Call for Interest for Consultants - Geospatial Analysis and Earth Observation

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is an international financial institution and a specialized United Nations agency dedicated to eradicating rural poverty and hunger. IFAD invests in rural people to promote inclusive, sustainable and resilient livelihoods by financing programmes and projects that increase agricultural productivity, improve food security, strengthen rural economies and contribute to sustainable rural transformation.

IFAD finances investment projects implemented by governments and development partners across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Near East, North Africa and Europe. These investments cover a broad range of thematic areas, including agriculture, livestock, fisheries, irrigation, natural resource management, climate adaptation, biodiversity, rural infrastructure, food systems, rural finance, value chains, nutrition, youth employment, gender equality, monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessment.

Geospatial technologies have become an integral component of IFAD's operations, supporting project identification, investment planning, targeting of beneficiaries, climate and environmental analysis, implementation support, supervision, monitoring, evaluation, impact assessment, corporate reporting and knowledge generation.

The Geospatial team, within the Office of Development Effectiveness (ODE), provides corporate leadership on Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Earth Observation (EO), Remote Sensing, geospatial data science and spatial analytics. The team develops geospatial methodologies, corporate standards, digital tools and analytical products while promoting innovation and the use of geospatial information throughout IFAD.

Although this roster is managed by the Geospatial team, consultants may provide technical services to any IFAD department, division or programme according to organizational priorities and operational needs.

Post's Organizational Accountability:

IFAD is looking for highly qualified, experienced and motivated Geospatial Analysis and Earth Observation experts to work as individual consultants and provide specialized technical services across IFAD's global portfolio.

The Geospatial Analysis and Earth Observation Consultant Roster serves to connect qualified geospatial professionals interested in supporting IFAD consultancy assignments and IFAD divisions requiring specialized expertise in geospatial technologies.

Please note that submitting an application does not imply placement on the roster or an offer of consultancy services. The roster assists IFAD divisions in identifying qualified consultants according to operational requirements. Upon identification of consultants with the required expertise, the hiring division will initiate the consultant selection and contracting process.
Consultants may support IFAD throughout the entire project cycle, including project identification, design, implementation support, supervision, monitoring, evaluation, impact assessment, knowledge generation and corporate reporting.

Key Results Expected / Major Functional Activities:

           A. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Spatial Analysis
           Provide technical expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to support evidence-based planning, implementation and evaluation of IFAD operations.
           Assignments may include:

• Spatial analysis supporting project identification, targeting and design.
• Multi-criteria suitability analysis for agricultural and rural investments.
• Watershed and landscape analysis
• Hydrological and terrain analysis.
• Oceanic and sea water analysis.
• Mangrove and coastal analysis.
• Accessibility and rural connectivity analysis.
• Spatial statistics and geostatistical modelling.
• Spatial decision-support systems.
• Risk and vulnerability mapping.
• Climate risk assessments.
• Analysis of land use dynamics and ecosystem services.
• Development of geospatial indicators to support operational decision-making.
• Integration of socio-economic, environmental and geospatial datasets.

            B. Earth Observation and Remote Sensing
           Develop and apply Earth Observation methodologies to support project implementation, monitoring, evaluation and environmental assessments.
           Assignments may include:

• Time-series analysis and environmental monitoring.
• Crop and agricultural monitoring.
• Irrigation performance assessment.
• Water resources monitoring.
• Oceanic and wind condition assessment.

• Mangrove and coastal condition assessment

  .

• Rangeland and pasture condition assessment.
• Forest cover and biodiversity monitoring.
• Land degradation assessment.
• Drought, flood and disaster monitoring.
• Carbon and ecosystem services assessment.
• Change detection analysis.
• Processing and analysis of optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite imagery.
• Land use and land cover classification.
• Development of Earth Observation-derived indicators.

• Validation and quality assurance of remote sensing products.

  C. Geospatial Data Engineering, Programming and Automation
  Develop scalable and reproducible geospatial workflows to support IFAD operations.
  Assignments may include:

• Development of geospatial processing workflows using Python, R and Google Earth Engine.
• Automation of raster and vector processing.
• Development of reusable analytical tools.
• Cloud-based geospatial processing.
• Processing of large geospatial datasets.
• Spatial database development and management.
• API integration and data interoperability.
• Workflow optimization.
• Documentation of analytical methodologies and technical procedures.

• Development of reproducible analytical pipelines.

  D. Cartography, Visualization and Spatial Data Management
  Develop and maintain high-quality geospatial products and corporate datasets.
  Assignments may include:

• Production of official maps following United Nations and IFAD cartographic standards and visual identity guidelines.
• Preparation of maps for project documents, supervision reports, publications and corporate reports.Development of thematic atlases and cartographic products.
• Management of corporate geospatial databases.
• Data quality assurance and quality control.
• Metadata development following international standards.
• Coordinate Reference System (CRS) management.
• Spatial data harmonization.

• Enterprise geospatial information management.

  E. Digital Geospatial Products
  Support the development of innovative digital geospatial solutions, in collaboration or in alignment with IFAD's Information and Communications Technology Division (ICT) and in accordance with IFAD's corporate tools and systems.
  Assignments may include:

• Interactive WebGIS applications.
• Online mapping platforms.
• Geospatial dashboards.
• Story maps.
• Decision-support systems.
• Enterprise GIS solutions.
• Spatial data services and APIs.

• Integration of geospatial information into corporate digital platforms.

  
  F. Monitoring, Evaluation and Impact Assessment
  Support IFAD's monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment activities through geospatial analysis and Earth Observation.
  Assignments may include:

• Development of geospatial indicators aligned with Results Measurement Frameworks.
• Baseline spatial assessments.
• Monitoring project implementation using geospatial information.
• Before-and-after analysis using satellite imagery.
• Impact assessment using geospatial methodologies.
• Spatial sampling design.
• Integration of geospatial evidence into evaluation methodologies.
• Technical reporting and analytical documentation.
• Support to corporate reporting and knowledge products.

            G. Agriculture, Climate and Rural Development Applications
            Apply geospatial technologies to support IFAD investments across technical sectors.
            Assignments may include:

• Agricultural productivity analysis.
• Crop suitability and agricultural zoning.
• Irrigation planning, monitoring and performance assessment.
• Watershed management.
• Water harvesting interventions.
• Fishery and aquaculture management.
• Coastal community management.
• Livestock systems and rangeland management.
• Natural resource management.
• Soil and land degradation assessment.
• Landscape restoration.
• Climate adaptation and resilience planning.
• Biodiversity conservation.
• Food systems analysis.
• Rural infrastructure planning.
• Environmental and social safeguard assessments.
• Rural poverty targeting.
• Spatial analysis supporting nutrition, gender, youth and Indigenous Peoples programmes.

            H. Technical Advisory and Capacity Development

• Provide technical advice and knowledge support to IFAD staff, governments and implementing partners.
• Assignments may include:
• Technical reviews of project design reports.
• Participation in project design, implementation support and supervision missions.
• Development of technical guidance, methodologies and standards.
• Delivery of GIS and Earth Observation training programmes.
• Preparation of technical reports, knowledge products and operational guidance.
• Support to innovation and digital transformation initiatives
• .Capacity development of government counterparts and implementing agencies.

Technical Competencies:
Applicants should demonstrate advanced knowledge and professional experience in one or more of the following areas:
Geographic Information Systems

• Spatial analysis.
• Raster and vector processing.
• Cartographic design.
• Spatial modelling.
• Terrain analysis.
• Hydrological analysis.
• Network analysis.
• Geostatistics.
• Coordinate reference systems and map projections.
• Spatial database design.
• Metadata standards.

• Data quality assurance.

  Earth Observation:

• Optical remote sensing.
• Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).
• Machine and Deep Learning for Earth Observation.
• Time-series analysis.
• Change detection.
• Environmental monitoring.
• Agricultural monitoring.
• Water resources analysis.
• Land degradation monitoring.
• UAV imagery.
• Image classification.

• Object-based image analysis.

  Programming and Data Science:

• Python.
• R
• SQL
• Google Earth Engine
• GDAL/OGR.
• Rasterio.
• GeoPandas.
• Xarray.
• PostGIS.
• Git.
• Jupyter Notebooks.
• API integration.
• Cloud computing.

• Workflow automation.

  
  GIS Software and Platforms
  Professional experience with one or more of the following is desirable:

• QGIS.
• Google Earth Engine.
• GeoServer.
• PostgreSQL/PostGIS.
• Power BI.
• OpenLayers.

• Mapbox.

  
  Other Work Experience
  Experience in one or more of the following areas is considered an asset:

• International Financial Institutions.
• United Nations agencies.
• IFAD-funded programmes.
• Agriculture and rural development.
• Climate adaptation and resilience.
• Natural resource management.
• Food systems.
• Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL).
• Impact Assessment.
• Social, Environmental, and Climate standards implementation.
• Fragile and conflict-affected situations.

Minimum Recruitment Qualifications / Requirements
Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

Education:
Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) in Geographic Information Systems, Remote Sensing, Geoinformatics, Geography, Geomatics, Environmental Sciences, Computer Science, Data Science, Engineering or another closely related discipline.
Professional Experience

• Senior Level: 12 or more years of relevant professional experience.
• Mid-Level: 8-11 years of relevant professional experience.
• Entry-Level: 2-7 years of relevant professional experience.
• Candidates with a first level university degree (Bachelor's or equivalent) and one year of relevant professional experience may be considered for Junior Consultant opportunities.

Languages:
Excellent command of English (written and spoken).
Knowledge of French, Spanish or Arabic is considered an asset.

Applicants meeting the minimum qualifications may be invited to participate in one or more stages of the vetting process, including technical assessments, interviews or practical exercises.
Academic qualifications, professional experience and references may be verified. Successful candidates will be included in the Geospatial Analysis and Earth Observation Consultant Roster following completion of the vetting process.

Placement on the roster does not constitute an offer of employment or consultancy assignment. Consultants may be contacted by any IFAD division according to organizational priorities and operational needs.

Remuneration will be commensurate with the consultant's qualifications, professional experience, technical expertise and the complexity of the assignment.

Application Instructions:

Applicants are requested to submit a cover letter outlining their qualifications and relevant professional experience. In their cover letter, applicants should clearly indicate the Area(s) of Expertise (Sections A-H) for which they wish to be considered. Applicants may select one or multiple areas, depending on their professional background.

For each selected Area of Expertise, applicants are encouraged to briefly describe:

• their relevant technical experience;
• the types of projects or assignments they have supported;
• the geospatial methods, software and programming languages used;
• the main outputs or deliverables produced; and
•  their specific role and responsibilities.

Applicants should also highlight any experience working in agriculture, rural development, climate, natural resources management, monitoring and evaluation, impact assessment or other sectors relevant to IFAD's operations.
Providing clear information on areas of specialization will facilitate the technical evaluation process and help IFAD identify suitable consultants for future assignments.