Senior Geographic Information System (GIS) Specialist

The overall objective of the Senior GIS Specialist position is to support MEPL and USAID/Lebanon in establishing, implementing, and overseeing a high-quality GIS system that supports the Mission’s GIS-related needs and improves the effectiveness and public outreach of USAID assistance in Lebanon. The Specialist will have primary responsibility for GIS activities under MEPL including managing spatial datasets, conducting spatial analyses, and creating maps and other cartographic products as required by the project team and USAID/Lebanon. The GIS Specialist will be required to work effectively with a range of stakeholders including other MEPL staff, USAID/Lebanon (as well as relevant USAID/Washington units) and its implementing partners, and other third parties to collect, update, maintain, analyze, and report on geospatial datasets. The GIS Specialist will work full-time at the project’s Beirut field office as part of the larger MEPL team in support of data generation and use.

Responsibilities:

• Generate cartographic products and reports (up to approximately 4-5 maps per week in addition to other GIS products and reports as required), using data collection for monitoring, evaluations, studies, and assessments as well as other primary and secondary data as required.
• Serve as the primary liaison for USAID/Lebanon’s Program Office between the Mission’s technical teams, implementing mechanisms, the USAID/Washington GeoCenter and other stakeholders regarding GIS-related topics.
• Work closely with USAID/Lebanon technical teams and Program Officer to conduct extensive geospatial analysis that improves the monitoring, evaluation, and learning of USAID activities, adds rigor to strategic design, supports, implementation, and improves donor coordination and public outreach.
• Coordinate the MEPL team’s collection of geospatial data, including collaborating with USAID technical teams and implementing partners, to maintain a dynamic dataset that makes GIS a useful management and development assistance tool and implements GIS best practices in geospatial metadata standards, workflows, and data sharing protocols.
• Define and apply a production workflow to streamline data management from collection to cartographic output.
• Work closely with USAID/Lebanon Program Office and GIS target audiences and users to identify data requirements and sources, define data needs and required outputs, and develop GIS products.
• Verify the quality of GIS data collected from outside sources.
• Coordinate with USAID/Lebanon technical teams and implementing partners that require guidance, training, and other support in GIS concepts and use (including use of the Mission’s management information system platform), and design and deliver trainings as required, in collaboration with MEPL capacity development staff.
• Coordinate on GIS issues with other entities, such as Lebanese government agencies, international donor agencies, and private sector and civil society representatives, as appropriate.
• Provide support and recommendations to MEPL and USAID staff and implementing partners on the implementation of GIS best practices in monitoring, evaluation, and learning approaches.
• Support ongoing project site visits, evaluations, assessments, and other analytic activities through the design of relevant maps, introduction of open-source software for rapid data collection such as ODK, and conducting of field data collection as required.
• Contribute to the design and field testing of evaluation and assessment methodologies, methods and protocols, data verification techniques, data reporting techniques, and other technical evaluation and analytical tasks where GIS may add value.
• Compile geographic data from a variety of sources including censuses, field observation, satellite imagery, aerial photographs, and existing maps and maintain the data in a geospatial database.
• Support USAID/Lebanon’s efforts to fully incorporate the Development Information Solution (DIS) platform for performance management and reporting (e.g., training implementing partners on GIS-related aspects of how to use the platform; ensuring the implementing partners are updating GIS information on their portals and following good GIS practices; supporting implementing partners’ GIS activities to respond to the Mission’s GIS requests).

Qualifications:

• Ten (10) years of professional experience in GIS, geography, or related field.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in geography, cartography, GIS, earth sciences, or related field
• Experience with both open-source GIS software such as QGIS, as well as paid-for software like ArcGIS and ArcGIS Online.
• Five (5) years’ experience supporting field data collection and management, utilizing mobile data collection devices and applications.
• Experience in data collection and management using software such as ODK, Fulcrum, and Survey123.
• Experience working with USAID and/or other large international development organizations.
• Excellent data management skills and experience working with datasets in multiple formats including shapefile, geodatabase, CSV, and XLS.
• Some experience with statistical analysis tools such as Stata along with a strong proficiency in Excel.
• At least five (5) years supervisory experience and experience managing staff, preferred.
• Excellent English writing, speaking, and presentation abilities.
• Proficiency in Arabic, preferred.
• Strong interpersonal and oral communications and presentation skills.
• Experience working with a diverse group of stakeholders, including development organizations, government officials, civil society leaders, community leaders, and project beneficiaries.
• Hiring preference is given to qualified Lebanese nationals.