Geospatial and Data Assistant

The Geospatial and Data Assistant will report to the Senior Programs Manager , West and Northern Africa Hub, and is responsible for supporting  data and GIS activities across HOT projects and operations and particularly  within the region. This will include gathering data, reviewing and data analysis. Including   visualization activities pertaining to open mapping projects in the region, and supporting data validation efforts while working and collaborating with project leads and community members.

This position is remote/flexible, with travel foreseen for training, workshops and regular travel to the Hub location and West and Northern Africa project locations.

Key responsibilities:

• • Support the Improvement of  OSM, GIS and data management including the skills and awareness with WNA Hub partners and supported communities. Identify needs, and support to develop appropriate solutions and support mechanisms.
  • Support the coordination of partner and community engagement during disaster and the GIS and technical contact point for partner organizations, government agencies, and OSM communities.
  • Support the implementation of mapping and data collection activities supported, or executed, by the Hub.
  • Contribute to the production of relevant maps,  web maps, data analysis, and visualizations that effectively communicate and tell stories about our work.
  • Participate in Information Management working group meetings representing the organization, and provide the necessary support in presenting the relevant GIS data and data.
  • Support the organization and management of data collection tooling and workflows in coordination with HOT’s Data and Tech team: develop data collection forms and technical guidance, manage and monitor data collection servers, and oversee data cleaning, QA/QC and data contributions to OSM.
  • Support the development and implementation of QA/QC and validation processes, in coordination with the Data team, working groups, and stakeholders in the wider OSM community.
  • Develop, localize, and publish training materials and skill shares on GIS, OSM data collection and data quality workflows and processes to improve skills and knowledge in the region.
  • Supporting training activities to ensure new mappers are collecting and contributing high quality map data.
  • Review present and past project datasets to develop additional visualizations to support fundraising or HOT’s works across the region.
  • Support  the identified training needs by the team both introductory and advanced level training on OpenStreetMap, QGIS and other relevant technologies to OSM community members, government agencies, corporate partners, humanitarian actors, design curricula, and develop training materials (or tailor the existing materials)
  • Capacity development with OSM communities: Support the setup of trainings and workshops to local and regional partners working in the areas of disaster management, OpenStreetMap communities, and hub staff on HOT’s disaster response workflows to empower local communities;
  • Support the coordination with Local Communities and HOT Disaster Services during disasters. Typically the staff with Disaster Services functions will assist in service delivery globally, whereas this role will focus on the response workflows on the ground, supporting the coordination between OSM communities and disaster response and aid agencies locally
  • Support the regionalisation of HOT’s disaster response strategy, including participating in HOT global Disaster Services development meetings and the Activation Working Group (AWG)
  • Work with the Regional Partnerships Manager to support the creation and implementation of partner engagement and outreach strategy where this pertains to disaster response,  preparedness & early recovery;
  • Contribute to the development of technical documentation and training materials, such as the Activation Protocol and HOT GIS Training Center (https://www.hotosm.org/hot-activation-protocol.html & https://courses.hotosm.org/), HOT Toolbox (https://toolbox.hotosm.org/), LearnOSM (https://learnosm.org/en/) and adapting these to local needs, circumstances and languages.
  • Build relationship pre-disaster and consolidate the existing ones (e.g disaster management agencies, response organizations: regional offices)
  • Landscape analysis (who are major players, what types of disaster, risk analysis, consider aftermath of disaster (health, poverty, food scarcity etc)
  • Other duties and  responsibilities as required

Essential

• • • University or college degree (or above)  in Data Science, Humanitarian Data and Technology, GIS, Geography, International Development, or related fields or equivalent professional experience.
    • Experience in open source or open data communities (please name these in your application)
    • Significant and verifiable experience, knowledge and awareness with geospatial data collection, storage and analysis tools, methodologies and technology, including remote sensing technologies, ‘big’ data and OpenStreetMap.
    • Capacity to analyze and transform massive datasets into intelligent data insights
    • Experience in GIS software (QGIS, ArcGIS, databases, and other related web-based GIS platforms) and applying quantitative and qualitative (statistical) analysis methods & technologies to geospatial data
    • Experience working remotely and coordinating activities across multiple time zones
    • Empathy and understanding, a good sense of humor and willingness to learn.
    • Driven, goal-oriented and strives for continuous improvement
    • Comfortable with using a wide range of digital platforms.

Desirable

• • • Experience participating in HOT and OSM Working Groups, particularly data related ones.
    • Experience working with and alongside (large) volunteer groups and communities, such as open source, open data or the OpenStreetMap community.
    • Experience in humanitarian and development settings, preferably in one of HOT’s 5 impact areas: Disasters & Climate Resilience, Public Health, Gender Equality, Sustainable Cities & Communities, and Displacement & Safe Migration
    • Fluency in  English, with French being an added advantage

Top 2 - 3 priorities for the first 60 days

• 1. Work towards collecting and contributing to a high quality of data delivery across all HOT supported open mapping projects in the Hub countries.
     1. Reviewing recent projects and using the data to generate additional analysis where applicable.
     2. Support the design of year five projects with an emphasis on data and visualizations.
  2. Promote and enable the use of OSM data in a way that aligns HOT's priorities in thematic "Impact areas", with the needs of the communities and partners.

Keywords

GeospatialData AssistantOSMGISData ManagementData AnalysisVisualizationMappingWeb MapsData CollectionData QualityTrainingDisaster ResponseHumanitarianOpenStreetMapQGIS