GIS Intern (Iraq) w/ ACTED

Department: GIS
Position: GIS intern Contract duration: 6 months Location: Erbil, Iraq Starting Date ASAP


I. Background on ACTED

ACTED is an independent international, private, non-partisan and non-profit organization that operates according to principles of strict neutrality, political and religious impartiality, and non discrimination.

ACTED was created in 1993 to support populations affected by the conflict in Afghanistan. Based in Paris, France, ACTED now operates in 30 countries worldwide, with over 200 international and 4000 national staff. ACTED has a 100 million € budget for over 340 projects spanning 8 sectors of intervention; including emergency relief, food security, health promotion, economic development, education & training, microfinance, local governance & institutional support, and cultural promotion. For more information, please visit our website at www.acted.org

II. Program Information

Capital Office : Bagdad National Staff : 125 (July 2012) International Staff : 6 (July 2012) Areas : 2 (Erbil, Kut) On-going programmes: 2 Bugdet : about 3 M€ (2011)

ACTED began work in Iraq in 2003. ACTED has one base in southern Iraq in Kut and in 2007 opened a base in Erbil to better respond to IDP needs in the Kurdistan region. ACTED originally focused on improving the health, water and sanitation conditions of vulnerable populations in southern Iraq, but the deteriorating security situation and drastic increase in the number of displaced people have resulted in a new focus on meeting IDP and host community needs, based on the experience in IDP camps in Lebanon. The ACTED Iraq national team includes around 100 people who implement multi-sector emergency relief projects including WATSAN activities, gender based violence awareness, health promotion, economic rehabilitation, food security, and distribution of basic relief commodities. Supporting long-term impacts through sustainable livelihoods and support to local civil society - For ACTED Iraq, 2011 was a year of transition from emergency relief and rehabilitation to development. To support the slow march towards peace and stability, ACTED implemented a dynamic range of programming from the distribution of basic necessities to internally displaced families to apprenticeship programs, gender-based violence awareness and capacity building of local authorities and Iraqi civil society. In 2011, ACTED partnered with an Iraqi NGO for the first time in order to jointly implement a project providing assistance to Iraq’s displaced populations. Moving forward, ACTED will prioritise partnership with local Iraqi NGOs to better deliver assistance through their detailed knowledge of and experience with target communities, build the capacity of Iraq’s civil society and move toward increasingly sustainable and longer-term interventions.

III. Position Profile

The GIS Intern will be responsible for: - Supporting the development and maintenance of a global database for the consolidation of all project-related, assessment-related and GIS data at the country level - Assisting in project-level mapping and planning participatory GIS activities - Increasing the capacity of national staff in GIS and spatial data management Supporting project-level database creation and information management mechanisms

A. Supporting the maintenance of a global database for the consolidation of all project-related, assessment-related and GIS data Support the Database Officer(s) and GIS team in maintaining the global database, consolidating data collected from all ACTED /partner activities within country Review database management guidelines and ensure capitalization of tools and procedures Support the collection and management of spatial datasets, and verify and update collected data Monitor the accuracy of collected data Support the integration of existing information between ACTED units and maintain regular updating mechanism • Propose and implement new technical solutions and partnerships • Respond to information requests from ACTED Units • Streamline process moving raw data to mapped end products • Solicit information from partner organizations to be incorporated into database

B. Technical Support to the DB/GIS team • Provide technical backstopping of database to GIS/DB team • Provide capacity-building to GIS/DB team related to database maintenance and advanced GIS techniques

C. Regular interactions and reporting with key partners including cluster lead agencies, UNOSAT, UNOCHA and technical partners • Support the development of joint database tools and processes with ACTED partners in country • Respond to information requests from ACTED partners related to MIS data and mapping • Liaise with partners to ensure that data is shared with ACTED MIS team when required • Support the collection of spatial datasets and integration with REACH activities

D. Field level support of online mapping tool and other REACH program products • Participate in continued development of web-based mapping tools at the field level • Ensure the update process from field to web publishing is organized and well documented • Liaise with IMPACT Geneva to guarantee a quality product that suits the needs of the field office

IV. Qualifications:

Master degree or equivalent experience in Information Systems, GIS, or a relevant discipline Good experience in database and general computer software (such as SQL Server, PostgreSQL and Access) Experience with industry standard mapping tools, especially ESRI products Ability to think creatively in terms of tool and process development Ability to travel to the field Good organizational, communication and interpersonal skills Flexibility and adaptability to ever-changing needs and responsibilities

V. Conditions:

Field Intern benefits include: - 300 USD per month living allowance - Coverage of all accommodation, guesthouse, food, and travel costs, a luggage allowance of 50 kg - The provision of medical, repatriation, and life insurance.


How to apply:
Please send, in English, your cover letter, CV, and three references to [email protected]
Ref : GISI/IRA/SA

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