International Consultant - VAM Officer (Early Warning and GIS Officer)

The International Consultant - VAM Officer (Early Warning and GIS Officer) will provide technical leadership for Early Warning and GIS functions in WFP Afghanistan. The role involves managing and analyzing geospatial data, developing analytical products and models, and implementing automated solutions to support operational planning and humanitarian response.

Responsibilities

• Lead the production of geospatial analyses, risk mapping, and analytical products to support early warning, emergency preparedness, response planning, and programmatic decision-making.
• Develop and maintain geospatial models, predictive analytics, and risk-monitoring tools to identify and monitor climatic, environmental, operational, and food security-related shocks.
• Integrate Earth Observation, remote sensing, climate, hazard, accessibility, and socio-economic datasets into analytical workflows and operational products; including famine early warning analysis and Nutrition Early Risk Monitoring (NERIM).
• Support IPC, emergency assessments, vulnerability analyses, and other corporate analytical processes through advanced GIS and spatial analysis.
• Lead the technical management, maintenance, and enhancement of the AF-PULSE platform.
• Design, develop, and implement new AF-PULSE features, analytical modules, dashboards, and visualization tools to improve operational decision-making.
• Integrate new data sources, automated data feeds, and geospatial models into the platform.
• Collaborate with internal units and external partners to continuously improve the platform's functionality and operational relevance.
• Develop and maintain automated workflows, scripts, and data processing pipelines for data collection, validation, analysis, reporting, and visualization.
• Oversight the maintenance and management WFP Afghanistan's geospatial databases, ensuring data quality, accessibility, interoperability, and preparedness for operational use.
• Design and implement coding solutions to improve efficiency and reduce manual processing within AF-PULSE and other GIS systems.
• Build national staff capacity through mentoring, technical documentation, and knowledge-sharing.
• Coordinate with programme, VAM, supply chain, crisis response, and field teams to ensure geospatial and analytical outputs effectively support operational needs.
• Perform any other related duties as required.

Requirements

• Master’s Degree, preferably in Geographic Information Systems, computer science or other relevant fields; or Bachelor’s degree with 3 years of experience and demonstrated expertise.
• At least 2 years of progressively responsible professional experience in GIS, geospatial analysis, Early Warning, or related fields, preferably within humanitarian or development contexts.
• Demonstrated experience in developing and managing web-based geospatial platforms, dashboards, and decision-support systems.
• Proven experience with ArcGIS Enterprise, ArcGIS Online (ArcGIS Experience Builder and ArcGIS Dashboard), ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, and other open-source geospatial technologies.
• Strong experience in Python programming, GIS automation (ArcPy, GeoPandas, Rasterio, etc.), data engineering, and workflow automation.
• Experience designing and implementing geospatial models, remote sensing pipelines, and data integration solutions.
• Experience managing spatial databases, APIs, cloud-based services, and large geospatial datasets.
• Experience supporting operational decision-making through GIS and analytical products in emergency, food security, disaster risk, or humanitarian settings is highly desirable.
• Advanced GIS and spatial analysis expertise.
• Strong programming skills in JavaScript and Python for geospatial automation and analysis workflows.
• Experience in developing and maintaining interactive web GIS platforms and dashboards using Esri ArcGIS Online and Esri ArcGIS Enterprise.
• Knowledge of remote sensing, Earth Observation, climate and hazard data applications.
• Familiarity with analyzing and interpreting agroclimatic data.
• Familiarity with machine learning, GeoAI, and predictive modelling techniques.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and innovation skills.
• Ability to translate complex technical findings into actionable operational recommendations.
• Strong stakeholder engagement, coordination, and capacity-building skills.
• Working knowledge of English (Level C); knowledge of major languages in Afghanistan advantageous.

Skills

• Geospatial Analysis
• Early Warning Systems
• Web-based Geospatial Platforms
• ArcGIS Enterprise
• ArcGIS Online
• ArcGIS Experience Builder
• ArcGIS Dashboard Design
• ArcGIS
• QGIS
• Python Programming
• GIS Automation
• Arcpy
• Geopandas
• rasterio
• Data Engineering
• Workflow Automation
• Geospatial Modeling
• Remote Sensing
• Data Integration
• Spatial Database Management
• API Management
• Cloud-based Geospatial Services
• Large Geospatial Datasets
• Operational Decision Support
• Spatial Analysis
• JavaScript Programming
• Interactive Web GIS
• Earth Observation
• Climate Data Interpretation
• Hazard Data Analysis
• Agroclimatic Data Analysis
• Machine Learning
• GeoAI
• Predictive Modelling
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Capacity Building

Languages

English