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  • 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 monitoring, crop type mapping, yield forecasting, early warning systems, flood and drought monitoring, and natural resource management. ESTELLA operates in close collaboration with European Space Agency, the 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, geospatial AI and foundation models, cloud-based analytical workflows, and EO-derived biomass and yield forecasting systems to produce validated crop and land monitoring products integrated into national statistical systems and early warning frameworks. A central objective is linking EO-derived products to national farmer registries to enable targeted policy services, including climate risk assessment, 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, geospatial AI, and ground truth validation. The focus is on delivering scalable, institutionally embedded products — including crop type maps, EO-based biomass and yield forecasts, and drought and flood indicators — using the Sen4Stat and Sen4CAP processing frameworks alongside emerging GeoAI and embedding-based approaches. A key emphasis is the integration of EO-derived outputs with national farmer registries, enabling operational service delivery 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, land cover mapping, and phenological analysis in ESTELLA target countries.
• Operate and customize the Sen4Stat processing chain 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 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, ensuring interoperability with national data infrastructure.

EO-Based Yield Forecasting and Biomass Estimation

• Develop and apply EO-derived biomass and crop yield forecasting models integrating satellite-based biophysical indicators (e.g. NDVI, LAI, evapotranspiration, LST) with agronomic and climatic variables to estimate crop productivity and yield gaps at farm to regional scale.
• Calibrate and validate EO-based yield forecasting workflows against national crop survey data, field observations, and existing statistical reference datasets across ESTELLA pilot countries.
• Contribute to the integration of EO-derived productivity indicators into the ESTELLA regional platform to support crop condition monitoring, early warning bulletins, and agricultural market intelligence.
• Support the linkage of EO-derived biomass and yield outputs to national farmer registries, enabling farm-level productivity profiling for agricultural credit, insurance targeting, and input subsidy design.

GeoAI, Foundation Models and Embeddings

• Apply geospatial foundation models (e.g. Prithvi, SatMAE, Clay) and pretrained deep learning architectures for crop type classification, land cover mapping, and change detection across heterogeneous smallholder landscapes.
• Develop and evaluate embedding-based approaches for EO time series representation, enabling efficient similarity search, few-shot learning, and transfer learning across ESTELLA country contexts.
• Integrate GeoAI workflows into Google Earth Engine and cloud-based processing environments, ensuring scalability and reproducibility across target countries.

Flood and Drought Monitoring and Early Warning

• Develop and refine drought monitoring algorithms using EO-derived indicators (VCI, TCI, VHI) and scale operational drought impact assessment tools to additional districts across ESTELLA pilot countries.
• Support the integration and operational testing of flood monitoring products (e.g. from WFP’s ADAMS system and GloFAS) within national early warning frameworks, including EOSTAT dashboards and ICPAC regional services.
• Produce crop-specific drought and flood impact assessments linking EO-derived indicators with crop type maps and farmer registry data to identify affected parcels and support anticipatory action.

Farmer Registry Integration and EO-Policy Linkage

• Support the design and implementation of workflows linking EO-derived crop and yield products to national farmer registries (e.g. KIAMIS in Kenya, AFC registry in Zimbabwe) for operational targeting of government services.
• Contribute to the development of EO-based farm-level risk and productivity profiles to support agricultural insurance schemes, credit scoring frameworks, and climate resilience programmes.
• Translate geospatial findings into clear technical notes, policy briefs, and programme recommendations tailored to national governments and development partners, connecting EO analysis to operational policy instruments.

In-Situ Data, Validation and Quality Assurance

• 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.

WorldCereal and Global EO Products

• Apply and adapt WorldCereal global cropland and crop type baselines and other open EO datasets (WorldCover, Dynamic World) as inputs to national crop mapping workflows, refining global products with national survey data and in-situ observations.

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, and GeoAI tools 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 and/or Sen4CAP processing chains for crop type mapping, agricultural area estimation, or CAP-style monitoring, including configuration, execution, and output validation.
• EO-based yield forecasting and biomass estimation: Proven expertise in EO-based crop yield forecasting and biomass estimation, including the application of satellite-derived biophysical indicators (NDVI, LAI, evapotranspiration) to model crop productivity, estimate yield gaps, and produce seasonal crop forecasts calibrated against survey or field reference data.
• Satellite image time series analysis: Proven expertise in processing and analyzing multi-temporal Sentinel-1/2 and/or Landsat data for crop monitoring, phenology extraction, and land cover classification in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.
• GeoAI and foundation models: Experience applying geospatial deep learning methods, including convolutional neural networks, transformers, or foundation models (e.g. Prithvi, SatMAE, Clay) to EO classification or regression tasks. Experience with embedding-based representations for EO time series is an asset.
• Flood and drought monitoring: Experience implementing drought monitoring algorithms (VCI, TCI, VHI) and/or integrating flood monitoring tools (ADAMS, GloFAS) into national early warning systems or EO operational platforms.
• Farmer registry integration: Experience designing and implementing workflows to link EO-derived crop and yield products with national farmer registries for policy targeting, insurance, credit scoring, or agricultural service delivery.
• WorldCereal and global EO datasets: Experience applying WorldCereal, WorldCover, or comparable global EO products as baselines for national crop type mapping, including refinement with local survey data.
• Cloud-based EO platforms: Proficiency in Google Earth Engine or equivalent cloud-based EO processing environments for large-scale analysis and workflow automation.
• Agricultural monitoring in developing countries: Demonstrable experience applying EO to crop area estimation, yield forecasting, or drought monitoring in sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, or comparable contexts with smallholder farming systems.
• 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
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• 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.

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