DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS
21 June 2026-23:59-GMT+01:00 Central European Time (Rome)
WFP celebrates and embraces diversity. It is committed to the principle of equal employment opportunity for all its employees and encourages qualified candidates to apply irrespective of race, colour, national origin, ethnic or social background, genetic information, gender, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, religion or belief, HIV status or disability.
ABOUT WFP
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization saving lives in emergencies and using food assistance to build a pathway to peace, stability and prosperity, for people recovering from conflict, disasters and the impact of climate change.
At WFP, people are at the heart of everything we do and the vision of the future WFP workforce is one of diverse, committed, skilled, and high performing teams, selected on merit, operating in a healthy and inclusive work environment, living WFP's values (Integrity, Collaboration, Commitment, Humanity, and Inclusion) and working with partners to save and change the lives of those WFP serves.
To learn more about WFP, visit our website: https://www.wfp.org
WHY JOIN WFP?
WFP is a 2020 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
WFP offers a highly inclusive, diverse, and multicultural working environment.
WFP invests in the personal & professional development of its employees through a range of training, accreditation, coaching, mentorship, and other programs as well as through internal mobility opportunities.
A career path in WFP provides an exciting opportunity to work across the various country, regional and global offices around the world, and with passionate colleagues who work tirelessly to ensure that effective humanitarian assistance reaches millions of people across the globe.
We offer an attractive compensation package (please refer to the Terms and Conditions section of this vacancy announcement).
JOB TITLE:
Geospatial Data Engineer
TYPE OF CONTRACT:
Regular Consultant (CST II)
UNIT/DIVISION:
Geospatial & Intelligence unit (PRG-FG)/Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service (PRG-F)
DUTY STATION (City, Country):
Rome, Italy/Hybrid
DURATION:
11 months (with possibility of extension)
ORGANISATIONAL CONTEXT AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSIGNEMENT:
Assisting more than 100 million people in over 80 countries each year, the World Food Programme (WFP) is the leading humanitarian food security organisation - saving and changing lives, delivering food assistance in emergencies, and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. To achieve its mandate, WFP must ensure that it reaches the right people and that it manages its relationship with those individuals and their communities in a responsible, accountable, and effective manner.
The Geospatial & Intelligence Unit within the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Service of (PRG-F) of the Program division is responsible for enhancing WFP's geospatial evidence base in support of emergency preparedness and response. The GRS unit is the Data Owner in WFP of the Master Location Data, and is hence responsible of the creation of reference layers of locations and administrative boundaries that are meant to be used as a global location reference for WFP systems.
The World Food Programme (WFP) is implementing a multi‑year modernization programme to strengthen its Global GIS Infrastructure, establish an authoritative Master Location Data repository, and harmonize geographic information across corporate systems (e.g., SCOPE, COMET, WINGS) in support of business processes for location management. The initiative also includes the redesign of the GeoEnabler database, modernization of the Location Resolution Tool (LRT), implementation of the Standard Location Taxonomy, and the migration of the GIS environment to a cloud‑native architecture on AWS with versioning, backups, automated pipelines, and security enhancements.
ACCOUNTABILITIES/RESPONSIBILITIES:
The expected tasks include, but are not limited to, as follows:
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Design, implement and maintain PostgreSQL/PostGIS database for Master Location data
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Manage, develop ETL/ELT processes for ingesting, validating, and publishing geospatial datasets.
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Lead and build automated workflows for versioning, change tracking, and metadata generation of Master Location Data.
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Implement automated or streamlined QA/QC processes for the maintenance and update of WFP’s Master Location Data
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Develop and maintain AWS‑based cloud‑native geospatial environments.
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Implement microservices and geometry‑enabled API endpoints following modern industry standards.
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Ensure compliance with data classification and security requirements.
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Produce documentation, SOPs, and support training for HQ, regional and country office staff where required.
DELIVERABLES AT THE END OF THE ASSIGNMENT:
The key outputs of the consultant are expected to be:
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A fully operational cloud‑native geospatial database with versioning, backup and recovery mechanisms.
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Fully implemented taxonomy‑aligned GeoEnabler database schema is delivered and available in production environment.
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Fully functional automated ETL/ELT pipelines for ingesting and publishing geospatial master data and operational layers
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Integrated data validation, QA/QC, and lineage tracking mechanisms
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Updated geometry‑enabled APIs are operational in production environment.
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Technical documentation and system diagrams are documented in Azure DevOps and/or other documentation repositories.
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Complete technical documentation package, including:
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System architecture diagrams
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Data workflows and pipeline documentation
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Database schema documentation
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Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for maintenance and operations
QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE REQUIRED:
Education:
Advanced degree in Geoinformatics, Computer Science, Data Engineering or related field.
Experience:
Minimum 5 years of experience in geospatial data engineering;
Proven experience developing in cloud environments and deploying cloud-based applications and services using Infrastructure as a Code (IaaC)
Experience with OGC APIs and other modern geospatial service layers
Knowledge & Skills:
Postgres Database design, administration and maintenance
Geospatial data manipulation, including vector and raster data
Experience with OGC APIs and other modern geospatial service layers
Strong knowledge of AWS including AWS CDK and cloud services RDS, S3, Lambda, ECS & VPC is an asset
Familiarity of cloud native geospatial concepts and cloud native file formats such as geoparquet is an asset
Familiarity with modern database tools and concepts such as duckdb and data lake catalogs is an asset
Familiarity with AI assisted coding is an asset
Languages:
International Professional: Fluency (level C) in English language. Knowledge of a second UN language is an asset.
WFP LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK
WFP Leadership Framework guides to the common standards of behavior that guide HOW we work together to accomplish our mission.
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION
WFP is committed to supporting individuals with disabilities by providing reasonable accommodations throughout the recruitment process. If you require a reasonable accommodation, please contact: [email protected]
NO FEE DISCLAIMER
The United Nations does not charge any application, processing, training, interviewing, testing or other fee in connection with the application or recruitment process. Should you receive a solicitation for the payment of a fee, please disregard it. Furthermore, please note that emblems, logos, names and addresses are easily copied and reproduced. Therefore, you are advised to apply particular care when submitting personal information on the web.
REMINDERS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
All applications must be submitted exclusively through our online recruiting system. We do not consider CVs or applications sent by email, LinkedIn, or any other channel.
We strongly recommend that your Workday profile is accurate and complete, and that all sections are filled in, including your employment history, academic qualifications, language skills, and UN grade (if applicable). Once your profile is completed, please apply, and submit your application.
If you experience technical issues while submitting your application, you may contact us at [email protected]. Please note that this email is only for technical issues with an application - unsolicited applications or documents sent to this inbox will not receive a reply.
At the application stage, the only required documents are your CV and Cover Letter. Additional documents (passport, certificates, recommendation letters, etc.) may be requested later in the process.
Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted and invited to proceed to the next stage of the recruitment process.
All employment decisions are made on the basis of organizational needs, job requirements, merit, and individual qualifications. WFP is committed to providing an inclusive work environment free of sexual exploitation and abuse, all forms of discrimination, any kind of harassment, sexual harassment, and abuse of authority. Therefore, all selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
No appointment under any kind of contract will be offered to members of the UN Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ), International Civil Service Commission (ICSC), FAO Finance Committee, WFP External Auditor, WFP Audit Committee, Joint Inspection Unit (JIU) and other similar bodies within the United Nations system with oversight responsibilities over WFP, both during their service and within three years of ceasing that service.
