Consultancy – International Census Cartography and GIS

Duration: 2 months

Background

Since independence, Sudan conducted five Population and Housing Censuses (PHC), in 1956, 1973, 1983, 1993, and 2008. The last population census of 2008; was backed by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed by the government of Sudan and SPLM, as a tool for power and wealth sharing between the North and the South. The country is currently planning to carry its sixth PHC, which coming amidst huge political and socioeconomic changes the country witnesses. The preparatory activities will be executed beginning from the third quarter of 2021. 

UNFPA with other development partners is supporting the Transitional Government of Sudan in conducting the census – which will be integrated for the first time with the Comprehensive Agricultural Census – through building national technical and management capacities to plan and implement high quality censuses in accordance with scientifically established and internationally recognized standards and procedures. Results of the 6th PHC, like the previous censuses, will be used as inputs for development planning aimed at raising the standard of living of the Sudanese population, promoting good governance and maintaining equity and equality among all citizens, as well as for monitoring and evaluation of different development programs.  

Consultancy objectives and scope

In line with UN/UNFPA polices and guidelines, and in full harmonization with internationally established standards and recommendations for census undertaking, a Census Cartography, Mapping and GIS Specialist will be hired to assist the Central Bureau of Statistics in the review of plan and budget of the component of the project document related to Cartography. More specifically, the Cartography Consultant is expected to carry out the following specific duties and responsibilities:

• Develop a detailed work plan for the Cartographic work.
• Advise and assist the CBS on the cartographic planning of the 6th Population and Housing Census of Sudan.
• Review the 2008 PHC project document, the administrative report and other relevant documents, while consulting with the staff of CBS to learn about the cartographic activities of the previous census undertaking, the lessons learned and recommendations.
• Develop a comprehensive census cartography/mapping plan.
• Transfer knowledge and share experience with census staff in digital census mapping.
• Train census staff in the area of expertise. 
• Contribute to the development of the Census Strategy and Implementation Plan, Quality Control Plan and other necessary documents.
• Assess the status of the technical preparedness of CBS to conduct the cartographic work of the 6th PHC and estimate personnel and capacity building needs.
• Formulate short and long-term development plans for the Census Cartography unit of CBS, including capacity building.
• Assess various GIS technologies for data capture based on international standards from developing countries and advise on the choice of appropriate technologies and acquisition of related GIS equipment.
• Advise on geo-database design and quality control measures to ensure the databases conform to defined accuracy standards. 
• Advise on the management and geographic analysis of the census data and the preparation of publication maps and graphs and develop a plan for the dissemination of geographic census databases.
• Advise on the systematic geo-coding, reproduction and archiving of census EA maps, and long-term operation of CBS geo-databases.
• Conduct field visits to State Statistics Offices within the country if required.
• Deliver the results to CBS and share with UNFPA and the implication of the findings on the overall census plan.

Expected Results

At the end of the Census Cartography/Mapping and GIS Specialist’s mission, the following results are expected: 

• The Census Cartography/GIS methodology, Implementation Plan, Timeline, Quality Control Plan and other necessary documents for the 6th PHC are available.
• A detailed census cartography/mapping plan including a detailed capacity and training needs assessment report and recommendations for the Census Cartography is available.
• The report prepared by the Consultant should focus on the operational readiness of the project. The report must also provide recommendations on next steps in the short-, mid- and longer term.

Work Settings and Conditions

The International Census Cartography and GIS Expert will be stationed in the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) of Sudan and will work under the overall guidance of the Director General of the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) and the direct supervision of the Census Chief Technical Adviser (CTA). He/ She will work closely with the PHC Director and concerned staff of CBS and UNFPA. The consultant will also liaise with other national stakeholders and partners as relevant.

UNFPA shall provide the Technical Expert with office space for meetings, vehicle for official movements and meetings with donors and government institutions. 

The assignment may require some travel to the field. 

Required expertise, qualifications and competencies, including language requirements

Education:

Advanced University Degree in Cartography/Mapping or Geographic Information Systems (GIS) computer sciences or related field.

Experience:

• Seven years’ professional experience in the field of digital census cartography/mapping, particularly in designing and costing and implementing census cartography strategies in developing countries.
• Strong experience in the use of information management software such as ArcView, ArcGIS, ArcIMS (Arc Server), ArcPad.
• Good knowledge of existing technology and modern equipment in the census cartography, and of the challenging situations of developing countries in relation to population dynamics such as internal migration, urbanization and lack of clear borderlines between geographic areas, etc.
• Advanced knowledge of automated cartography, census mapping using GPS, mobile mapping systems and geo-database modelling.
• Proven experience in planning and implementation of field mapping logistics, and technical capacity building/training in developing countries.
• Proven experience in teamwork, especially in the field of population data collection and census mapping. 
• Experience in leading teams in a complex multi-cultural environment is desirable.

Language:

Fluent spoken and written English is essential, knowledge of Arabic is desirable.

How to Apply

Candidates who have the required/relevant qualifications and experience should submit their applications including a detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) and motivational letter with a copy of qualifications to the following email: [email protected]   Please specify in the email subject ‘International Census Cartography and GIS consultant’.