Consultancy Position: Spatial data analyst

ZSL’s Sustainable Business and Finance programme is seeking a consultant to support on spatial data analysis and reporting. The consultant will lead on the development of the team’s HCV screening project, including incorporation of SPOTT assessment findings into sourcing risk analyses, and drafting of a report and materials on the project findings. Some work on other spatial data projects may also be required.

 

ZSL’s Sustainable Business and Finance team and SPOTT

The Zoological Society of London (ZSL), a charity founded in 1826, is a world-renowned centre of excellence for conservation science and applied conservation. ZSL’s purpose is to inspire, inform and empower people to stop wild animals from going extinct. This is realised by carrying out field conservation and research in over 50 countries across the globe and through education and awareness-raising at our two zoos, ZSL London Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, inspiring people to take conservation action.

The ZSL Sustainable Business and Finance (SBF) programme sits within ZSL’s Conservation and Policy department, and its objective is for business and financial sector practices to be drivers and/or enablers for protecting and enhancing biodiversity and habitats. A flagship project of SBF is SPOTT – Sustainability Policy Transparency Toolkit – a free, online platform supporting sustainable commodity production and trade. SPOTT assesses commodity producers, processors and traders on their public disclosure regarding their organisation, policies and practices related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Investors, buyers and other key influencers can use SPOTT assessments to inform stakeholder engagement, manage ESG risk, and increase transparency across the palm oil, natural rubber and tropical forestry sectors.

 

SBF’s HCV screening

In 2020, the Sustainable Business and Finance team, in collaboration with our colleagues in the ZSL Indonesia office, began mapping potential landscape-level High Conservation Values (HCVs) in key provinces in Indonesia. This began with South Sumatra and Jambi – two provinces where we have had a focus for many years – and we have now completed a mapping for Riau as well. We are still in early stages with this work, but long-term, we would like to see a freely available, regularly updated, and broadly agreed upon landscape HCV map for all of Sumatra, Kalimantan and Papua.

We are also beginning to combine landscape HCV mapping with our data from the SPOTT assessments. We have mapped the location of mills belonging to SPOTT-assessed palm oil companies across each province using Global Forest Watch’s Universal Mill List data, and for each one have analysed the total area of potential HCV identified within a 50km sourcing radius of that mill. We are then able to cross-reference this with information from our SPOTT assessments – such as traceability progress, commitments and reporting on HCV identification and management, and procedures for assessing mill risk and engaging with suppliers.

The Consultant will support us to develop these workstreams further, through analysis of existing datasets, development of further HCV screening data, and drafting a report on initial findings. This process will be supported by the SBF team located in the UK.

As such, ZSL is seeking a consultant with knowledge of forest-risk commodity supply chains in Indonesia, and experience creating and analysing spatial datasets.

The initial contract is from October-December 2021, but with a likely extension into 2022.

 

Deliverables

  1. Comparison of ZSL’s existing HCV screening spatial data for Jambi, South Sumatra and Riau with other
    existing HCV screening methodologies (to be provided by ZSL), with short (max. 5 pages) summary of main
    findings
  2. Incorporation of SPOTT assessment findings on key indicators (provided by ZSL) into sourcing risk analysis
    for identified highest-risk mills (list provided by ZSL)
  3. Report (max. 10 pages) on ZSL’s HCV screening methodology and initial findings
  4. Support on other spatial data work as required

 

Requirements

All requirements below are mandatory unless stated as desirable.

  • Strong spatial data analysis skills, including proficiency in use of GIS programmes (e.g. ArcGIS, Q-GIS,
    etc) and working with satellite monitoring datasets
  • Knowledge of Indonesian forest-risk commodity sectors (specifically palm oil, forestry and/or natural
    rubber sectors)
  • Knowledge and applied experience of High Conservation Value (HCV) screening/mapping
  • Excellent communicator, able to distil and summarise complex information in an understandable way
  • Fluency in English
  • Fluency/competency in Bahasa Indonesia (desirable)
  • Good contact network within Indonesian soft-commodity sectors (desirable)
  • Experience writing reports/communication materials for a corporate audience (desirable)

 

Contract Value

The total budget for the contract shall not exceed £12,500.

 

Contract Timelines

The contract period will cover up to 2 months from October 2021 to December 2021.

 

Submission requirements:

Applicants shall submit:

  • A short (<5 page) proposal, outlining their suitability for the contract, strategy and workplan,
    timelines and any other considerations.
  • CVs of all staff who will/may work on the contract.
  • Budget clearly showing the number of days allocated to the contract and each deliverable, as well as
    day rates applied to all staff. Plus, any expenses included.
  • For more information or to ask questions regarding this ToR, the consultant may contact Eleanor Spencer
    (Sustainable Business Specialist (Asia)) at eleanor.spencer@zsl.org

 

Submission deadline:

Submission of final proposals should be sent to Eleanor Spencer (Sustainable Business Specialist (Asia)) at eleanor.spencer@zsl.org by midnight (UK) 26th September 2021.