JOB SUMMARY   

Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development require sound land use planning. To drive conservation impact at scale and to respond effectively to emerging opportunities and challenges brought about by a rapidly growing economy and evolving governance regime in Kenya, WWF Kenya is recruiting a GIS and Land Use Planning Coordinator. The incumbent, working across WWF-Kenya Priority Landscapes and with relevant partners nationally, will ensure that land use plans backed by sound GIS modelling become a key decision support tool in securing official recognition for, and safeguarding natural resources and processes (e.g. Soils, watersheds, forests, agricultural land, key areas for wildlife).

Proper land use planning and scientifically underpinned GIS modelling will ensure that all development projects have sound environmental safeguards and they are all assessed proactively at the project design phase to ensure nature conservation and sustainable development is achieved simultaneously.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

This position shall supervise the role of Land Use Planning Officer.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for the supervision of all the land use planning work in WWF-Kenya’s priority landscapes and in other conservation areas nationally to achieve the desired conservation impact as per the WWF-Kenya Strategic Plan 2020-2030 and, in line with all the other relevant legislative frameworks governing various environmental sectors in Kenya.
• Proactive scanning of and engagement with proposed, planned and/or on-going major infrastructure developments at the continental, regional, national and county level that has a potential to significantly affect nature conservation to undertake spatial analysis for sound decision-making and interventions.
• Liaise with all the key actors (internal and external) responsible for land‐use planning in conservation areas nationally to ensure coherent, harmonized efforts and ownership and obviate against resource wastage;
• Responsible for the optimal use and functioning of WWF-Kenya’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) platform
• Responsible for the design of various mobile data collection tools and protocols and models for spatial, trend analysis and dashboards for decision making.
• Lead operations of the Africa-GIS Hub to include geodatabase management and collaborations, applications development, capacity development of staff and partners on behalf of Network Geospatial Community of Practice (COMPASS);
• Proactively reach out to WWF offices in Africa and other partners to assess and determine the type of decision support tools required to inform such developments;
• Develop advocacy tools on the merits of scientifically based land use planning and GIS modelling to encourage the uptake of more efficient and effective systems by key players at all levels of government;
• Assess and clearly define WWF-Kenya’s role and lead in technical guidance in the development of land use planning at the ecosystem, county and national levels;
• Identify best practices and international case studies on GIS models and land use plans to be used as benchmarks in WWF-Kenya’s land use planning at all levels.
• Jointly with Conservation Programmes and Operations teams, undertake resource mobilization/fundraising to support Land Use Planning programmes/projects
• Support planning and performance department to develop appropriate tools and systems to enhance effective organizational performance
• Responsible for the development and optimal use of the Knowledge and Information Management Hub which includes but is not limited to information management strategy, data collation platform development, staff capacity building and development of information-sharing protocols
• Undertake other relevant duties as assigned by the line manager that contribute to overall nature conservation work and aligned to WWF-Kenya Strategic Plan.

REQUIREMENTS

REQUIRED EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE:         

• A Master degree or an advanced degree in Computing, Analytics, Statistics, Climatology or Geospatial Sciences, Information Technology or a related field.
• Seven (7) years’ experience in GIS modelling, scenario planning, statistics, and probability, three of which must be scenario Modelling in relevant nature conservation projects/programmes.
• Proven experience with GIS software, creating and managing geodatabases, undertaking analysis and producing maps and other infographics.
• At least 3 years of hands-on experience on the management of distributed or relational geodatabases such as PostgreSQL, PostGIS, SQL Server, and enterprise geospatial databases engine (ArcSDE), data modelling, and experience with related tools.

REQUIRED SKILLS/ABILITIES:

• Proficiency in programming using Google Earth Engine (GEE), R or python;
• Experience with data visualization and creativity in summarizing complex datasets to communicate key messages to non-expert audiences. Knowledge of Tableau and/or Power BI is a plus;
• Proven statistical, analytical and technical skills, with the ability to logically present information in charts, maps, tables and graphs.
• Familiarity with development of project monitoring frameworks and/or monitoring and evaluation tools.
• Training and capacity-building skills;
• Project Planning, management, and organizational skills
• Demonstrable experience of working as a GIS modeler and land use planner (or in a similar role) at local, regional or national levels;
• Proven experience of working with multiple stakeholders on GIS modelling and land use planning issues in both formal(e.g. Legal, policy and/or management processes) and informal (e.g. local meetings & fora) situations;
• Good inter-personal and communication skills
• Demonstrable experience of successful advocacy with a range of stakeholders (including local, regional and national Government, other civil society organisations and local communities) in achieving positive outcomes for nature conservation in a land-use planning context;
• Competent ability to integrate several key fields of work (e.g. land use/spatial planning policy and practice, wildlife ecology, protected area legislation, agricultural policy and practice among others) and the post holder will need to be able to turn this knowledge into practical proposals that deliver conservation outcomes on the ground;
• Demonstrated knowledge of Kenya’s natural resource sector: status, trends, policy landscape/governance etc.;
• ​An understanding of the current governance regime in the country pursuant to the 2010 constitutional changes.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

• Internal: Interacts with the Head of Conservation programmes, Heads of departments and all WWF Kenya staff.
• External: Interacts with WWF Network, National and County government ministries and departments, regulatory bodies, Civil Society Organizations, and other conservation agencies.