GIS Research Associate w/ World Resources Institute

https://jobs.jobvite.com/wri/job/oNXgtfwd

This is a hybrid position which requires 8 days/month in the office. You can be based in our office in Washington DC; WRI Global Office (US). Existing work authorization is required at the time of application submission as WRI is unable to sponsor any visa work sponsorship for this position.
 
About the Program:
Land & Carbon Lab (LCL) is an initiative working to provide decision-makers with the essential geospatial monitoring information needed to address the increasing competition for the world’s finite land resources. As part of the LCL initiative, our team of GIS Analysts and researchers collaborates with partners to produce, compile and analyze geospatial data and turn it into meaningful insights for a variety of users, including commodity supply chain actors and stakeholders. To help inform priority insights, our team of GIS Analysts liaises with WRI’s Supply Chains team, which coordinates efforts across WRI’s various programs and international offices to advance responsible supply chains. The Supply Chains team seeks to enable responsible production, trade, and monitoring of commodities to protect human rights, forests and other ecosystems, and reduce GHG emissions from land-use change.
 
Job Highlight:
Reporting to the Supply Chains Research Manager, you will work with other LCL researchers and partners to build datasets that enable the monitoring of conversion of natural grasslands, savannas, and wetlands to agricultural land uses. You will also help develop methods for accounting of conversion within corporate supply chains. You will collaborate with researchers working on Global Pasture Watch, Global Forest Watch, the SBTN Natural Lands Map, global land cover products, and improved definitions of natural non-forest ecosystems to advance monitoring of lands beyond forests.
 
What will you do:
Research and Analysis (70%):-

• Assess available non-forest monitoring products with global or regional coverage
• Co-develop a new dataset for monitoring conversion of natural open ecosystems with existing land cover and land use remote sensing products
• Manage the storage, processing and preparation of large data products for analyses with cloud storage and analysis platforms
• Develop methods for calculating and reporting natural ecosystem conversion at multiple spatial scales and with varying levels of supply chain traceability

 
Working with partner organizations and funders (10%):-

• Work with partner organizations, corporate partners, and sustainable supply chain initiatives to test out and collect feedback on new conversion monitoring data products and methods

 
Writing and Communication (20%): -

• Write technical notes or publications to support the creation of spatial datasets
• Write blogs and communication materials for sharing and explaining new data

 
What will you need:

• Education: You have completed a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field (e.g., Geography, environmental science or other relevant field
• Experience: You have a minimum of 5 years of full-time professional experience working with global raster datasets with a strong background in GIS and remote sensing
• Ability to quickly learn new technologies and best practices  
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work with teams of colleagues
• Experience creating original research methods using spatial data in a workplace setting
• Interest in problem solving and in contributing to solutions for today’s most pressing environmental and/or international development problems
• Experience working with distributed and international team members
• Preferred: Familiarity with distributed processing tools like Dask or Spark 
• Preferred: Familiarity with GIS tools like GDAL, rasterio, geopandas, Google Earth Engine and cloud native geospatial data formats (Cloud-Optimized GeoTIFF, GeoParquet, STAC...)
• Preferred: Knowledge of relevant sustainability metrics and reporting frameworks, such as the Accountability Framework Initiative and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
• Language: You have written and oral fluency in English.
• Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position. WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization

 
Potential Salary: US salary range is between 101K and 108K USD. Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.
 
How to Apply: Please submit a resume with a required cover letter by the date of 23 May 2024. We are unable to consider your application without a cover letter.
 
You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.