Title: Senior Advisor, Geographical Information Systems
Division: Programs
Reports to: SVP , Conservation Strategy, Impact and Learning
Matrix Management: N/A
Supervises: Geospatial Fellow
Location: Nairobi, Kenya
Position Summary
The Senior Advisor (SA) will be responsible for co-developing, promoting and socializing the application of cutting-edge spatial tools towards more effective evidence-based decision-making in land use planning (LUP) and conservation management. This is a senior and key member of AWF conservation planning team. The SA will lead participatory land use planning (LUP) processes engaging stakeholders to formulate effective, sustainable strategies informed by evaluation of spatially explicit scenarios. The successful applicant will also work with AWF landscape teams and partners to co-design and deploy online decision-support interfaces towards effective planning and adaptive management related to conservation, restoration, or conservation agriculture. The SA’s role will emphasize the creation of spatial data, scenario analyses, evidence, and guidance to LUP and management-support processes. These roles will stress the SA’s ability to quickly assess and assimilate new tools and approaches and lead engagement of a wide range of stakeholders including senior AWF management and a range of high-level decision makers.
The position will work closely with the Sr. Director of Conservation Geography, AWF planners, thematic and landscape program leads. The position is based at AWF-HQ in Nairobi, Kenya and will report to Senior VP, Conservation Strategy, Impact and Learning.
Key Responsibilities
- Refine AWF’s approach to land use planning based on scenario analysis to inform sustainable strategies that minimize conflict between land use sectors. Develop guidance for user application.
- Work with the AWF planning team to facilitate participatory land use planning processes that involve local communities, the private sector, government, and other stakeholders. Ensure outcomes fit within existing policy and planning context.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to integrate social, cultural, infrastructures, developments aspirations and economic values into land-use decisions and ensure adherence to AWF’s human rights-based approach. Work with communities to identify their land rights considering local and national laws.
- Work with landscape teams and partners to co-design, test and deploy management decision-support interfaces using Esri’s ArcGISOnline. Support the flow/updating of interface spatial inputs using GIS, remote sensing, and array of field data collection tools.
- Lead in-person and remote capacity building sessions for AWF staff and partners towards effective application of refined management-support and planning approaches.
- Engage AWF senior management to help integrate new geospatial tools/approaches into AWF’s landscape conservation process and ensure alignment with AWF strategies.
- Collaborate with the relevant teams to ensure that proposals/concepts include technical GIS input to raise additional resources and expand program.
- Support development of a geospatial fellows’ program geared towards advancing African geospatial capacity and application.
- Use GIS and other decision support software to (and interrogate assumptions) analyse, assess, visualise, and summarize environmental data to support conservation planning and decision making.
- Identify, recommend and implement continual improvement in AWF’s mapping and data gathering procedures, lessons learned , documents and technology.
- Contribute spatial data & evidence to AWF’s monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL).
- Lead geospatial support in Nairobi and help manage AWF geospatial resources.
- Stay abreast of the evolving planning and geospatial technology landscape.
Requirements and Skills
- Master’s Degree in Natural or Environmental Science, Planning, GIS/Geography or related.
- 15+ years’ experience in using GIS, remote sensing in a conservation/natural resources context.
- Proficiency in spatial tools including ArcGISPro, ArcGIS Online, and scenario development tools (e.g., Marxan).
- 8+ years of experience facilitating land use planning processes.
- Experience with land use modeling tools and scenario generation/evaluation techniques.
- Knowledge of conservation, biodiversity, ecosystem management, and sustainable development principles.
- Extensive experience with project management, workflow design, and program integration.
- Ability to travel and work effectively under harsh, unpredictable conditions in remote locations.
- Strong analytical, writing, and presentation skills.
- Excellent capacity building skills in spatial tools application.
- Ability to work in a multi-cultural environment, with little or no supervision.
- Ability to travel for extended periods.
- Strong interpersonal skills to engage with diverse stakeholders and partners. Ability to build consensus.
- Genuine respect for communities.
Strongly preferred:
- Conversant in French.
- Experience developing apps and tools in ArcGIS Online.
- Experience applying python in a spatial tools context.
- Experience working with government partners and/or the private sector.
- Experience with planning using spatially explicit scenarios.
More Information
- Job City Nairobi
