ICT Officer

The ICT Officer - Geospatial Analyst plays a key role in delivering geospatial and image intelligence services in support of emergency response, peace operations, and political missions worldwide. The position involves applying advanced geospatial, imagery, and analytical techniques to support situational awareness, operational planning, and decision-making in complex and often time-sensitive environments. The role contributes to global operations while ensuring compliance with UN policies, standards, and best practices., The Department of Operational Support (DOS) is responsible for the delivery and maintenance of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure, systems and software applications in support of the operational requirements of Peacekeeping Missions, Special Political Missions, as well as Department of Peace Operations (DPO) and DOS at Headquarters.

ICT is one of the fundamental components that enable the substantive work of field missions. Timely and secure communications and information exchange within and between UN Peacekeeping Missions and Headquarters is critical to meet the core strategic, operational and tactical mandate of the United Nations. It is of paramount importance that robust, fault-tolerant and scalable ICT infrastructure is in place to maintain operations in the event of natural or man-made disasters, disruption in the theatre of operation, or as Security Council mandates change.

The Service for Geospatial, Information and Telecommunications Technologies (SGITT) at the United Nations Global Service Center (UNGSC) provides a critical role as the resilient operational hub for the support and delivery of technology services and solutions to field operations and a broad range of Secretariat and United Nations system clients. As a unified, singular service provider, SGITT provides reliable, resilient and innovative, geospatial, communications and information technology services, including centralized connectivity, hosting and monitoring support, ensuring that staff members in field missions and at Headquarters have access to critical enterprise systems.

UNOPS has signed a financial Agreement with UNGSC for Technical Support for Groundwater Exploration, Geophysical Surveys, Existing Wells Assessments and Rehabilitation, Remote Groundwater Monitoring and Geospatial Analyses and support field missions on specific complex geospatial analyses and geophysical surveys which require skills and experience.

The ICT Officer - Geospatial Analyst will carry out his/her tasks within the United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC)/Geospatial, Information and Telecommunication Technologies Service (SGITT)/Client Solution Delivery Section (CSDS. The position forms part of the Geospatial Remote Mission Support Service (GRMSS), a centrally managed remote support framework delivering geospatial data products, maps, geo-analytics, imagery analysis, and operational geospatial services to field missions globally.

Under the overall supervision of UNOPS Senior Programme Manager, the incumbent will work under the guidance of Chief ALIU or a designated officer and be responsible for providing geospatial analytics services.

The incumbent of this position will be personnel of UNOPS under its full responsibility., The purpose of this role is to provide timely, accurate, and actionable geospatial intelligence and advanced geo-analytics in support of UN field missions and headquarters. The incumbent applies geospatial data science, remote sensing, GeoAI, and multi-source analytical methodologies to support situational awareness, operational planning, early warning, and decision-making in complex operational environments., + Supports the development and delivers Geospatial Intelligence (GeoINT) products and operational geo-analytics to support UN peacekeeping, political, and humanitarian decision-making through integrated geospatial and multi-source analytical workflows.

• Conduct event-based geospatial analysis before and after incidents, including rapid assessment of air and missile strikes, drone attacks, conflict incidents, and humanitarian emergencies using multi-temporal satellite imagery and spatial analysis techniques.
• Contributes to Image Intelligence (IMINT) analysis to identify, assess, and quantify impacts on populated areas, including burned settlements, damaged infrastructure, affected IDP camps, and transportation networks using optical, SAR, thermal, and very-high-resolution imagery.
• Helps deliver integrated IMINT / GEOINT / OSINT analysis by combining satellite imagery, UAV data, open-source reporting, geolocated multimedia content, and authoritative datasets to support situational awareness and operational planning.
• Assists in advanced spatial, temporal, and terrain analysis, including time-series analysis, change detection, hotspot analysis, accessibility modelling, shadow analysis, and pattern identification across areas of operational interest.
• Builds spatiotemporal analytical models to monitor conflict dynamics, detect trends in violence indicators, population displacement, armed group activity, and territorial influence.
• Contributes to OSINT-enabled geospatial investigations to corroborate imagery findings, validate analytical outputs, and provide contextual intelligence through integration of social media content, event databases, and digital location traces.
• Applies data science, machine learning, and spatial statistics to support predictive and probabilistic geospatial risk assessments, anticipatory action, and operational early warning.

2. Innovation

• Helps develop and apply innovative geospatial and image analysis methodologies, including GeoAI, computer vision, machine learning, and deep-learning techniques for automated feature extraction, classification, and change detection.
• Supports the design and implementation of automated geospatial pipelines and scalable analytical workflows for incident monitoring, hotspot detection, trend analysis, feature extraction, and operational dashboards.
• Integrates multi-sensor and multi-source data into reproducible analytical environments, ensuring proper documentation, versioning, and methodological consistency.
• Leverages emerging geospatial technologies, cloud-based analytical platforms, and automation tools while maintaining expert human analysis as a critical validation layer.
• Assists in the development of automated hotspot detection and Area of Concern (AoC) identification workflows using clustering methods, environmental indicators, accessibility models, exposure layers, and conflict event datasets.

3. Management and Coordination

• Coordinates with clients and stakeholders to translate operational needs into short- and medium-term analytical requirements.
• Ensures effective collaboration across analytical, technical, and operational teams.

4. Quality Control and Reporting

• Integrates multi-source findings into clear, decision-ready analytical assessments and operational narratives.
• Assists in producing high-quality geospatial intelligence outputs, including maps, annotated imagery, dashboards, and analytical reports using ESRI and related geospatial tools.
• Applies quality assurance and validation procedures to ensure analytical rigor, consistency, and reliability of geospatial products and models.
• Ensures compliance with UN standards, operational requirements, and information management protocols.
• Performs other duties that may be reasonably required and in line with the incumbent's scope of services., * For retainer contracts, you must complete a few mandatory courses (they take around 4 hours to complete) in your own time, before providing services to UNOPS. Refreshers or new mandatory courses may be required during your contract. Please note that you will not receive any compensation for taking courses and refreshers.

• For more details about the contract types, please refer to the relevant documents.
• All UNOPS personnel are responsible for performing their duties in accordance with the UN Charter and UNOPS Policies and Instructions, as well as other relevant accountability frameworks. In addition, all personnel must demonstrate an understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a manner consistent with UN core values and the UN Common Agenda.
• It is the policy of UNOPS to conduct background checks on all potential personnel. Recruitment in UNOPS is contingent on the results of such checks.

Analytical Skills, Analytics, ArcGIS, Treats all individuals with respect; responds sensitively to differences and encourages others to do the same. Upholds organisational and ethical norms. Maintains high standards of trustworthiness. Role model for diversity and inclusion.

Acts as a positive role model contributing to the team spirit. Collaborates and supports the development of others. For people managers only: Acts as positive leadership role model, motivates, directs and inspires others to succeed, utilizing appropriate leadership styles.

Demonstrates understanding of the impact of own role on all partners and always puts the end beneficiary first. Builds and maintains strong external relationships and is a competent partner for others (if relevant to the role).

Efficiently establishes an appropriate course of action for self and/or others to accomplish a goal. Actions lead to total task accomplishment through concern for quality in all areas. Sees opportunities and takes the initiative to act on them. Understands that responsible use of resources maximizes our impact on our beneficiaries.

Open to change and flexible in a fast paced environment. Effectively adapts own approach to suit changing circumstances or requirements. Reflects on experiences and modifies own behaviour. Performance is consistent, even under pressure. Always pursues continuous improvements.

Evaluates data and courses of action to reach logical, pragmatic decisions. Takes an unbiased, rational approach with calculated risks. Applies innovation and creativity to problem-solving.

Expresses ideas or facts in a clear, concise and open manner. Communication indicates a consideration for the feelings and needs of others. Actively listens and proactively shares knowledge. Handles conflict effectively, by overcoming differences of opinion and finding common ground., * Advanced university degree (Master's degree or equivalent) preferably in remote Sensing, Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), Geography, Geology, or related fields OR

• A first-level university degree (Bachelor's degree) preferably in remote Sensing, Geospatial Information Systems (GIS), Geography, Geology, or related fields with two (2) years of experience.
• Demonstrated proficiency in Python scripting for geospatial analytics, data processing, and workflow automation, preferably within ArcGIS and related geospatial environments.

Desired:

• Relevant professional certifications in ArcGIS Pro, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and optical remote sensing., * Relevant experience is defined as experience in Remote Sensing/Imagery Analysis, GIS/Geospatial Analysis or related fields.
• Professional knowledge of ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine, or comparable geospatial/image analysis software system/platform.
• Experience in imagery intelligence, preferably in a military or humanitarian context.
• Professional experience with GeoAI techniques applied to geospatial or Earth observation data.

Desired:

• Professional experience working with satellite Earth Observation datasets and large-scale geospatial data processing environments.
• Good written and verbal communication skills.
• Professional experience of digital cartography in a GIS environment.
• Professional experience in statistical analysis using enterprise office software (e.g. R).
• Ability to document analytical workflows and communicate technical findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.

Language Requirements

English - Fluent - Required

The UNOPS Global Portfolios Office (GPO) brings together diverse expertise to help partners deliver impact worldwide. With hubs in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and expert teams operating globally, GPO leads multi-regional initiatives that advance sustainable development, climate action, and peacebuilding - including in some of the world's most challenging environments. By leveraging our collective expertise and global networks, GPO supports UNOPS' strategic priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals across more than 130 countries. We work closely with major global partners - including governments, international financial institutions, and UN agencies - to deliver a wide range of services, such as project management, fund management, hosting services, and HR support., * For staff positions only, UNOPS reserves the right to appoint a candidate at a lower level than the advertised level of the post.