GIS Specialist – Consultant – Somalia Country Office
Job Description
Job description
- Job Identification32966
- Posting Date03/30/2026, 06:03 PM
- Apply Before04/05/2026, 06:59 PM
- Job Schedule Full time
- Locations Mogadishu, Somalia
- Grade NOB
- Vacancy Type Individual Consultancy
- Contract Duration4 months
- Education & Work Experience Master’s Degree – 2-year(s) experience
- Required Languages Proficiency in spoken and written English and Somali language.
- Desired LanguagesProficiency in spoken and written English and Somali language.
- Vacancy Timeline1 Week
Job Description
Background
UNFPA requires strong geospatial expertise to support the generation, management, analysis, and visualization of population and survey data for evidence-based planning and programme implementation. In contexts where recent census data are limited or incomplete, high-quality spatial data and robust geospatial systems are essential for identifying population distribution, service coverage gaps, vulnerable groups, and priority areas for intervention.
The organization’s work increasingly depends on the integration of GIS, population data, health and immunization survey data, field data collection platforms, enterprise geospatial infrastructure, and interactive dashboards to support decision-making at national and sub-national levels. UNFPA also implements and supports programmes in collaboration with the Government of Somalia, and the GIS Expert will be expected to provide technical support to these joint initiatives through high-quality geospatial analysis, systems strengthening, and data products.
How you can make a difference:
UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. UNFPA’s strategic plan (2022-2025), reaffirms the relevance of the current strategic direction of UNFPA and focuses on three transformative results: to end preventable maternal deaths; end unmet need for family planning; and end gender-based violence and harmful practices. These results capture our strategic commitments on accelerating progress towards realizing the ICPD and SDGs in the Decade of Action leading up to 2030. Our strategic plan calls upon UN Member States, organizations and individuals to “build forward better”, while addressing the negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights, recover lost gains and realize our goals.
In a world where fundamental human rights are at risk, we need principled and ethical staff, who embody these international norms and standards, and who will defend them courageously and with full conviction.
UNFPA is seeking candidates that transform, inspire and deliver high impact and sustained results; we need staff who are transparent, exceptional in how they manage the resources entrusted to them and who commit to deliver excellence in programme results.
Objective
The objective of this assignment is to provide senior-level GIS and population data expertise to support UNFPA’s geospatial work, including spatial data management, enterprise GIS administration, dashboard development, survey form design and logic, and the analysis and visualization of population, health, and immunization-related data. The consultant will strengthen geospatial workflows, improve data quality and interoperability, and support the use of GIS for planning, monitoring, and decision-making across UNFPA programmes, including projects implemented in collaboration with the Government of Somalia.
Key Responsibilities
● Lead the design, implementation, and continuous improvement of GIS workflows for population data, survey data, service mapping, and spatial analysis.
● Compile, assess, clean, restructure, and integrate spatial and non-spatial datasets from multiple sources to ensure consistency, accuracy, and fitness for use.
● Manage and administer ArcGIS Enterprise environments, including services, users, roles, permissions, data stores, web maps, web applications, and operational maintenance of the platform.
● Design, publish, and maintain ArcGIS Enterprise dashboards for operational monitoring, survey tracking, population analysis, and programme reporting.
● Develop, configure, and code Survey123 forms and survey logic directly from questionnaires, including skip logic, constraints, calculations, relevance rules, validation checks, and data quality controls.
● Develop SQL-based data restructuring and transformation workflows to support the cleaning, normalization, linkage, and analysis of large population and survey datasets.
● Support the integration of GIS and statistical data, including administrative boundaries, settlement layers, facility data, household and individual-level survey data, and population denominators.
● Produce high-quality maps, atlases, web maps, spatial analyses, and data visualizations for technical teams, management, and partner institutions.
● Support the design and implementation of geospatial data quality assurance procedures, metadata standards, version control, and documentation of methodologies.
● Provide technical guidance on the management and use of health, immunization, and survey GIS data, including analysis of coverage gaps, service accessibility, and priority populations.
● Support the interpretation and spatial analysis of survey datasets relating to maternal health, child health, immunization, and other population and development indicators.
● Train and mentor staff, consultants, and partner counterparts on GIS workflows, ArcGIS Enterprise administration, dashboard use, Survey123, spatial analysis, and data management good practices.
● Provide technical GIS support to UNFPA projects implemented with the Government of Somalia, including collaboration with government counterparts on data preparation, system use, analytical outputs, and evidence-based planning products.
● Contribute to technical reports, analytical briefs, presentations, and documentation by translating complex geospatial and population data into clear, decision-oriented outputs.
● Work closely with programme, M&E, ICT, and data teams to ensure that GIS systems and products meet operational and strategic needs across UNFPA initiatives and projects implemented with the Government of Somalia.
Skills and qualifications
Required Qualifications and Experience
Education:
● A Master’s degree in Geographic Information Systems, Geography, Geoinformatics, Cartography, Remote Sensing, Spatial Data Science, or other related field
Knowledge and Experience:
● A minimum of 2 years of progressively responsible professional experience in GIS, spatial data management, population data analysis, and geospatial systems administration.
● Demonstrated expertise in restructuring, transforming, and managing complex datasets using SQL for reporting, analytics, and system integration purposes.
● Proven experience in administering ArcGIS Enterprise, including publishing services, managing users and roles, maintaining web GIS content, and supporting enterprise geospatial infrastructure.
● Proven experience in creating dashboards using ArcGIS Enterprise, including dashboard design for operational monitoring, reporting, and analytical use.
● Strong practical experience in coding Survey123 forms and translating questionnaires into digital forms with complex logic, validation, skip patterns, constraints, and calculations.
● Demonstrated experience working with immunization, health, and GIS survey data, including spatial analysis of service coverage, target populations, and underserved areas.
● Experience integrating statistical, survey, and geospatial datasets for population analysis and decision support.
● Demonstrated proficiency in Python and R for geospatial data management, spatial modelling, statistical analysis, automation of workflows, and visualization of population, health, and survey-based GIS data.
● Strong skills in ArcGIS Pro and/or ArcGIS Desktop; working knowledge of QGIS and related geospatial tools is an asset.
● Experience in designing and delivering technical training and capacity-building support for staff and partners.
● Excellent analytical, documentation, communication, and coordination skills.
● Experience supporting UN agencies, government institutions, including collaboration with ministries or government technical teams, large-scale surveys, or population-related programmes.
● Experience with geospatial support for public health, immunization, or humanitarian programming.
Required Competencies:
Values:
- Exemplifying integrity,
- Demonstrating commitment to UNFPA and the UN system,
- Embracing cultural diversity,
- Embracing change
Core Competencies:
- Achieving results,
- Being accountable,
- Developing and applying professional expertise/business acumen,
- Thinking analytically and strategically,
- Working in teams/managing ourselves and our relationships,
Additional Skills and Competencies:
● Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
● Excellent report-writing and data presentation abilities.
● Ability to work independently and as part of a team in a complex and dynamic environment.
● Strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse stakeholders.
● Ability to work in complex operating environments and deliver high-quality outputs under tight timelines.
● Strong attention to data quality, usability, and practical decision-making needs.
Languages:
Proficiency in spoken and written English and Somali language.
