Consultant on drought monitoring in Central Asia

About the role

The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) seeks a remote Consultant to support a project that strengthens the capacity of Central Asian countries to use Earth Observation and geospatial tools for drought and crop monitoring. The role focuses on developing practical guidance, coordinating capacity‑building activities, and producing good‑practice profiles.

Key responsibilities

• Lead capacity‑development activities, including concept note preparation, programme design, participant coordination, session organization, field visits, and post‑activity reporting.
• Draft and translate correspondence and documents related to project recommendations.
• Support ESCAP in liaising with implementing agencies, technical partners, and UN Country Teams across Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
• Develop at least 15 profiles of good geospatial practices for North and Central Asia using ESCAP templates.
• Contribute to project progress reports and provide inputs for an online course on customized code snippets for drought and crop‑monitoring indices.
• Perform additional duties as assigned by the Section Chief.

Required profile

• Proven experience in geospatial and Earth Observation applications, preferably in drought or agricultural contexts.
• Strong background in coordinating multi‑stakeholder capacity‑building initiatives.
• Excellent written communication skills, including drafting reports and translating technical documents.
• Ability to work independently in a remote setting and meet project deadlines.

Required skills

• Geospatial analysis
• Earth Observation
• Geographic Information Systems (GIS)