TERMS OF REFERENCE

Position:
Division:
Reports to:
Coordinates with:
Term:
Location:

GIS Officer
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Indonesia Program
GIS Specialist
Sumatra Program Manager, landscape managers and technical
advisors
One year, with renewal depending upon performance
?Bogor?

Background to the Terms of Reference (ToR)

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has a distinguished history of scientists exploring and saving
wildlife in some of the most remote and wild places remaining on Earth. The Wildlife Conservation
Society Indonesia Program (WCS-IP) has significantly grown over the last decades, and contributed
substantially to the conservation of biodiversity in Indonesia. WCS-IP currently has programs focusing on
Sumatra, Sulawesi, Marine and Illegal Wildlife Trade, with a presence in >10 provinces. Flagship species
for these programs include Sumatran Tigers, Sumatran Rhinos, Elephants, Orangutans, Manta Rays and
the Maleo in Sulawesi. In order to achieve our overall goal of saving wildlife and wild places in
Indonesia, we aim to protect threatened species and their habitat through working with government
agencies, civil society organisations, private sector and local communities. WCS is now seeking a GIS
Officer who is dynamic, well-organized, hard-working, and committed team player to provide key
technical support to the WCSs conservation programs.
The GIS Officer will be required to maintain a comprehensive spatial database for the WCS target
landscapes, and to provide technical assistance on GIS, and limited assistance on remote-sensing, across
the program, and support spatial analyses, such as monitoring land-use change. The work will provide
support to both field interventions as well as on policy development. The GIS Officer will support the
GIS Specialist in the collection, storage, analysis, mapping, imaging, and communication of geospatial
information. The position will be based in Bogor, with regular trips to the field to provide direct
technical advice, monitoring and capacity building of field staff.
Key Areas of Responsibility
Establish and maintain a database of GIS and remote-sensing data
Support the maintenance of a geospatial database containing GIS, remote-sensing and other spatial
and non-spatial data for key landscapes where WCS works, including the location of infrastructure
or commercial development activities.
Continually identify, acquire and enrich the database with external spatial data relevant to WCS-IPs
conservation activities.
Identify and develop new methods of data compilation, data logging, and analysis, using new
database systems such as smart phones, online tools and websites.
Ensure the database is appropriately stored and regularly backed up.
Provide technical support to the development and maintenance of web database applications and
any other database program and functions requiring programming and analysis.
Provide training, technical assistance and mentorship to programmatic staff regarding all aspects of
database development and management, including data compilation, logging, analysis, and access.
Provide advice on appropriate GIS, spatial analysis and database software, to ensure that the
software used is of the appropriate standard.
Prepare maps and undertake spatial analyses including
Provide GIS support to the WS IP Programs, including development of thematic maps, such as
species distributions and forest cover.
Support the analysis of remote-sensing data (e.g. satellite images) in order to assess land-use and
land-use change in the target landscapes.
Undertake ground-truthing as needed, in conjunction with field staff, in order to verify the maps and
spatial analyses produced and to determine levels of accuracy.
Model key species populations, building upon other data sources available to WCS.

Provide technical inputs on GIS and remote sensing for project monitoring and evaluation.
Develop high quality maps for reports, presentations and other communication materials.

Engage as a key member of the WCS technical specialist team

Provide capacity building to field staff to ensure that spatial analysis becomes part of the program
analysis in implementing activities.
Present results to relevant stakeholders at national and site level as needed.
Assist in the preparation of activity reports by providing datasets and data analysis required by
donors and/or stakeholders, in Indonesian or English, written or verbal, as well as submit regular
technical reports to the GIS Specialist.
Requirements
Minimum Bachelor Degree (S1) in Geography, Forestry, Landscape Ecology, Environmental.
Excellent practical knowledge on spatial analysis skills, land cover/land use class interpretation,
field mapping and GPS use, geo-referencing and registering of satellite imagery, with remote
sensing and image processing skills an advantage.
Able to competently operate GIS software (especially ESRI ArcGIS, ERDAS and freeware GIS)
and have some experience with image processing software (such as ENVI/ERMapper and Global
Mapper).
Understand and able to use Global Positioning System and its software.
Highly initiative and able to competently work with little supervision.
Proficiency in both English and Indonesian languages is preferred.
Able to work well under pressure, quickly understand project parameters and capable of meeting
deadlines on time.
Good interpersonal skills.
A high interest in wildlife conservation.