Manager, GIS and remote sensing

South Pole is an energetic, global company offering comprehensive sustainability solutions and services. With offices spanning all continents across the globe, we strive to create a sustainable society and economy that positively impacts our climate, ecosystems and developing communities. With our solutions, we inspire and enable our customers to create value from sustainability-related activities. 

OurClimate Projects unit works hand in hand with our internal units and our leading clients, leveraging emerging technologies, to develop functional digital solutions to solve business problems in new and creative ways. Building on our leading and unique set of projects, we provide more accurate and actionable insights into climate action. If you have the skills, ambition and drive to use the best of digital to protect ecosystems, restore forests, drive sustainable agriculture, and a strong passion to make a real difference in the fight against climate change, the below position may be right for you!

Job summary:

As part of the Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing (GIS&RS) team within the Climate Projects Unit’s Africa region, you will be involved in the design and implementation of GIS&RS projects related to land use planning, ecosystem services, terrain mapping and forestry management. This will include the development of techniques and models to support our development of projects and the Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) processes as well. You will be supporting a broad range of current and future projects covering various project sectors such as reforestation, forestry conservation, improved forest management, sustainable agriculture and biodiversity, and any other topic that might arise in the future.

Main tasks & responsibilities:

• Perform GIS&RS analyses to support the timely evaluation of project opportunities within the due diligence company procedure

• Support and lead any mandates in the spatial solutions development of GIS & RS components and carry out analyses for project development and MRV processes in the afforestation/reforestation, REDD+/Blue Carbon, Sustainable agriculture and Biodiversity sectors

• Perform remote sensing manipulations, such as geo-referencing, calibration, image processing and analysis, and feature extraction; and produce land cover/land use maps and forest monitoring of the project from satellite images

• Participate in developing proposals and also in drafting project descriptions, when GIS or spatial data components are included

• Perform site visits in different African ecosystems to carry out and/or supervise data collections for feasibility and MRV site visits

• Design and draft workshop material and deliver training sessions to train the local community and/or other stakeholders in GPS/mapping/navigation techniques

• Draft new and revise existing Standard Operating Procedures for the analyses of the internal projects portfolio

• Capacity to work effectively within multicultural and interdisciplinary teams to increase work efficiency and share necessities and opinions on projects

• Provide support and recommendations for the implementation of GIS&RS best practices on opportunities evaluation, project development and MRV processes

Requirements:

Essential -

• University degree in environmental science, natural resource management, ecology,forestry engineering, GIS&RS, geography, or any other related field

• At least 5 years of experience in GIS analysis in the natural resource sector, particularly Land-Use and Land-Cover Change (LUCC) analysis, and in the field of natural resources management in the varied African ecosystems

• Knowledge of Forest mapping and monitoring; knowledge of REDD+ mapping using GIS required

• GIS and remote sensing analytical skills using both open-source or pay Software (QGIS, Esri suite, ENVI, etc.) for image processing and analysis

• Experience with programming and Cloud environments (GEE, etc.)

• Very Good knowledge and hands-on experience in geospatial information systems, data analysis and analytical tools

• Highly organized with the ability to work unsupervised including prioritizing and working effectively under deadlines, as well as developing independently their approach to solutions

• Very good capacity to draft and prepare concise documents (proposal and deliverables), as well as prioritise assigned tasks

• Fluency in spoken and writtenEnglish and knowledge of one of the other major African languages such as French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, etc. will be considered a plus

Desirable -

• Knowledge of forest carbon and carbon standards like VERRA, CDM, and Plan Vivo among others

• Capacity to work effectively within multicultural and interdisciplinary teams to increase work efficiency and share necessities and opinions on projects

• Hands-on experience in forestry data collection inventory and/or any other ecological data collection (wildlife census, etc.)

What we offer:

At South Pole, we care about our employees as much as we care about the planet. South Pole is not just an employer, we are a Team. South Pole does not just offer people a job, we offer you a career. By joining our team, you will find strong purpose and deep meaning in everything you do. You will have the chance to make a real difference for our clients and for the planet, working alongside a passionate team of like-minded colleagues, while building your knowledge/skills and developing your career in a fun, dynamic, international and fast-growing organisation. 

We’re a planet of 7.5 billion unique and different people. We all have a contribution to make; South Pole is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, colour, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, marital status or disability. Our recruitment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.