International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Job in Abuja for a GIS and Data Management Support Specialist

International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), a reputable international NGO that supports the building of electoral democracies with support from USAID seeks qualified applicants to fill the below position in its Abuja office:


Job Title: GIS and Data Management Support Specialist

Position Number: 15:250
Location: Abuja, Nigeria
Division: Program Management
Status: Consultant

Project Descriptions
IFES has long supported the Operations Department of the INEC in identification and implementation of innovative projects and technologies in their work. In preparation for National and Gubernatorial Elections, it is essential for the INEC to have exact mapping of the Polling Units across the country.

In order to support INEC to enhance professionalism of its newly established GIS laboratory, train the INEC staff, plan for efficient integration of GIS databases into other Electoral data sets such as VR databases and other related professional tasks, INEC needs experienced GIS and Data Management Consultant to work with its team to share the knowledge and built up the capacity that will help the Commission both in preparation for upcoming Elections as well as establishment of long term capacity for integration of Geographical Information System in their Electoral work and enhancement of professionalism of its permanent GIS Laboratory.

Presently, the INEC does not possess full in-house capacity to plan, implement and manage highly technical activities and tackle challenges posed by numerous factors including but not limited to: process of registration of citizens directly into Polling Units instead of using registration centers, inadequate number of Polling Units, arbitrary configuration of Registration Area/Ward and Polling Units, placement of Polling Units in unapproved locations, no geographic coordinates of large number of Polling Units, no digital identification and mapping of Registration Area and Ward boundaries, lack of constituency atlas, and the lack of integration of Voter Registration Database data into Polling Unit databases.

In order for INEC to tackle these challenges during the current electoral cycle, it needs technical assistance in the areas of geographic information systems, data management, administrative boundary harmonization, polling unit configuration, delineation of electoral area boundaries, and elections management. Experience in mapping the lowest delimitation area and configuration of polling units and how they are utilized in the context of elections management is also important.

Job Responsibilities
GIS and Data Management Support Specialist will undertake the following tasks:

• Assess the current status, capacity and needs of the INEC GIS Laboratory;
• Plan and implement on-job training of GIS Laboratory staff as well prepare proposal for long term capacity development;
• Support the reconfiguration of the Delimitation System (registration area/ward, polling station, and polling unit configuration);
• Support spatial datasets development and updates of the Polling Unit map Website;
• Support spatial data infrastructure development;
• With other stakeholders, support the development and utilization of a full spatial data infrastructure for Nigeria to facilitate GIS support to electoral activities and processes;
• Support the development of GIS-enabled protocols, processes and systems for efficient and effective electoral management;
• Perform other tasks consistent with the functions of a GIS and data management specialist
• Support the digital identification and Mapping of Registration Area and Ward Boundaries;
• Support the GPS mapping of all polling units with inaccurate or no geographic coordinates;
• Support the development of the new Directory of Polling Units;
• Recreation and Production of the Atlas of Constituencies;
• Implement GIS and data management capacity development;
• Support the integration/linking of the Delimitation Database and the Voter Registration Database;

• A Bachelor's or Master's Degree in a relevant field (Geography, Geology, Geo-Spatial Analysis).
• Demonstrated electoral GIS experience, particularly in the areas of administrative boundary harmonization, delineation of electoral area boundaries, mapping the lowest delimitation area and configuration of polling units.
• Strong reporting skills
• Knowledge of Nigerian Electoral environment will be an asset
• 5-10 years’ experience in the creation of GIS maps and manipulation of other GIS software.
• Experience in the production of cartographic publications (in print or digital).