Internship - Earth Observation & Biophysical Processes, Analysis & Trends Service, Rome, Italy

World Food Programme

Internship - Earth Observation and Biophysical Processes

Analysis & Trends Service
Rome, Italy

The mission of WFP is to end global hunger. Every day, WFP works worldwide to ensure that no child goes to bed hungry and that the poorest and most vulnerable, particularly women and children, can access the nutritious food they need.

In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. After an emergency, WFP uses food to help communities rebuild their shattered lives. Present in nearly 80 countries, the organization has the global footprint, deep field presence and local knowledge and relationships necessary to provide access to nutritious food and contribute to the lasting solutions, especially in many of the world’s most remote and fragile areas.

Among its many activities, WFP’s Analysis and Trends Service (OSZAF) uses Earth Observation datasets (MODIS, S-3, Proba-V) to monitor growing season conditions across its regions of interest to detect and characterize conditions detrimental to food production. Information thus derived helps better inform WFP of the food security situation on the ground and any subsequent changes. These analyses are further refined with recourse to data from new platforms such as Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1, to characterize and evaluate extent of the impacts on croplands and pasture.

An intern is required to support the Geospatial Team in analysing these datasets. The position will be based at our Headquarters in Rome, Italy. The Internship will be for an initial period of six months with possible extension, starting as soon as possible.

Key outputs/Responsibilities:

• Contribute to the management of the operational drought monitoring system at OSZAF, identifying and implementing improvements in work-flows.
• Assist lead consultant in the analysis of the performance of state of the art smoothing algorithms as applied to NDVI and LST data.
• Test a range of biophysical indicators from the COPERNICUS service in terms of their value added relative to current inputs.
• Document processes and methodologies used in the analysis and prepare a report summarizing the main findings.
• Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.

Essential Requirements:

• Currently enrolled in a masters program or recently graduated with a masters (in the last six months) in one or more of the following disciplines: Physical Geography, Physical Sciences, Biology, Engineering, with a specific remote sensing component;
• Course attendance in the past twelve months;
• Excellent command of English (native level proficiency);
• Proficiency in ArcGIS 10.x or QGIS;
• Excellent analytical skills;
• Good knowledge of R and Python programming as applied to analysis of multi-temporal satellite data;
• Knowledge of advanced statistical analysis and modelling desirable. 

Terms and Conditions

• Interns receive a monthly stipend from WFP up to the maximum amount of US$1000 per month depending on the duty station of assignment.
• WFP is not responsible for living expenses, arrangements for accommodation, necessary visas and related costs.
• WFP will reimburse travel ticket for candidates who are nationals of developing countries and are pursuing their studies in their home country.
• WFP will recognize candidates’ educational credentials from recognised institutions that have been certified by competent international or national authorities such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or Ministries of Education;

Closing date:   02 April 2018

VA reference no:   72784

Female applicants and qualified applicants from developing countries are especially encouraged to apply.  WFP has zero tolerance for discrimination and does not discriminate on the basis of HIV/AIDS status.