Research Officer I (Geospatial Research Modeller) at icipe - African Insect Science for Food and Health

Overall Purpose of the Job

The overall objective of this position is to provide GIS, data science and modelling support to Malawi Digital Plant Health Service (MaDiPHS) project by developing accurate rule-based geospatial models for different insect pests, diseases, and weeds for different crops that will be integrated into the VIPS - a digital pest prediction platform.

Specific Duties

•  Abstract, collate and accurately record georeferenced data of target pest and disease, as well as host crop from various sources (e.g., Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and FAO).
•  Source and process multi-date freely available satellite data and other remotely sensed climatic and topo-edaphic variables to feed into the rule-based ecological niche model framework.
•  Develop rule-based models using weather, insect pest, diseases and weed observations as well as weather, edaphic and crop data.
•  Perform any other task assigned by the supervisor.

Requirements/Qualifications

•  BSc in Computer Science, Mathematics, Geospatial Modelling, Statistics, Information Science or any related field. The degree should be obtained from a recognized university.
•  At least one year of experience in a relevant area.
•  Knowledge of geospatial scripting languages (e.g., R, Google Earth Engine, python).
•  Demonstrated experience in handling and analyzing ‘big’ geo-spatial and satellite data.
•  Experience in rule-based modeling, python programming language and data science.
•  Previous experience at an international/ regional research organization is an added advantage.

Other Desirable Attributes

•  Knowledge of commonly used programming languages for geospatial data analysis.
•  Knowledge of commonly used and publicly available sources of weather, crop and pest and disease data.
•  The candidate should be a self-driven with a problem-solving personality.
•  Will train interns on the use of rule-based geospatial modelling approaches.
•  Expected to handle minimal imprest.
•  Document geospatial data workflow processes and compile reports.
•  Contribute to stakeholder training and support in geospatial data management and workflow.

Reporting
This position reports to the Research Scientist, Data Management, Modelling and Geo-Information Unit.