UNOPS Geneva Office is providing support to a wide range of portfolios, including UNEP, UNICEF, UNHCR, and other partners.
UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. To save their lives. To defend their rights. To help them fulfill their potential.
This position is a Partner Personnel role. UNOPS is supporting UNICEF-DI as a UN partner and is acting on its behalf to provide recruitment and administrative support for this position. The selected candidate will be recruited through UNOPS in accordance with UNOPS recruitment rules and will be engaged as UNICEF-DI personnel.
The incumbent will work under the effective management and supervision of UNICEF-DI, not UNOPS.
About UNICEF Digital Impact Division (DID)
Digital Impact Division (DID) is at the heart of reshaping how UNICEF delivers lasting results for children. We are committed to harnessing the full potential of emerging digital technologies to advance UNICEF’s mission.
DID works in close collaboration with regional Digital Impact teams and colleagues across headquarters divisions, regions, and country offices to leverage technologies and capabilities that accelerate progress on UNICEF’s goals, strengthen community resilience, and expand access to essential digital services and information.
Our mission is to enhance UNICEF’s global digital impact by promoting equitable access to information and services, empowering communities to create lasting, positive change for children, and foster a more inclusive, interconnected, and sustainable world for every child, everywhere.
About UNICEF Digital Inclusion (DI)
UNICEF’s Digital Inclusion programme supports governments and partners to improve equitable, affordable digital access for children, schools, and communities. The programme engages with regulators, operators, and public institutions to explore innovative approaches to connectivity, infrastructure governance, and digital public goods.
The Geospatial Data Engineer will identify and process relevant hazard-related datasets and integrate them with DI’s school geolocation and connectivity datasets. The role will identify and pilot use cases in at least two emergencies for school-level risk and the impact on connectivity. The Geospatial Data Engineer will also develop visualization products and ensure appropriate knowledge management and documentation.
The Geospatial Data Engineer will work closely with DI’s Applied Science team, the Global Alliances team, the Country Engagement team, UNICEF’s Frontier Data Network, UNICEF Country Offices and other relevant teams and partners.
Under the overall guidance of the Programme Manager, the Geospatial Data Engineer’s main responsibilities will be:
Identification of relevant datasets
Identify and review natural hazard, exposure, climate risk and forecasting datasets that can be meaningfully combined with DI’s school location and connectivity data and prioritize datasets for integration with DI’s datasets and Giga Spatial (an open-source geospatial Python library).
Data processing and integration
Extend and apply Giga Spatial to process and integrate selected hazard datasets with other DI data, including maintaining technical documentation for the Giga Spatial extension for GitHub.
Country use case identification
Identify countries and priority use cases for hazard risk analysis in line with programmatic needs and collaborate with relevant UNICEF teams and partners to pilot country level analyses and contribute to the documentation of use cases.
Piloting use cases for school-level hazard risk and connectivity analysis
Pilot school-level hazard risk and connectivity analyses by integrating real-time and event-based hazard data with school location and connectivity datasets, in collaboration with relevant UNICEF teams.
Visualization and guidance products
Explore ways to integrate the produced data analysis outputs in UNICEF’s visualization tools to support interpretation and use of results.
Documentation and knowledge management
Develop and maintain appropriate documentation and knowledge management resources to support the work for future use.
Monitoring and Progress Controls
Item
Outputs/Deliverables
Month/Year
1
Identification of relevant datasets
Detailed list of reviewed datasets (including source, spatial resolution, temporal coverage, update frequency and access) with recommendations on suitability for integration with DI data, e.g. in Excel format
Structured inventory of prioritized datasets, e.g. in Excel format
Access to prioritized datasets secured
Ongoing
2
Data processing and integration
Giga Spatial extended to handle the new datasets
Datasets preprocessed
Giga Spatial extension documented for GitHub
Ongoing
3
Country use case identification
Summary of country-specific use cases, analytical questions, and confirmed country priorities
Ongoing
4
Piloting use cases for school-level hazard risk and connectivity analysis
At least two use cases of integrating hazard data with DI’s data successfully piloted in selected emergencies
Web app developed to visualize findings
Brief analysis report with the findings of each use case pilot (e.g. affected schools, impact on connectivity and continuity of education), highlighting practical applications
Brief report including methodology, limitations, country use cases and lessons learned from the pilots
Ongoing
5
Visualization and guidance products
Integration with UNICEF visualization tools or brief report on integration possibilities
User guide or training materials
Ongoing
6
Documentation and knowledge management
Established and regularly updated knowledge repository
Brief report on progress, recommendations and lessons learned
Academic report on findings of pilots
Quarterly
