National Expert on Agricultural Drought Risk Analytics Specialist
Position Circumstances
- Career Category: Agriculture, Research / Development, Resources & Environment
- Schedule:Full-time
- Salary: N/A
Contract/Level: Individual Consultant (IC)
Duration: 1 September 2026 - 31 August 2027 period, renewable for one more year subject to satisfactory performance.
Duty station: GDA, MAFF, Phnom Penh
Duties & Responsibilities:
- Develop and operationalize a Cambodia-specific Risk of Drought Impacts for Agriculture product, drawing on relevant rainfall, soil moisture, vegetation, exposure and vulnerability datasets.
- Conduct routine and non-routine manual verification and quality control each time CAS generates a product, bulletin, map, advisory or risk layer. Non-routine verifications extend to the AI Bots that distribute bulletins and ad hoc advisories to farmers via Telegram from CAS on the Chamka App.
- Identify data, modelling, classification, translation, visualization or dissemination issues in CAS products and coordinate corrective actions with relevant technical teams.
- Review end-user feedback and independently assess whether CAS feedback mechanisms are functioning effectively and whether feedback is being translated into product improvement.
- Serve as a technical support focal point within MAFF/GDA for CAS quality, data interpretation, drought-risk analytics, user feedback, partner coordination, and Khmer-English technical communication.
- More details please find in ToR attachment
Expected Profile of Candidates
Languages:
- English - Good
- Khmer - Good
Qualifications:
- Postgraduate Degree in agrometeorology, climate science, agricultural science, environmental science, GIS/remote sensing, hydrology, data science, natural resources management or a closely related field
Work History:
- Professional experience in climate services, agrometeorological services, drought monitoring, agricultural risk analysis, GIS/remote sensing, data quality control or climate information systems for 5 years as a minimum
Skills & Knowledge:
General & Technical Skills
- Demonstrated experience with drought monitoring indicators such as SPI, rainfall anomaly, soil moisture anomaly, NDVI, VCI, FAPAR, vegetation anomaly or related climate and agricultural risk indicators.
- Strong practical knowledge of agricultural systems in Cambodia, including rice and other priority crops, crop calendars, rainfed and irrigated production systems, and climate risks affecting smallholder farmers.
- Experience working with geospatial datasets, administrative boundaries, agricultural exposure data, vulnerability data, poverty data such as IDPoor, or other socio-economic datasets relevant to targeting climate-risk advisories.
- Ability to review model outputs, maps, bulletins and advisory products critically, identify inconsistencies, document issues clearly, and coordinate practical corrective actions with technical and non-technical partners.
- Experience working with government institutions, development partners, technical service providers and multidisciplinary teams.
- Proficiency in Khmer and English, including the ability to support technical translation, interpretation and review between the two languages.
- Computer literacy and familiarity with GIS, spreadsheet analysis, data visualization and climate/agricultural datasets. Experience with Python, R, Google Earth Engine, QGIS, ArcGIS or similar tools would be an advantage.
Soft Skills
- Strong communication, coordination and reporting skills, including the ability to explain technical information clearly to government counterparts, extension services and project partners.
