Web and Forest Database Management Specialist
Organizational Context
The Monitoring and Enhancement of Remote Sensing for National Forest Inventory (MERANTI) project, funded by Norway and managed by FAO in Jakarta, aims to improve Indonesia's National Forest Inventory (NFI) initiative. It integrates advanced land-monitoring techniques to enhance the accuracy, availability, transparency, and timeliness of forest and tree-resource data. This initiative strengthens Indonesia's capacity for high-quality forest information, supporting strategic planning, climate change mitigation, climate finance access, and the fulfillment of international commitments.
Job Purpose
The Web and Forest Database Management Specialist will provide essential technical and operational support for managing, integrating, documenting, testing, and quality-checking forest inventory and monitoring information systems, including SI-INTAN and Arena, for NFI 2.0. Collaborating with FAO, IPSDH, and technical partners, the Specialist will assess current systems, establish data governance and interoperability requirements, and ensure technical quality for improvements. The role focuses on achievable outputs within the consultancy period, ensuring maintainability by IPSDH post-project. The Specialist will coordinate with IT consultants to align data, application, and infrastructure workstreams and ensure secure-by-design principles are integrated throughout the system lifecycle, adhering to FAO compliance.
Responsibilities
The Specialist will assess existing data management workflows, database structures, and information systems for NFI 2.0 and related platforms, identifying priority requirements for data management, interoperability, reporting, and security. Responsibilities include reviewing user needs, metadata, data quality procedures, and system architecture to identify risks, ensuring secure-by-design principles are integrated into all planning and development phases. The role involves preparing work plans and technical roadmaps, supporting technical planning among stakeholders, and ensuring application and infrastructure designs meet security requirements. The Specialist will also address identified security vulnerabilities and monitor implementation progress. Additionally, the role supports the development of a data governance framework, documents and recommends improvements to data synchronization workflows, prepares SOPs and workflow documentation, and provides technical input to NFI data management guidelines. The Specialist will define a prioritized interoperability approach, prepare technical specifications for integrations, conduct quality assurance of changes, and coordinate technical inputs from various specialists. Finally, the role includes preparing technical documentation, conducting knowledge-transfer sessions for IPSDH staff, and providing recommendations for future system enhancements.
Work Experience
A minimum of 5 years of relevant professional experience is required in areas such as information systems, database management, data governance, and system integration. Experience supporting forest inventory, forest monitoring, natural resources, environmental, or geospatial information systems is preferred. Fluency in Bahasa Indonesia and a working knowledge of English are necessary.
Skills
The role requires demonstrated experience in information system architecture, database/data management, and system integration, with the ability to review technical specifications. Proficiency in data governance, data quality, metadata, and interoperability is essential; experience with database platforms like PostgreSQL or MySQL is advantageous. Experience developing or reviewing technical requirements, workflows, information products, or web/GIS-based systems is beneficial. A strong understanding of information system security, software development lifecycle, and quality assurance principles is needed. Familiarity with Indonesia's forest inventory systems and direct experience with platforms like SI-INTAN, NFI, Arena, or Collect are highly desirable. Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and effective communication with non-technical stakeholders are crucial.