CRS Forestry GIS and Carbon Assessment Specialist
Job Description
Job Posting Organization:
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Established in 1943, CRS operates in around 100 countries, focusing on saving, protecting, and transforming lives of people in need, regardless of their race, religion, or nationality. The organization has a long-standing presence in the Philippines, having begun its work there in 1945, making it the longest-running continuous CRS country program in the world. CRS Philippines implements various programs including emergency response, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, livelihoods, and peace and development, with a dedicated team of over 70 staff members across multiple cities including Manila, Cotabato City, Tagbilaran City, Iloilo City, Virac, and Malaybalay City. The organization collaborates closely with church and civil society partners, government agencies, and other organizations to serve vulnerable communities throughout the country. The Innovative Climate Financing - Philippines Carbon Finance Pilot is an 18-month initiative aimed at assessing and advancing the readiness of indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains for participation in high-integrity forest carbon markets, while also delivering biodiversity, livelihood, and governance co-benefits. This initiative supports investments readiness by ensuring compliance with robust technical requirements, particularly in establishing baselines and calculating project removals in line with industry standards.
Job Overview:
The GIS Specialist plays a crucial role in the Innovative Climate Financing - Philippines Carbon Finance Pilot by providing essential technical support in assessing land eligibility and suitability, analyzing land-use and land-cover changes, and producing spatial outputs necessary for project design and feasibility analysis. The specialist will be responsible for leading the collection and management of geospatial data, conducting spatial analysis, and producing high-quality maps and reports that inform project planning and stakeholder engagement. The role requires a strong understanding of GIS technologies and methodologies, as well as the ability to work collaboratively with various stakeholders, including local communities and government agencies. The GIS Specialist will also support the development of monitoring, reporting, and verification systems, ensuring that project objectives are met and that data is accurately captured and analyzed. This position is integral to the success of the carbon finance pilot, as it directly impacts the assessment of carbon yield and the overall effectiveness of the project.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Required Qualifications:
The position requires a Bachelor's degree in Forestry, Environmental Science, Geomatics, Natural Resource Management, or a related field. A Registered Forester designation is considered an advantage. Candidates must have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in GIS, remote sensing, land cover change analysis, and general spatial analysis as applied to forestry, natural resource management, or environmental conservation. Demonstrated experience in developing and managing geospatial databases and conducting spatial analysis is essential. Experience working with forest landscapes, biodiversity conservation, restoration, climate resilience, or carbon-related projects is also required. Additionally, candidates should have experience working with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, local government units (LGUs), government agencies, and development organizations, with preferable experience in Mindanao, particularly Bukidnon and Davao del Norte. Willingness and ability to travel regularly to field sites and remote communities is necessary.
Educational Background:
Candidates must possess a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as Forestry, Environmental Science, Geomatics, Natural Resource Management, or a related discipline. A Registered Forester designation is an advantage, indicating a recognized level of expertise in the field.
Experience:
The position requires a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in GIS, remote sensing, land cover change analysis, and general spatial analysis as applied to forestry, natural resource management, or environmental conservation. Candidates should have a proven track record of developing and managing geospatial databases and conducting spatial analysis, particularly in contexts related to forestry and environmental conservation.
Languages:
Excellent spoken and written English is mandatory for this position. Proficiency in additional languages may be beneficial but is not specified as a requirement.
Additional Notes:
This position may involve travel up to 50% of the time to areas such as Malaybalay, Bukidnon, and/or Talaingod, Davao del Norte. The role does not have supervisory responsibilities unless otherwise amended as needed. The position is designed to support the Innovative Climate Financing - Philippines Carbon Finance Pilot initiative, which has a defined duration of 18 months, running from April 2026 to September 202
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Established in 1943, CRS operates in around 100 countries, focusing on saving, protecting, and transforming lives of people in need, regardless of their race, religion, or nationality. The organization has a long-standing presence in the Philippines, having begun its work there in 1945, making it the longest-running continuous CRS country program in the world. CRS Philippines implements various programs including emergency response, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, livelihoods, and peace and development, with a dedicated team of over 70 staff members across multiple cities including Manila, Cotabato City, Tagbilaran City, Iloilo City, Virac, and Malaybalay City. The organization collaborates closely with church and civil society partners, government agencies, and other organizations to serve vulnerable communities throughout the country. The Innovative Climate Financing - Philippines Carbon Finance Pilot is an 18-month initiative aimed at assessing and advancing the readiness of indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains for participation in high-integrity forest carbon markets, while also delivering biodiversity, livelihood, and governance co-benefits. This initiative supports investments readiness by ensuring compliance with robust technical requirements, particularly in establishing baselines and calculating project removals in line with industry standards.
Job Overview:
The GIS Specialist plays a crucial role in the Innovative Climate Financing - Philippines Carbon Finance Pilot by providing essential technical support in assessing land eligibility and suitability, analyzing land-use and land-cover changes, and producing spatial outputs necessary for project design and feasibility analysis. The specialist will be responsible for leading the collection and management of geospatial data, conducting spatial analysis, and producing high-quality maps and reports that inform project planning and stakeholder engagement. The role requires a strong understanding of GIS technologies and methodologies, as well as the ability to work collaboratively with various stakeholders, including local communities and government agencies. The GIS Specialist will also support the development of monitoring, reporting, and verification systems, ensuring that project objectives are met and that data is accurately captured and analyzed. This position is integral to the success of the carbon finance pilot, as it directly impacts the assessment of carbon yield and the overall effectiveness of the project.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Spatial Analysis, Mapping, and Geodatabase Management: Lead the collection of map inputs and GIS processing of geospatial data for the Carbon Finance Pilot. Develop and maintain project geodatabases and metadata systems, and GIS mapping documentation. Produce high-quality maps, dashboards, spatial reports, and decision-support products for project planning, reporting, and stakeholder engagement. Analyze and interpret satellite imagery, drone imagery, and other remote sensing products relevant to project objectives. Support delineation and validation of project boundaries, intervention areas, ancestral domain boundaries, restoration areas, and monitoring sites.
- Carbon Readiness, Forestry, and Biodiversity Assessments: Conduct land-use and land-cover analysis, landscape characterization, and spatial suitability assessments. Conduct land-cover classification and accuracy assessment using industry-standard approaches including confusion matrix analysis, producer's accuracy, user's accuracy, overall accuracy, and other classification validation methods. Develop historical land-use and land-cover assessments to support ARR land eligibility determination, baseline establishment, and carbon project development requirements. Support ex-ante carbon assessments through biomass estimation, carbon stratification, growth potential analysis, and estimation of potential carbon sequestration under restoration and agroforestry scenarios. Support development of carbon baselines through spatial analysis of historical land-use trends, degradation patterns, and landscape dynamics. Conduct land eligibility and suitability screening using biophysical, environmental, tenure, accessibility, and risk-related criteria consistent with international carbon standards and best practices. Support other mapping needs related to vegetation, forest condition, biodiversity, hydrology, land tenure, infrastructure, and threats. Participate in field validation and ground-truthing activities to verify analytical results and improve spatial accuracy.
- GIS-Based Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification: Provide mapping support to the identification/enrollment of eligible areas for the development of agroforestry carbon projects. Support the development of Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems through spatial data management and analysis. Develop spatial indicators and monitoring tools aligned with the project's MEAL framework. Generate regular spatial progress reports, maps, and analytical products to support project management and adaptive decision-making. Develop guidelines on the application of GIS mapping support to MRV, particularly on tracking land cover changes attributable to the project.
- Partner Capacity Strengthening and Technical Assistance: Coordinate with GKIM and other CRS technical units regarding GIS standards, data management, and spatial analysis approaches. Provide GIS and spatial analysis technical assistance to CRS staff, PEF, IP Organizations, and other project stakeholders. Support partners in interpreting maps, spatial outputs, and technical analyses for planning and decision-making. Strengthen partner capacities in data collection, field validation, and GIS-based monitoring methodologies.
- Knowledge Management and Reporting: Coordinate GIS-related activities with CRS teams, PEF, consultants, and other stakeholders. Contribute technical inputs to workplans, reports, presentations, concept notes, learning products, and donor deliverables. Maintain organized archives of maps, spatial datasets, analyses, and technical references. Support project documentation, knowledge management, learning, and dissemination of good practices. Provide regular updates to the Senior Program Manager regarding progress, risks, data gaps, and technical recommendations.
Required Qualifications:
The position requires a Bachelor's degree in Forestry, Environmental Science, Geomatics, Natural Resource Management, or a related field. A Registered Forester designation is considered an advantage. Candidates must have a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in GIS, remote sensing, land cover change analysis, and general spatial analysis as applied to forestry, natural resource management, or environmental conservation. Demonstrated experience in developing and managing geospatial databases and conducting spatial analysis is essential. Experience working with forest landscapes, biodiversity conservation, restoration, climate resilience, or carbon-related projects is also required. Additionally, candidates should have experience working with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, local government units (LGUs), government agencies, and development organizations, with preferable experience in Mindanao, particularly Bukidnon and Davao del Norte. Willingness and ability to travel regularly to field sites and remote communities is necessary.
Educational Background:
Candidates must possess a Bachelor's degree in a relevant field such as Forestry, Environmental Science, Geomatics, Natural Resource Management, or a related discipline. A Registered Forester designation is an advantage, indicating a recognized level of expertise in the field.
Experience:
The position requires a minimum of 5 years of professional experience in GIS, remote sensing, land cover change analysis, and general spatial analysis as applied to forestry, natural resource management, or environmental conservation. Candidates should have a proven track record of developing and managing geospatial databases and conducting spatial analysis, particularly in contexts related to forestry and environmental conservation.
Languages:
Excellent spoken and written English is mandatory for this position. Proficiency in additional languages may be beneficial but is not specified as a requirement.
Additional Notes:
This position may involve travel up to 50% of the time to areas such as Malaybalay, Bukidnon, and/or Talaingod, Davao del Norte. The role does not have supervisory responsibilities unless otherwise amended as needed. The position is designed to support the Innovative Climate Financing - Philippines Carbon Finance Pilot initiative, which has a defined duration of 18 months, running from April 2026 to September 202
- The role is expected to be full-time, with a focus on collaboration and capacity strengthening among various stakeholders involved in the project.
Info
Job Posting Disclaimer
This job posting is provided for informational purposes only. The accuracy of the job description, qualifications, and other details mentioned is the sole responsibility of the employer or the organization listing the job. We do not guarantee the validity or legitimacy of this job posting. Candidates are advised to conduct their own due diligence and verify the details directly with the employer before applying.
We are not liable for any decisions or actions taken by applicants in response to this job listing. By applying, you agree that all application processes, interviews, and potential job offers are managed exclusively by the listed employer or organization.
Beware of fraudulent job offers. Do not provide sensitive personal information or make any payments to secure a job.
We are not liable for any decisions or actions taken by applicants in response to this job listing. By applying, you agree that all application processes, interviews, and potential job offers are managed exclusively by the listed employer or organization.
Beware of fraudulent job offers. Do not provide sensitive personal information or make any payments to secure a job.