Environmental Data Scientist

Tags: climate change English Environment
  • Added Date: Wednesday, 25 June 2025
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Company Description

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international organisation comprised of 37 member countries, that works to build better policies for better lives. Our mission is to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world. Together with governments, policy makers and citizens, we work on establishing evidence-based international standards, and finding solutions to a range of social, economic and environmental challenges. From improving economic performance and creating jobs to fostering strong education and fighting international tax evasion, we provide a unique forum and knowledge hub for data and analysis, exchange of experiences, best-practice sharing, and advice on public policies and international standard-setting.

The OECD Environment Directorate (ENV), in line with the strategic objectives of the Secretary-General, provides relevant and timely information, analysis and advice to support governments in identifying and implementing the environmental policies needed to support a cleaner, more resource-efficient, resilient and low-carbon development pathways. The Directorate currently comprises approximately 200 staff members working across a broad range of issues such as: climate change, biodiversity, water, eco- innovation, resource productivity and waste, environmental policy tools and evaluation, green growth, safety of chemicals, biotechnology and nanomaterials, and linkages between environment and tax, agriculture, energy, transport, development assistance, trade and investment policies. For more information, please refer to www.oecd.org/env.

Job Description

The Environmental Performance and Information Division of the Environment Directorate (ENV/EPI) is leading the development of internationally harmonised information in support of policies related to the environment and sustainable development. Specifically, the Division carries out work on the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches (IFCMA), the International Programme for Action on Climate (IPAC) and broader work on environmental policy instruments (PINE), among others.

ENV/EPI is looking for an experienced Environmental Data Scientist to work on the development of environmental indicators drawing on Earth observations and other geospatial data sources, notably on air pollution, climate-related natural hazards, biodiversity, land cover change and the ocean. The selected candidate will also support the OECDโ€™s International Programme for Action on Climate. S/he will be part of a team of analysts, statisticians and data scientists, and will work under the supervision of a senior economist and the general guidance of the EPI Head of Division.

Main Responsibilities

Research, analysis and indicators

Undertake cutting-edge research and analysis to develop new or improved indicators on the environment and ecosystems leveraging near-real time data from Earth observation (EO) as well as complementary geospatial and geo-referenced data (administrative, socioeconomic, etc).Lead the development of methodologies for the construction of scientifically-robust and policy-relevant indicators, at the national and sub-national levels, allowing for regular updates (annual, quarterly). Identify innovative methods and new sources of data to construct more accurate, reliable and timely indicators.Contribute to drafting of indicator reports and technical documents, such as the annual Climate Action Monitor and methodological working papers.Develop tools and products to disseminate indicators, databases and analytical results (OECD Data Explorer, Environment at a Glance, etc).Design and produce compelling data visualisations for inclusion in OECD reports and OECD country peer reviews (e.g. EPRs).Stay informed on emerging research and policy developments relevant to the teamโ€™s work. Contribute to the scoping of developmental projects directed at improving data quality, methodological underpinnings and applications for economic research.

Collaboration & external engagement

Present team findings to diverse audiences including policy-makers and international experts s from international organisations and research institutions.Collaborate with internal teams needing EO and GIS expertise within ENV and across the OECD.Disseminate outputs from this work by representing the OECD at external meetings, contributing to publications, participating in webinars, etc.Contribute to the preparation of Division briefings, the work of the Environment Policy Committee and its working parties, horizontal and multidisciplinary projects within the Environment Directorate and OECD and support OECD engagement with key G20 and G7 groups, when requested.Supervise junior staff assisting with the above tasks and ensure high quality of deliverables. Develop terms of reference and manage, co-ordinate and review the work of intellectual service providers and ensure that their work proceeds effectively and according to schedule and budget.

Qualifications

Ideal Candidate Profile

Academic Background

An advanced post-graduate university degree (Ph.D. preferred) in remote sensing, environmental sciences, Earth system science, environmental engineering, geographic information science (GIS), or related field.

Professional Background

๐Ÿ“š ๐——๐—ถ๐˜€๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—›๐—ผ๐˜„ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—š๐—ฒ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐—๐—ผ๐—ฏ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ! ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿค ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ก๐—˜๐—ช ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐—ฟ๐˜‚๐—ถ๐˜๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—š๐˜‚๐—ถ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—จ๐—ก ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฌ๐Ÿฎ๐Ÿฏ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐˜๐—ต ๐˜๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜€ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ ๐—จ๐—ก๐—›๐—–๐—ฅ, ๐—ช๐—™๐—ฃ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—œ๐—–๐—˜๐—™, ๐—จ๐—ก๐——๐—ฆ๐—ฆ, ๐—จ๐—ก๐—™๐—ฃ๐—”, ๐—œ๐—ข๐—  ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€! ๐ŸŒ

โš ๏ธ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐‹๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ฐ: ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐“๐ž๐œ๐ก๐ง๐ข๐ช๐ฎ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ ๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ฃ๐จ๐› ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐”๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐๐Ž๐–!

Three to five years of proven experience in Earth observation systems and applied data analysis.Experience in GIS data management, interpretation and use, in developing graphical representations of the data, and in the preparation of statistical documents and reports.Proven ability to communicate effectively and produce high quality, timely, relevant and accurate documents for diverse audiences. Good knowledge of existing datasets relevant to the environment, ecosystems and natural resources in OECD countries and globally.

Technical skills

Proficiency in relevant scripting or data analysis languages (e.g. Python, R), excellent command of desktop-based GIS software (e.g. QGIS) and database management systems (PostgreSQL/PostGIS) is required.Strong expertise in advanced remote sensing and EO data analysis, spatial data and GIS analysis.Proven ability to work independently and adapt to emerging statistical and computing techniques.Experience in data visualization with a creative approach to summarise complex datasets, effectively conveying key messages to non-expert audiences.Familiarity with development good-practices (well-structured, modular code) and version control tools (e.g. Git).

Additional Information

Core Competencies

OECD staff are expected to demonstrate behaviours aligned to six core competencies which will be assessed as part of this hiring processes: Vision and Strategy (Level 2); Enable People (Level 1); Ethics and Integrity (Level 2); Collaboration and Horizontality (Level 2); Achieve Results (Level 2); Innovate and Embrace Change (Level 2).To learn more about the definitions for each competency for levels 1-3, please refer to OECD Core Competencies.

Languages

Fluency in one of the two OECD official languages (English and French) and knowledge of the other, with a commitment to reach a good working level.

Closing Date

This vacancy should be filled as soon as possible, and applications should reach us no later than midnight 16 July 2025 (Paris time).

Contract Duration

Open-ended appointment, with no foreseen end date.

What the OECD offers

Depending on level of experience, monthly salary starts at 6 852 EUR, plus allowances based on eligibility, exempt of French income tax.Click here to consult the Staff Regulations applicable to officials of the OECD. Please note that from 1 July 2025, all Official appointments will be made under the OECDโ€™s new contractual modalities.Click here to learn more about what we offer and why the OECD is a great place to work.Click here to browse our People Management Guidebook and learn more about all aspects relating to people at the OECD, our workplace environment and many other policies supporting staff in their daily life.Please note that the appointment may be made at one grade lower in the specified job family, based on the qualifications and professional experience of the selected applicant.This vacancy may be used to create a pool of candidates for comparable positions, both for open-ended and fixed-term functions.

Selection Process

For retained candidates, the selection process may include a video-recorded interview, job-based assessment and panel interviews.

The OECD is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes the applications of all qualified candidates who are nationals of OECD member countries, irrespective of their racial or ethnic origin, opinions or beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, health or disabilities.

The OECD promotes an optimal use of resources in order to improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Staff members are encouraged to actively contribute to this goal.

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