The Position: The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (The Alliance; https://alliancebioversityciat.org/) seeks to recruit a Research Officer I – Geospatial Software Developer who will provide technical support to the Multifunctional landscapes lever in Ethiopia, more specifically establishment of a web-based mapping applications in support of land restoration, climate smart agriculture, and fertilizer recommendation work in Ethiopia with capabilities of storing, processing and visualizing geospatial data. The major outputs will be development of dashboards, decision support tools, advisory services, data collection automation approaches and the likes. He/she will also provide technical support to the Alliance team and its PhD/MSc students. She/he will be a member of the Alliance which is based at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) campus in Addis Ababa.

General: The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) delivers research-based solutions that address the global crises of malnutrition, climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. The Alliance focuses on the nexus of agriculture, nutrition and environment. We work with local, national, and multinational partners across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and with the public and private sectors and civil society. With novel partnerships, the Alliance generates evidence and mainstreams innovations to transform food systems and landscapes so that they sustain the planet, drive prosperity, and nourish people. The Alliance is organized into six key levers: 1) Food environment and consumer behavior – reshaping the food environment and consumer behavior toward healthy and sustainable diets; 2) Multifunctional landscapes-fostering innovation for environmental health and productive landscapes to improve livelihoods; 3) Climate action – mainstreaming climate action in the food system to reduce risks; 4) Biodiversity for food and agriculture – making agricultural and tree diversity available and safeguarding it for the diverse needs of food system actors; 5) Digital inclusion – promoting inclusion in the digital agriculture revolution for equitable benefits; and 6) Crops for nutrition and health – putting nutrition and health at the heart of crop improvement to address the triple burden of malnutrition.

Main Responsibilities:

The Research Officer I – Geospatial Software Developer will provide technical support that will lead to the development of decision support tools and advisory services. She/he will also execute related activities with relevant Alliance staff and its partners. She/he will specifically provide the following functions:

• Envisions, designs, and develops geospatial (software) tools and user-interface modules for large-scale deployment and management;
• Supports development of automated toolkit to enable standardized data collection;
• Designs and develops intuitive, and dynamic web-based mapping application for storing, processing and visualizing geospatial data;
• Deploys geoprocessing scripts/tools as services for the web-based mapping application;
• Works closely with scientists to determine specific application requirements and specifications;
• Engages and supports machine learning and big data analytics approaches;
• Supports coordinating stakeholder meeting and workshops;

Minimum Requirements:

Education:

• Masters’ degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Geo-Computation, Geospatial Science or related field with substantive coursework in geospatial analysis, programming and modelling.
• Broad / specialized knowledge of methods, techniques and processes

Experience:

• A minimum of three years of relevant work experience

Skill:

• Ability to write reports and papers in an organized manner; ability to present work to technical and non-technical audience; exposure and experience in agriculture, resources management areas
• Proven record of software development
• Strong geospatial analysis and modelling skills
• Strong Python and R programming skills with more focus on spatial tool development
• Demonstrated experience working with open source geospatial technology stacks, e.g. PostGIS, GeoServer and Mapserver
• Demonstrated experience in web mapping interface design and development using some of the following tools and technologies: GitHub, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AngularJS, JQuery, Leaflet and OpenLayers
• Experience working with API / back-end code in more than one languages, e.g. Java, Python
• High standards for code quality, maintainability, and performance
• Experience in relational database, e.g. PostgreSQL
• Experience in development of geospatial tools.

Duty Station:   Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Position level:  HG 13

Monthly base salary:                     

• Birr 40,000 but negotiable depending on the salary history of the selected candidate.

Terms of appointment: Initial appointment is for two years renewable appointment based on performance and funding availability. CIAT offers a multicultural, collegial research environment with competitive salary and excellent benefits in line with ILRI salary applicable for its Nationally Recruited Staff. CIAT is an international and equal opportunity organization and believes that diversity of its staff contributes to excellence. The ILRI campus is set in a secure, attractive campus with dining and sports facilities.

How to Apply

Applications: Applicants should provide a cover letter and curriculum vitae; names and addresses (including telephone and email) of three referees who are knowledgeable about the candidate’s professional qualifications and work experience to be included in the curriculum vitae. The position and reference number: GSD/CIAT/20/21 should be clearly indicated in the subject line of the cover letter. All applications to be submitted online on our recruitment portal on or before 21 July 2021.

To find more about CIAT, visit our Website at http://www.ciat.cgiar.org

Suitably qualified women are particularly encouraged to apply.