, maps, geo-analytics, imagery analysis, and operational geospatial services to field missions globally.

Under the overall supervision of UNOPS Senior Programme Manager, the incumbent will work under the guidance of Chief ALIU or a designated officer and be responsible for providing geospatial analytics services. 

The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility.

The purpose of this role is to provide timely, accurate, and actionable geospatial intelligence and advanced geo-analytics in support of UN field missions and headquarters. The incumbent applies geospatial data science, remote sensing, GeoAI, and multi-source analytical methodologies to support situational awareness, operational planning, early warning, and decision-making in complex operational environments.

The role ensures that analytical processes, data workflows, models, and tools are applied consistently and in accordance with recognized industry standards, while aligning all activities with UNGSC business objectives and applicable UN policies, rules, and regulations. The incumbent supports the coordinated delivery of operational geospatial intelligence services across global locations and mission contexts through innovative, scalable, and quality-assured analytical solutions.

Summary of Key Functions:

Functional Responsibilities:

The personnel will be responsible for the following duties:

1. Analysis 

2. Innovation 

3. Coordination, and 

4. Quality Control 

1. Analysis

• Supports the development and delivers Geospatial Intelligence (GeoINT) products and operational geo-analytics to support UN peacekeeping, political, and humanitarian decision-making through integrated geospatial and multi-source analytical workflows. 

• Conduct event-based geospatial analysis before and after incidents, including rapid assessment of air and missile strikes, drone attacks, conflict incidents, and humanitarian emergencies using multi-temporal satellite imagery and spatial analysis techniques. 

• Contributes to Image Intelligence (IMINT) analysis to identify, assess, and quantify impacts on populated areas, including burned settlements, damaged infrastructure, affected IDP camps, and transportation networks using optical, SAR, thermal, and very-high-resolution imagery. 

• Helps in delivering integrated IMINT / GEOINT / OSINT analysis by combining satellite imagery, UAV data, open-source reporting, geolocated multimedia content, and authoritative datasets to support situational awareness and operational planning. 

• Assists in Conduct advanced spatial, temporal, and terrain analysis, including time-series analysis, change detection, hotspot analysis, accessibility modelling, shadow analysis, and pattern identification across areas of operational interest. 

• Build spatiotemporal analytical models to monitor conflict dynamics, detect trends in violence indicators, population displacement, armed group activity, and territorial influence. 

• Contribute to OSINT-enabled geospatial investigations to corroborate imagery findings, validate analytical outputs, and provide contextual intelligence through integration of social media content, event databases, and digital location traces. 

• Apply data science, machine learning, and spatial statistics to support predictive and probabilistic geospatial risk assessments, anticipatory action, and operational early warning.

2. Innovation

• Helps in the development and application of innovative geospatial and image analysis methodologies, including GeoAI, computer vision, machine learning, and deep learning techniques for automated feature extraction, classification, and change detection. 

• Supports the design and implementation of automated geospatial pipelines and scalable analytical workflows for incident monitoring, hotspot detection, trend analysis, feature extraction, and operational dashboards. 

• Integrates multi-sensor and multi-source data into reproducible analytical environments, ensuring proper documentation, versioning, and methodological consistency. 

• Leverages emerging geospatial technologies, cloud-based analytical platforms, and automation tools while maintaining expert human analysis as a critical validation layer. 

• Assists in the development of automated hotspot detection and Area of Concern (AoC) identification workflows using clustering methods, environmental indicators, accessibility models, exposure layers, and conflict event datasets.

3. Management and Coordination

• Coordinates with clients and stakeholders to translate operational needs into short- and medium-term analytical requirements.

• Ensures effective collaboration across analytical, technical, and operational teams.

4. Quality Control and Reporting

• Integrate multi-source findings into clear, decision-ready analytical assessments and operational narratives. 

• Assists in producing high-quality geospatial intelligence outputs, including maps, annotated imagery, dashboards, and analytical reports using ESRI and related geospatial tools. 

• Applies quality assurance and validation procedures to ensure analytical rigor, consistency, and reliability of geospatial products and models. 

• Ensures compliance with UN standards, operational requirements, and information management protocols. 

• Perform other duties as may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent’s scope of services.

Required:

• Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) preferably in remote Sensing, Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), Geography, Geology, or related fields OR

• A first-level university degree (Bachelor’s degree) preferably in remote Sensing, Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), Geography, Geology, or related fields with two (2) years of experience.

• Demonstrated proficiency in Python scripting for geospatial analytics, data processing, and workflow automation, preferably within ArcGIS and related geospatial environments.

Desired: 

• Relevant professional certifications in ArcGIS Pro, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and optical remote sensing.

Required:

• Relevant experience is defined as experience in Remote Sensing/Imagery Analysis, GIS/Geospatial Analysis or related fields.

• Professional knowledge of ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine, or comparable geospatial/image analysis software system/platform.

• Experience in imagery intelligence, preferably in a military or humanitarian context

• Professional experience with GeoAI techniques applied to geospatial or Earth observation data.

Desired:

• Professional experience working with satellite Earth Observation datasets and large-scale geospatial data processing environments.

• Good written and verbal communication skills.

• Professional experience of digital cartography in a GIS environment.

• Professional experience in statistical analysis using enterprise office software (e.g. “R”).

• Ability to document analytical workflows and communicate technical findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

• UNOPS does not accept unsolicited resumes. 
• UNOPS will at no stage of the recruitment process request candidates to make payments of any kind.
• Applications to vacancies must be received before midnight Copenhagen time (CET) on the closing date of the announcement. Applications received after the closing date will not be considered. 
• Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the selection process, which may include various assessments. 
• UNOPS embraces diversity and is committed to equal employment opportunity. Our workforce consists of a wide range of nationalities, cultures, languages, races, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities. We strive to sustain and strengthen this diversity, fostering an inclusive working environment where all personnel are treated with respect and have equal access to opportunities.
• UNOPS evaluates all applications based on the skills, qualifications and experience outlined in the vacancy announcement. We are committed to a fair and transparent selection process and welcome diverse perspectives, including those of women, indigenous and racialized communities, individuals of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, and persons with disabilities.
• We are committed to enabling all candidates to perform at their best during the assessment process. If you are shortlisted and require support or reasonable accommodation to complete any assessment, please inform our human resources team upon receiving your invitation.
• UNOPS has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), sexual harassment, and other forms of abusive conduct, including discrimination, abuse of authority, and harassment. To uphold these standards, background checks are conducted for all final candidates to help ensure that individuals with a history of such conduct are not hired. By applying for a position with UNOPS, candidates acknowledge and consent to these verification processes.
  

• For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post. 
• For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers. For more information on a retainer contract here. 
• For more details about the contract types, please click here.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda. 
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.