Total LLC Recruitment Company invites professional specialists to participate in the competition of the assessment service provision for Mercy Corps international organization as detailed below.

CONDUCTING ASSESSMENT ON

KYRGYZ DATA CUBE HANDOVER AND SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY

Mercy Corps in Kyrgyzstan is implementing a project on developing a Kyrgyz Data Cube (KDC) which forms a key component of the SIBELIUs infrastructure and allows time series of satellite data and derived products to be stored and queried efficiently by Kyrgyz stakeholders. Output products from the Data Cube will be ingested by desktop applications, web apps and dashboard front ends for stakeholders to utilize further. The Data Cube will include satellite data and derived products covering the whole of Kyrgyzstan. Although the Kyrgyz Data Cube is an internet-based software, it is hosted on physical hardware (data cube server equipment) to be installed in the premises of one of the selected governmental or semi-governmental entities based in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan before the project’s end in March 2021.

In order to sustain a proper use and maintenance of the KDC after the project end, Mercy Corps in Kyrgyzstan intends to explore a potential physical location for KDC, which will ensure that it is maintained and that its data will remain publicly available and open for all users for free of charge into the future. The Mercy Corps in Kyrgyzstan through the support of SIBELIUs team in UK will sub-contract an independent professional(s), who will analyze the ground-based facilities in Bishkek suitable for KDC.

For this purpose, selected professional(s) is expected to perform the following services:

1. Institutional assessment: The professional(s) will develop necessary methodology, including tools and selection criteria, which are subject to SIBELIUs/Mercy Corps’ approval. The methodology and final analysis may include the following questions, applied to each candidate institution, that must be discussed and answered:
   • Which institutions are candidates for where the KDC might be hosted?
   • Does the institution have the technical capacity and facilities to host and maintain the KDC servers?
   • Does the institution have a commitment to Open Data and can they guarantee that data and products from the KDC will remain openly accessibly to end users in Kyrgyzstan free from any costs, into the future?
   • Is there evidence that the institution has the financial resources to ensure they can pay for any maintenance into the future?
   • Will the institution become the legal owners of the KDC?
   • Have the institution’s staff been trained to use open data technology or do they need some initial training?
   • Would the institution intend to make use of the KDC data and products themselves? (This would be beneficial.)
   • What documents need to be developed for the handover and further work of KDC (memorandum, agreement, etc.?) between the project and the potential entity.
2. Identification of long-term financing options. Hosting and maintaining the KDC server and the application requires some resources (money and people). If the institution cannot commit to hosting and maintaining the Data Cube using only its own internal resources, the professional(s) must quantify what resources are missing (staff, budget, IT etc.)

Professional(s) are expected to understand the full technical requirements of maintaining the Kyrgyz Data Cube themselves, for which initial discussions with the SIBELIUs team are expected, so the professional(s) is in a position to make this evaluation. Professional(s) are expected to keep Mercy Corps and the SIBELIUs team up to date with progress, so that any problems can be identified as soon as possible. Professional(s) will be expected to be impartial with respect to the different institutions considered.

Location: National expert and/or a group of experts

Duration: Hired professionals will do their service from November, 2020 till mid of December, 2020.

Travels: The given service doesn’t consider a separate budget for travels of the professional(s), therefore, if candidate(s) anticipates any travels to complete the given service, it should be clearly stated at the application stage.

Required qualifications and experience:

• Advanced Degree in IT, GIS and/or related technical field, e.g. science or engineering;
• Sound knowledge and experience of working with open data technologies. An understanding of Earth Observation data would be useful;
• Sound understanding on work of government and semi-governmental agencies;
• Experience of service provision to international non-governmental organizations in Kyrgyzstan;
• Extensive experience in research and analysis of the activities of government agencies and non-governmental organizations in the field of information technology;
• Experience in requirements analysis and project management will be considered as an advantage;
• Proven writing and editing skills, with a strong command of English / Russian and an ability to convey complex ideas in a clear, direct, and lively style;
• Ability to work with JupyterHub and Python will be an advantage;
• Advanced level in writing and speaking English and Russian.

Application

Interested candidates must submit the following documents by October 22, 2020

1. A two-page assessment methodology describing the process of accomplish the given service/task;

2. Cover Letter describing his/her motivation and accomplishments emphasizing the relevance to the open position;
3. CV/resume outlining previous relevant experience and specific tasks the applicant was responsible for;
4. Contacts of 2-3 referees from previous clients or employers; contact information must be up to date;

Short listed candidates will be asked to complete the RFQ form for further selection.

All application documents should be submitted in electronic format to e-mail: resume.project.MK@gmail.com