Consultant – Monitoring European Forests, Global Forest Watch

**About the Program:**Global Forest Watch (GFW) is a free forest monitoring system that provides timely and actionable information to support the sustainable management and conservation of forest landscapes. Since its launch in 2015, more than 5 million users have visited the GFW website from every country in the world. GFW is used by civil society organizations, journalists, communities, governments, and companies around the world to see where, when, and why deforestation is happening and take action to address it. www.globalforestwatch.org

Job Highlight:
In this role, you will lead a research project to explore the state and recent changes in European forests. In light of recent regulations and commitments from member states regarding protection of European forests, efforts to independently monitor forests are increasingly important. This study will specifically identify and calculate indicators for loss and fragmentation, and proxies for the intensity of management in European Forests. Available open datasets will be used, with a specific emphasis on those available through GFW. You will be supported by the Global Forest Watch research team, who will provide inputs into methods and approaches for the study. You will report to Sarah Carter, Research Associate at Global Forest Watch.

**What will you do:
**
Literature review (20% time)
• Review existing literature and datasets on European forests and assess their utility in this context
• Assess datasets available on GFW for their utility in this study
• Identify other similar assessments and document findings which can be compared to outputs from this study

Data analysis of European forests (60% time)
• For each country in Europe, produce spatial data for agreed temporal and spatial resolutions and statistics for:
o Extent and loss of forest area
o Connectivity/ fragmentation and patch size
o Area of intact forest landscapes and primary forests
o Degradation / carbon stock changes
o Species diversity
o Spatial heterogeneity
• Produce reproducible scripts / processes for data analysis

Communication and dissemination (20% time)
• Produce a final report (internal) which will describe results, highlight key findings, and document methods
• Draft a blog post for presenting results from 1-2 key countries
• Communicate regularly within WRI, and with WRI partners on progress made in this study
• Be available to represent GFW in discussions/fora/ events relevant to this topic

What will you need:
Education: You have a completed Masters degree.
Experience: You have a minimum of 2 years full-time relevant work experience in Earth Observation forest/ land monitoring.
• Independent research skills, including ability to make decisions on best methods to use, interpret results and draw out key findings from the study.
• A relevant background including having worked on forest monitoring using Earth Observation data, assessments of forest management in Europe, and have used and contributed to current relevant scientific literature and datasets.
• Experience of tools such as ArcGIS and R.
Requirements: Existing work authorization is required where this position is based (remotely). WRI is unable to authorize visa work authorization.

**Potential Salary:**Salary is commensurate with experience and other compensable factors.

How to Apply:
Please submit a resume with cover letter by the date of 1 January 2023. You must apply through the WRI Careers portal to be considered.

**
Location Modality:**
This position is fully remote.

WRI Office - Location Modality:
WRI Europe

About Us:

Founded in 1982, World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent, nonprofit global research organization that turns big ideas into action at the nexus of environment, economic opportunity, and human well-being. We are working to address seven critical challenges that the world must overcome this decade to secure a sustainable future for people and the planet: climate change, energy, food, forests, water, sustainable cities, and the ocean. WRI has a global staff of over 1,800 people with work spanning 60 countries. We have offices in Africa, Brazil, China, Europe, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Colombia and the United States, as well as a growing presence in other countries and regions.

The foundation of our work is delivering high-quality research, data, maps, and analysis to solve the world’s greatest environment and international development challenges and improve people’s lives. We work with leaders in government, business, and civil society to drive ambitious action and create change on the ground. Equally important, we bring together partners to develop breakthrough ideas and scale-up solutions for far-reaching, enduring impact.

Our mission and values:

WRI’s mission is to move human society to live in ways that protect Earth’s environment and its capacity to provide for the needs and aspirations of current and future generations.

Our values are shared ideals that bind us together: Integrity, Innovation, Urgency, Independence, Respect.

Our culture:

WRI is committed to advancing gender and social equity for human well-being in our mission and applies this principle to our organizational and programmatic practices. We are committed to providing equal opportunities in employment, we embrace all diversity and encourage women, the LGBTQ+ community, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants, and Indigenous people to apply. Recognizing our strong commitment to gender equality, WRI has also been awarded EDGE certification.

Our team in Human Resources carefully reviews all applications.