Local Consultancy: GIS Assistant for CDRA of Climate Resilient WASH in Health Care Facility Project in Samar Province
Organizational Context
UNICEF works in over 190 countries to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential. In the Philippines, UNICEF partners with the government and civil society to realize child rights, focusing on vulnerable regions. The Philippines Country Office has offices in Manila and Cotabato City.
Job Purpose
The GIS Assistant will support the Climate Resilient WASH in Health Care Facility Project by managing and analyzing geographic data. This role involves creating and maintaining GIS databases, mapping target health facilities, and conducting feature-specific risk assessments related to climate and hazards. The assistant will contribute to developing exposure databases for various elements like population, urban uses, natural resources, critical facilities, and utilities. The position is crucial for producing standardized hazard, exposure, and risk maps at municipal and barangay levels, directly supporting the Climate Disaster Risk Assessment (CDRA) process and ensuring data quality and usability for project deliverables.
Responsibilities
The GIS Assistant will be responsible for GIS data management, including preparing an inventory, acquisition plan, file structure, geodatabase schema, naming convention, and backup protocol. This involves reviewing existing data, identifying gaps, and defining standards for coordinate reference systems, mapping scales, and symbology in consultation with the CDRA Specialist. The role requires maintaining a source register and metadata for all datasets. A key responsibility is mapping target health facilities (BHS and RHU), including associated water sources, sanitation facilities, and access routes, and preparing data collection tools for site validation. The assistant will compile and preprocess climate and hazard layers, perform spatial overlays, and generate facility-level hazard exposure summaries and maps. They will also support the preparation of feature-specific risk assessment reports and revise maps based on field verification and technical reviews. Furthermore, the GIS Assistant will contribute to developing municipal exposure databases for population, urban uses, natural resources, critical facilities, and lifeline utilities, including reconstructing or updating layers and linking spatial features to attributes. This includes digitizing or georeferencing elements at risk, documenting data uncertainty, and creating data dictionaries. Finally, the role involves producing standardized hazard, exposure, and risk maps at municipal and barangay levels.
Work Experience
A minimum of two years of professional experience in GIS data management, spatial analysis, and cartography is required. Experience with climate and disaster risk assessment, or in the WASH sector, is an asset.
Skills
GIS software proficiency (e.g., ArcGIS, QGIS), Geodatabase management, Spatial analysis techniques, Cartography and map production, Data quality control, Metadata management, Climate and hazard data processing, Report writing, Attention to detail, Problem-solving skills, Communication skills, Project support