Background

The Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) is an international and intergovernmental institution that is owned and managed by its 48 Member and Collaborating States for building capacities in the generation and application of user-relevant multi-hazard early warning information, for resources and risks management. RIMES was established on 30 April 2009 through the signing by collaborating countries of the RIMES regional cooperation agreement.  RIMES was registered with the United Nations under Article 102 of the UN Charter on 1 July 2009.  RIMES Headquarters operates from its regional early warning center, located at the campus of the Asian Institute of Technology in Pathumthani, Thailand. 

Socio-economic impacts of climate-related hazards in South Asian countries continue to threaten the countries’ economic growth, particularly in key sectors such as agriculture, water, and infrastructure.  During the 16^th Summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in 2010, these countries collectively resolved to strengthen climate resilience. The Climate Adaptation and Resilience for South Asia (CARE) Project, supported by the World Bank, aims to contribute to translating this policy into actions through enhanced regional cooperation and knowledge on climate resilience and adaptation, and development of standards and guidelines to facilitate climate-resilient planning and investments.                  

Component 1, implemented by RIMES and focused on promoting evidence-based climate-smart policies and investments across South Asia, aims to buttress CARE’s PDO through: 

• increased access to regional climate data and analytics for climate-informed decision-making;
• national-level decision-making and planning that are better climate risk-informed; 
• institutional capacities strengthened to undertake climate-informed policies and planning.

This component involves the development of a regional Resilience Data and Analytics Services (RDAS)^[1] for South Asia Region (SAR), and decision-support systems (DSSs)^[2] for selected sectors of agriculture, livestock, water, transport, planning, and disaster risk management in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. Component 1 also includes capacity development of users of these systems and their products, and supports the South Asia Hydromet Forum (SAHF)^[3], for a holistic approach at user-centric generation and application of climate information in plans and decisions. 

Qualifications

Knowledge

• At least Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Management Information Systems, or other related fields

Experience

• Minimum experience of 7 years in software development, with proven track record in full system development; experience in Al and ML-enabled systems development is an advantage
• Minimum experience of 5 years in developing geospatial data analytics/visualization applications
• Minimum experience of 3 years of engagement with international development organizations and national government institutions in developing user-focused information/decision support systems, and managing a team of system developers in completing such information/decision support systems 
• Demonstrable experience in developing REST APIs and microservices architectures
• Demonstrable experience in working with geospatial datasets and timeseries datasets 
• Demonstrable experience in using Angular and React JS, with strong knowledge of Javascript, HTML, and/or CSS
• Demonstrable experience in working with multidimensional scientific datasets including NetCDF and HDF5, preferably in Python 
• Having DevOps experience is an advantage 
• Experience in program/project management is an advantage 
• Experience in decision support/information systems integrating analytics tools/predictive models is an advantage 

Skills and abilities

• Backend: Competence in using Python (Django), Node (Express), or PHP (Laravel)
• Frontend: Competence in using Angular/any other framework based on JS
• Database: Competence in using MySQL/PostgreSQL
• OS: Competence in using Linux
• Competence in GIS data processing libraries (e.g. GDAL, OGR, GeoPandas, Rasterio); GIS feed formats (e.g. transit, real-time feeds, KML, GeoJSON, and WFS); GIS APIs (e.g. routing, traffic, OGC, WMS, WFS WCS; interactive web maps using Leaflet or Mapbox; and geospatial web development libraries in Python such as Flask, Django, and GeoDjango
• Strong written and verbal command of English

Personal qualities

Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills; demonstrated ability to plan and organize work independently; excellent interpersonal and communication skills; high commitment to responsibility and work quality; ability to work effectively and efficiently independently and/or within a multi-cultural team; openness/receptiveness to critique for enhancing work and outputs. 

Scope of Work 

The Senior Systems Development Specialist – Regional, shall have the following specific tasks: 

• In coordination with RIMES Climate Application Specialist, RIMES Senior Climate Impacts Expert, and others relevant in the CARE Component 1 Team, assess the requirements of the currently-developed RDAS and DSSs, and strategically plan and implement the onward development of the systems, imbedding features that enable utmost functionality, scalability, and sustainability, among others
• Take the lead in/guide CARE Component 1’s sub-teams of system developers/full stack developers/IT experts and other relevant staff, in:
• developing required front-end applications with selected frameworks
• developing robust functional features and services to power the frontend of the web application
• building highly complex user interface applications and back-end databases integration using expert-level skills in various web development tools, programming languages, and scripting languages
• building/developing required modules for RDAS and DSSs stakeholders, viz:
  
  • Bangladesh: Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (FFWC), Department of Livestock Services (DLS), and Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE)
  • Nepal: Department of Roads (DoR), National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (MoALD)
  • Pakistan: Agriculture Departments of Balochistan and Punjab Provinces, Ministry of Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives (MoPDSI)
  • other stakeholders in SAR
• mining data relevant to the required RDAS and DSSs modules from openly available research hubs
• integrating required visualizations using web GIS-based technologies
• developing APIs/Microservices/Angular-based components for the RDAS/DSSs
• actively addressing non-functional requirements such as performance, security, scalability, continuous integration, migration, and compatibility
• implementing security and data protection measures
• optimizing the web applications for maximum speed and scalability
• translating UI wireframes to frontend visual elements
• extending the UI interfaces as and when needs arise and integrating them with backend microservices or ETL/ELT processes
• handling data in different formats (XLS, CSV, XML, NetCDF, HDF5, etc.) and using these data in the RDAS/DSSs development
• meeting systems design and performance, as required by the project
• maintain consistent, high-quality, stakeholder-focused approach in completing the RDAS/DSSs
• generating and maintaining detailed technical RDAS/DSSs documentation
• completing other relevant tasks, as required by CARE Component 1

Reporting 

The Senior Full Stack Developer – Regional – reports to the CARE Component 1 Project Director, and works in close coordination with RIMES Climate Applications Specialist, Climate Impact Experts, and CARE Component 1’s inter-disciplinary Systems Development Unit at the regional level and in-country in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. S/he will also work closely with RIMES Country Program Leads/CARE Project Coordinators in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan, for obtaining feedback from stakeholders and integrating these into the RDAS/DSSs full development/enhancement. 

Contract Duration

The contract will be for 1 year, subject to a 4-month probationary period, and annual performance review.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send your application letter, resume, salary expectation and 2 references in PDF format to rimeshra@rimes.int by midnight of 1 April 2024, Bangkok time. Please state “Senior Systems Development Specialist – Regional: Your Name” in the email's Subject line. Only short-listed applicants will be contacted.

Ms. Dusadee Padungkul
Head, Department of Operational Support 
Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System
AIT Campus, 58 Moo 9 Paholyothin Rd., Klong 1, 
Klong Luang, Pathumthani 12120 Thailand.

RIMES promotes diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Well-qualified applicants particularly women are encouraged to apply.