Deadline: 12-May-21
The Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) Secretariat is seeking contractors to support the team developing a community of practice in the Caribbean through the European Union-funded Biodiversity Information for Development (BID) programme.
- Providing technical help-desk assistance, training and mentoring to support project teams in meeting their goals and objectives on mobilization and use of biodiversity data
- Facilitating exchange of guidance, best practices and expertise between the project teams and other volunteer experts from the broader GBIF community
- Encouraging project-team members’ long-term engagement in the GBIF network
Biodiversity Information for Development, or BID, is a programme funded by the European Union and led by GBIF. The programme aims to enhance capacity for effective mobilization and use of biodiversity data in support of decision- and policymaking for sustainable development.
GBIF places strong emphasis on capacity enhancement to support the project teams in achieving their goals, recognizing that there are significant challenges to successful implementation of what are often first-time data mobilization projects.The contracted individuals or institutions will support the BID coordination team at the GBIF Secretariat and have responsibility for delivering:
- Regular group meetings with the project teams, supporting the development of the community of practice
- Help desk assistance as the primary technical point of contact assisting with regional data mobilization and data quality issues, in coordination with the relevant GBIF Participant nodes and the GBIF Secretariat Data Products team
- Project mentoring focused on technical support for implementing the project teams’ data mobilization plans
- Support for BID capacity enhancement workshops and project-level replication workshops following the projects’ knowledge dissemination plans
- In coordination with GBIF regional representatives and relevant GBIF Participant nodes, support in recruiting and assigning appropriate mentors to strengthen the community of practice
- Recommendations on future development of the community of practice, including identification of key capacity needs and training opportunities
- Bi-monthly status reports for the BID community of practice summarizing activities undertaken personally and by the community, in addition to participating in regular BID planning meetings involving the GBIF Secretariat and other regional contractors.
- The ideal contractor would already have substantial experience in data mobilization and publishing through GBIF, and a solid working knowledge of:
- The content, structure and components of the GBIF data infrastructure
- The GBIF Integrated Publishing Toolkit (IPT)
- Relevant standards for data exchange (Darwin Core Archive and EML)
- Other required skills
- They are looking for both Francophone and Anglophone consultants. Fluency in English is required as it is the working language of the Secretariat. Additional language skills will be considered an advantage.
- Familiarity with the GBIF network
- Strong communication skills and the ability to provide clear guidance, for example, on technical issues related to data publishing
- The ability to work independently and as part of a team
- In addition, the following skills will be considered beneficial in carrying out the work defined effectively:
- Basic project management skills, for example having successfully delivered funded projects
- Experience in training or mentoring
- Experience in setting up and/or updating an IPT
- Relational databases and SQL
- Experience with data processing, working with large data bases
- Basic understanding of JSON web services and their use
- Knowledge of R or Python and APIs
For more information, visit https://www.gbif.org/news/2HMlzg8ijKRJKtH2WqX1XK/call-for-proposals-for-bid-project-support-in-the-caribbean