Closing Date: Open until filled (soft deadline of May 6th 2012)
Location: Dakar, Senegal
Start Date: July 2nd 2012
Internship Length: 5.5 months
Organization Background:
Sustainable Cities International is a Canadian non-governmental organization and registered charity, with a mission to catalyze sustainable urban development around the world through practical demonstration projects, peer learning networks, affiliations and high profile events. Since 1993, Sustainable Cities has received international recognition for its contribution to addressing the linkages between environmental degradation, poverty and social inequity. Sustainable Cities promotes good governance through capacity building with grassroots community organizations and local governments to improve human settlements and the quality of urban life in cities in the developing world. Sustainable Cities’ projects advance environmental sustainability through participatory multi-stakeholder processes that involve municipal councils, community organizations and the private and academic sectors working together to build sustainable livelihoods and communities.
Sustainable Cities is the Secretariat for the Sustainable Cities International Network, an
international peer learning network of cities sharing experiences, expertise and tools to undertake long term planning for urban sustainability. To date, the Network is comprised of 40 cities worldwide in Africa, North America, Central America, South America, Asia and Australia.
Funding for this internship requires that all candidates be:
- Between the ages of 19 and 30 as of June 15th, 2012
- A Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
- A post-secondary graduate – graduate of a degree or diploma program from a university, college, post-secondary school of technology, post-secondary institute or a CEGEP (collège d’enseignement général et professionnel);
- Out of school with no coursework to complete;
- Unemployed or underemployed;
- Legally entitled to work in Canada.
Job Description:
The GIS Project Officer will be placed in the City of Dakar’s Direction du Développement Urbain (DDU) where s/he will assist the City of Dakar and its partners with their long-term plan to establish a GIS database for the city. The Project Officer will report to the Senior Program Coordinator and Sustainable Cities International Network project coordinator at the City. Their key roles will be:
- Manage the data base developed as part of the ongoing billboard demonstration project
- To assist municipal staff in the acquisition of intermediate GIS techniques.
Additional Responsibilities:
- Reinforce the abilities of personnel already developed in the use of ArcGIS
- Manage the database generated through geo-location
- Assist the municipality in the follow-up of the acquisition and setup of hardware, software and database;
- Coordinate and provide follow-up support to the GIS Stakeholder Committee
- Assist the DDU in the ongoing activities of the establishment of a municipal GIS database;
- Establish relationships with local organizations that can support City objectives
- Ensure follow through on the acquisition of hardware and software by l’agence de développement municipal (ADM)
- Attend weekly team meetings at l’Institut African de la Gestion Urbaine (IAGU)
- Collect and analyze information in order to recommend procedure(s) for the attainment of project objectives;
- Write blog articles for the Sustainable Cities website
- Participate in administrative project management by record keeping, gathering information and indicators for project monitoring and evaluation, report writing (including monthly, midterm and final reports)
- Contribute to project activity updates on the City of Dakar’s website;
Additional criteria for this position include:
- Fluency in French and English; the City of Dakar is a French working environment
- Education in urban planning, geography, engineering or environmental science with an emphasis in GIS;
- Previous work, or research, experience at a municipal GIS program would be preferred;
- Knowledge of ArcGIS;
- Experience in database design is preferred;
- Education and/or experience in international relations and cross-cultural skills;
- Ability to be self-directed and work collaboratively with colleagues, partners and counterpartners in a complex environment;
- Excellent organizational, research and report writing skills;
- Strong communication and interaction skills (public presentation and facilitation skills), especially in French;
- Professional and personal commitment, flexibility and adaptability to handle new situations and challenges, and the ability to live and work in another culture with an approach that values two-way learning and mutual respect
Please note: This is not a salaried position; the intern will receive a stipend of $12,000 to cover living expenses and program costs related to travel, training, insurance and visas.
Successful candidates should be able to participate in a pre-departure training session June 15- 21, 2012 in Vancouver, with the expectation of being placed in the field starting July 2, 2012.
If you are interested in this opportunity, please see sustainablecities.net to learn more about
Sustainable Cities and the Network.
We thank all those who apply, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.