Jobs (See all vacancies)
Technical and GIS Specialist - Philippines
Contract duration: 12 months
Location/Duty Station: Philippines
Closes: Wednesday August 26th 2019
Projected start date: September 2019
Reports to: Country Manager - Philippines
Salary range: $826 up to $992 total (gross) per month, including benefits
About HOT
Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) is a US-based NGO and global community of thousands of volunteers working together to use maps and open data for humanitarian response and the Sustainable Development Goals. As the world’s preeminent participatory mapping NGO, HOT has fostered a global mapping community composed of more than 175,000 people with ground operations in eight countries. When major disaster strikes anywhere in the world, HOT rallies this global network to create the maps and data that enable responders to reach those in need.
HOT is soliciting CVs of experienced OpenStreetMap professionals to help lead a project in the Philippines, starting as soon as possible (September 2019). This assignment is expected to last 12 months with the possibility of extension.
Profile
HOT’s project in the Philippines focuses on supporting the expansion of DisasterAware (https://www.pdc.org/apps/disasteraware/), and supplying accurate and up to date open data (via OpenStreetMap) to feed into this platform. Aside from data collection and mapping, this project will have a strong focus on capacity building and training with various government agencies and ministries, both at the national and local level.
The Technical and GIS Specialist will be responsible for ensuring all data in OpenStreetMap is of the highest quality possible and will be the lead technical staff for HOT in the Philippines. Reporting to HOT’s Country Manager for the Philippines, you will have wide and varied responsibilities. These range from quality assurance, providing advanced trainings, supporting Government technical staff, to developing value-added maps for various stakeholders.
HOT typically works with a range of international and national partners (both government, NGO, and civil society) as well as interact frequently with the HOT global network. Projects span sectors and typically focus on participatory mapping using OpenStreetMap, data analysis and storytelling, and training/capacity building of national and international partner organizations. This is a full-time position that is preferably based in Manila, Philippines, but likely with lots of travel and with the potential for location flexibility.
Responsibilities
- Produce beautiful maps and visualizations of our work.
- Liaise and collaborate with partner organizations and government agencies.
- Support timely implementation of all project activities.
- Support and oversee the work of interns and community volunteers.
- Support the technical components of writing and delivering of project reports according to donor schedule.
- Support the development of country-wide and project-specific strategies in coordination with HOT Country Manager and local stakeholders.
- Support the growth of the OpenStreetMap volunteer community.
- Lead the technical guidance and provide expertise on participatory data collection and OpenStreetMap.
- Assist the Training Director in developing an appropriate curriculum for trainings, as well as support all training activities to ensure new mappers are doing high quality work.
- Develop systems and strategies to monitor the quality of all mapping work being done in the Philippines to ensure it is of the highest quality possible.
- Support the government in establishing a local OpenStreetMap server and provide support for all agencies using OpenStreetMap data.
- Participate in information management working group meetings representing the organisation, and provide the necessary support in presenting the relevant GIS data and data.
- Co-Design necessary data collection tools, ensuring that the purpose and use of data collected is clear and that the questions are simple, clear and collectable in OSM formats.
- Organise and manage data input at the server from data collection forms and conduct initial analysis of the data.
- Proactively gather information/data from government, relevant partners and other organisations which may be of use in OpenStreetMap.
- Maintain the OSM Wiki for the Philippines.
- Other duties as assigned.
About You
Essential:
- Care deeply about the mission: passionate about humanitarian & development work demonstrated through prior professional or volunteer experiences.
- You make beautiful maps.
- Extensive experience working with the OpenStreetMap platform and tooling - you are an OSM rockstar.
- Extensive GIS experience, especially with QGIS. Experience with OpenStreetMap tools, such JOSM, iD, Tasking Manager, OMK Server, export tool and others.
- Experience in GIS and spatial data analysis, including remote sensing and imagery.
- Clear vision of participatory data collection methods and community involvement, preferably using OpenStreetMap.
- Experience with mobile survey tools including OpenMapKit, OpenDataKit (ODK), ODK briefcase, Kobo Collect, Field Papers and X-form building.
- Experience managing and leading teams and strong organisational skills.
- Experience running training sessions, workshops or teaching.
- Proven ability to work independently and lead activities.
- You have some degree of statistical data analysis skills.
- Excellent analytical and decision making skills, and ability to prioritize and meet deadlines.
- Demonstrated experience developing teams, especially volunteer teams.
- Demonstrated cultural competency and experience working in the Philippines.
- Demonstrated leadership, versatility, and integrity.
- Ability to solve practical problems and react quickly and calmly to changing or emergency circumstances.
- Willingness to travel and work in challenging environments with limited amenities.
- Hold a university or college degree in Geography, GIS, Disaster Risk Management, Urban Planning, Computer Science, or a related field. Ideally but not necessarily an advanced degree.
- Experience in open data projects and/or open source software development.
- Fluent in written and spoken English and Tagalog.
Additional desirable skills
- Fluent in Bisaya and/or other Filipino languages.
- Experience in working in startup ventures.
- Expertise in disaster risk reduction and response.
- Experience working with governments and in the international humanitarian system, preferably on disaster risk management and reduction projects.
- Experience working with dispersed virtual teams operating in many locations and the project management technologies required to do so effectively.
- Experience designing and carrying out community mapping exercises, including: collecting data, using OpenStreetMap, teaching data quality assurance, collaborating with various stakeholders, and building capacity in partner organizations.
- Experience in data analysis and information management.
- Experience in participatory data collection, preferably using mobile, digital data collection tools such as Kobo, OpenDataKit, and OpenMapKit.
- Experience with data visualization tools and making dashboards, such as Power BI.
- Experience developing self-sufficient and sustainable community groups, including developing technical skillsets.
- Demonstrated understanding of open source culture and ethos.
- Experience managing USAID funded projects.
- Existing network of contacts in the Philippines Government and humanitarian sector.
- Knowledge of the Philippines Government’s legal, HR and administrative requirements for non-profit organizations.
Conditions
- Assignment on contractor basis.
- HOT values salary transparency and equity. Salaries and pay rates at HOT are determined by an open framework: please see https://www.hotosm.org/salaries
- HOT is a leader in flexible working arrangements. As a young, innovative, and open organization, we provide ample space and opportunity for personal initiative and growth.
- Health and medical benefits are provided to all staff through group insurance plans for employees, corporate insurance for accidents and medical emergencies, and 8% wage differentials for independent contractors.