Geospatial Data Scientist

Organizational Setting

The Agrifood Economics and Policy Division (ESA) conducts economic research and policy analysis to support the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. ESA provides evidence-based support to national, regional and global policy processes and initiatives related to monitoring and analysing food and agricultural policies, agribusiness and value chain development, rural transformation and poverty, food security and nutrition information and analysis, resilience, bioeconomy, and climate-smart agriculture. The division also leads the production of two FAO flagship publications: The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) and The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI). The State of Food and Agriculture (SOFA) is FAO’s main annual flagship publication with wide international recognition. It informs the international policy debate on major issues of significance for agricultural development and food security based on authoritative and comprehensive analysis.

FAO, through the ESTELLA Programme (Integrated regional platform for the innovative use of earth observation Technology and Farmer registry for the production and Validation of crop Data) implemented by ESA, supports national governments in utilizing Earth Observation (EO) data for agricultural policy targeting monitoring, development of credit and insurance schemes to farmers, and to analyze/forecast impact of disasters on crop production and market prices. ESTELLA operates in close collaboration with European Space Agency, the Université catolique de Louvain (UCLouvain) as technical partner, and UNECA’s Geospatial Unit at the regional level, with active country operations in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Senegal, and other target countries.

ESTELLA deploys state-of-the-art EO processing platforms including Sen4Stat and Sen4CAP, to produce validated crop monitoring products. A central objective is linking EO-derived products to national agricultural policies, input/subsidies, crop insurance, and agricultural credit.

Reporting Lines

The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Technical Adviser for Geospatial (ESTELLA Programme Lead) in the ESA Division and in close collaboration with ESA technical staff, national counterparts in Ministries of Agriculture, Developing Banks, and regional partners including UNECA and ICPAC.

Technical Focus

The incumbent will provide specialized technical expertise in EO-based agricultural monitoring, combining satellite image processing, machine learning, and ground truth validation. The focus is on delivering scalable, institutionally embedded products — including crop type maps, using the Sen4Stat processing framework under the EOSTAT protocol for crop mapping and statistical production, and the Sen4CAP processing framework under ESA’s mandate on agrifood economics and policy for compliance and policy-oriented monitoring. A key emphasis is the use of EO-derived outputs for delivery of insurance and credit to smallholder farmers and evidence-based policy targeting. Work will be conducted in direct collaboration with national agencies to strengthen their capacity to produce and use EO-derived agricultural statistics operationally.

Tasks And Responsibilities

EO Data Processing and Satellite Time Series Analysis

• Preprocess and analyze multi-temporal satellite image time series (Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, Landsat) for crop monitoring and phenological analysis in ESTELLA target countries.
• Operate and customize the Sen4Stat processing chain, applied under the EOSTAT protocol, for the production of crop type maps and computation of crop area and yield data and agricultural monitoring products consistent with national statistical frameworks.
• Operate and adapt Sen4CAP (Sentinel for Common Agricultural Policy) workflows, under ESA’s mandate on agrifood economics and policy, for crop compliance monitoring and agricultural parcel analysis, adapting them to smallholder farming system contexts in sub-Saharan Africa and Central Asia.
• Support the hosting, versioning, and national transfer of Sen4Stat- and Sen4CAP-derived products, including crop type maps, consistent with EOSTAT and ESA institutional protocols.
• Support the design and implementation of field data collection protocols consistent with the FAO In-Situ Data Quality Framework, including sampling design, digital data capture (ODK, KoBo, SurveyCTO), and real-time quality control.
• Conduct validation and accuracy assessment of EO-derived products using ground truth data, national survey datasets, and expert knowledge, assessing fitness for purpose in national policy contexts.
• Establish end-to-end data quality assurance workflows from field collection through harmonization, integration with EO layers, and documentation.

Institutional Collaboration and Capacity Development

• Collaborate directly with national technical counterparts (statisticians, agronomists, GIS officers) to integrate EO-derived products into official statistical production cycles and monitoring workflows.
• Contribute to ESTELLA working group coordination activities, preparing technical slides, meeting documentation, and progress reports.
• Develop training materials and facilitate technical workshops on Sen4Stat, Sen4CAP, for national staff in ESTELLA target countries.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

• (For Consultants:) Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in in Environmental Science, Data Science, Geography, Agronomy, Statistics or related fields / (For PSA.SBS:) University degree or specific technical specialization in Environmental Science, Data Science, Geography, Agronomy, Statistics or related fields; Consultants with bachelor`s degree need two additional years of relevant professional
• Minimum of 1 year for category C, 5 years for category B, 10 years for category A, of relevant experience in applying EO data to agricultural monitoring, food security, or policy analysis, with a demonstrable focus on developing country contexts.
• Working knowledge (level C) of English.

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Selection criteria

• Sen4Stat and Sen4CAP: Demonstrated hands-on experience operating Sen4Stat, under the EOSTAT protocol, for crop type mapping and agricultural area estimation, and/or Sen4CAP, under ESA’s mandate on agrifood economics and policy, for CAP-style compliance monitoring, including configuration, execution, and output validation.
• Satellite image time series analysis: Proven expertise in processing and analyzing multi-temporal Sentinel-1⁄2 and/or Landsat data for crop monitoring and phenology extraction in heterogeneous agricultural landscapes.
• Policy Targeting: Experience designing and implementing workflows to link EO-derived crop and yield products for policy targeting, insurance, credit scoring, or agricultural service delivery.
• Ground truth and validation: Experience designing field data collection protocols, managing ground truth datasets, and conducting rigorous accuracy assessments of EO-derived products against survey or statistical reference data.
• Programming and data science: Proficiency in Python (and/or R) for EO data processing, machine learning, and geospatial analysis. Familiarity with relevant libraries (GDAL, rasterio, scikit-learn, PyTorch/TensorFlow) is an asset.
• Institutional collaboration: Proven ability to work with national counterparts (statisticians, agronomists, GIS officers) to integrate EO evidence into operational monitoring and statistical reporting workflows.
• Capacity development: Record of preparing technical documentation, training materials, and facilitating workshops for national institutions on EO methods and tools.
• Working knowledge of French and Spanish would be an asset

Call For Expressions Of Interest - Vacancy Announcement

Job Posting

29/Jul/2026

Closure Date

11/Aug/2026, 10:59:00 PM

Organizational Unit

ESA - Agrifood Economics and Policy Division

Job Type

Non-staff opportunities

Type of Requisition

Consultant / PSA (Personal Services Agreement)

Grade Level

N/A

Primary Location

Various Locations-Various Locations

Duration

Up to 11 months (renewable)

Post Number

N/A

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please note that Closure Date and Time displayed above are based on date and time settings of your personal device

• FAO is committed to achieving workforce diversity in terms of gender, nationality, background and culture.
• Qualified female applicants, qualified nationals of non-and under-represented Members and person with disabilities are encouraged to apply;
• Everyone who works for FAO is required to adhere to the highest standards of integrity and professional conduct, and to uphold FAO’s values
• FAO, as a Specialized Agency of the United Nations, has a zero-tolerance policy for conduct that is incompatible with its status, objectives and mandate, including sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination
• All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks
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