POSITION DESCRIPTION

 

GIS Analyst

NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

Crissy Field Office, San Francisco, CA

 

Program Description

The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is to serve as the trustee for the nation’s system of marine protected areas, to conserve, protect, and enhance their biodiversity, ecological integrity and cultural legacy. The Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary (GFNMS) protects the wildlife, habitats, and cultural resources of one of the most diverse and bountiful marine environments in the world, an area of 3,295 square miles off the California coast from Point Arena to Año Nuevo. The waters within the sanctuary are part of a nationally significant marine ecosystem that supports an abundance of life, including many threatened or endangered species, and a rich cultural landscape.

Position Description

GFNMS requires the technical and professional services of a Marine GIS Analyst to develop high-quality cartographic products, online maps, and analytic products to support sanctuary management, education, science, operations, and resource protection. The maps and information generated by the GIS Analyst will inform management decisions for the sanctuary and its partners, as well as contribute to an improved understanding of the region. Products range from highly technical to public exhibits.

Specific duties:

• Work with sanctuary staff and partners to identify their spatial data needs and develop GIS and cartographic products accordingly.
• Analyze spatial information to create products that convey complex topics to sanctuary stakeholders, partners and the public.
• Obtain, organize, update, archive and manage the spatial data required to implement sanctuary priorities.
• Create and update all metadata in compliance with Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) standards.
• Coordinate and manage existing seafloor map data, and identify priority areas for future mapping.
• Integrate new data into the existing GIS databases of biological, oceanographic, geologic, socioeconomic, cultural, water quality and other thematic data.
• Communicate with local, regional, state and national GIS and sanctuary staff to ensure effective data exchange and to keep spatial information up to date.
• Present geospatial information at meetings and discussions with sanctuary partners, stakeholders and the public.
• Respond to spatial information requests from other NOAA components, Federal agencies, state and local governmental bodies, private organizations, academic and research institutions, and the public.
• Gather ocean monitoring information from regional scientists and enter it into a database for use by GFNMS staff and display on the SIMoN (www.sanctuarysimon.org) and CeNCOOS (http://www.cencoos.org) websites.
• Incorporate still photographs and video into geospatial products.
• Evaluate and implement new GIS technology.
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisor.

Qualifications

The applicant should have:

• Advanced understanding of spatial data concepts, including projections, relational databases, and cartographic production.
• Advanced knowledge of GIS database administration and management principles, methods and techniques, including quality control methods and practices.
• Expertise in data analysis and visualization.
• Expertise in ArcGIS platforms (ArcGIS for Desktop, Spatial Analyst, 3D Analyst, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Story Maps and Journals), SeaSketch, Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint, and Adobe desktop publishing products.
• Experience with Python and Model Builder for ArcGIS.
• Excellent verbal and written skills in communicating complex, technical GIS information to professional and lay audiences.
• Good understanding of statistical analysis.
• Ability to interact and work effectively with sanctuary staff, partners, and the public to disseminate GIS data and cartographic products.
• Ability to work independently or as part of a team. Self motivated.
• Minimum of 3-5 years GIS experience. Master’s Degree with concentration in geography, GIS, marine science, or equivalent is preferred.
• Experience with management of marine biology, ecology, habitat, and/or oceanography data sets is preferred.
• Experience with coastal issues in the central and northern California coast is a plus.

Employment Terms

The employee will be based at the sanctuary office in the Presidio of San Francisco, CA and will be provided with desk space, computer and GIS software, access to phone, internet, fax, copy machine, etc. The employee is expected to be available during normal business hours, Monday through Friday. Employment and health benefits are included with the position. Periodic travel will be required. Salary is commensurate with experience.

The GIS Analyst will be employed by Sanctuary Supporters, LLC and detailed to the GFNMS Program Operations team. They will be supervised by the Coordinator of that team. The Coordinator will provide oversight, feedback, and set priorities through regular meetings and communication.

Application Instructions

Applications should be submitted via email by Nov 4, 2016. Interviews will be conducted in November 2016. Target start date is ASAP after the candidate is selected. Qualified individuals should provide a statement of interest, resume with salary history, 2-3 work samples, and short list of professional references to:

Rachel Rhodes
Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

rachel.rhodes@noaa.gov

Please put “GFNMS GIS Analyst Application” in the subject line.