The Land Portal exists to nurture a vibrant online platform to inform and engage with partners, promoting open data and the sharing of best practices and stimulating debate and collaboration both on and offline. We provide a vital bridge for those grappling with complex land governance issues – from researchers and NGOs through to governments and grassroots communities – connecting people, facilitating dialogue and joining the dots between fragmented information.

The Land Portal was established in 2009 to create, curate and disseminate land governance information, helping to foster a more inclusive and accessible data landscape. Over the subsequent ten years, the Land Portal has grown to become an information gateway and resource base, a vibrant online community of users from around the world, and a trusted voice within the land governance sector globally.

We believe data and information are powerful tools for achieving our vision of a land governance system that benefits those with the most insecure land rights and the greatest vulnerability to landlessness. However, information sources remain highly fragmented, unstructured, poorly curated, represent a narrow range of perspectives, and continue to be published in ways that do not facilitate maximum discovery, engagement and reuse. Until policy and decision-makers, intermediaries and grassroots groups have access to the data and information they need to make sound decisions, their initiatives (programs, policies, campaigns) will fail to achieve maximum impact.

Raising awareness of “open data” – and the critical role it plays in realising tenure security for individuals and communities around the world – continues to be our greatest challenge. To this end, we make use of every possible conference, meeting and speaking engagement to promote the concept of “going open”, while recognising that, given the highly sensitive nature of land data (particularly for vulnerable communities), not everything can or should be made entirely open.

In 2019 the Land Portal developed the methodology for uncovering the State of Land Information (SOLI) on a country level. The SOLI seeks to provide an overview of publicly available data and information on key land issues from government and other stakeholders in targeted countries. The aim is to uncover land data and information at the country level and help to identify data and information gaps, with a view to establishing a baseline for targeted ‘information-based’ interventions for improving land governance. In 2021 the Land Portal together with the Open Data Charter developed and launched the Open Up Guide on Land Governance. It is a practical resource to be used by governments from developing countries to publish land-related data to improve data quality, availability, accessibility and use for improved citizen engagement, decision making and innovation. 
 

Job Description

This description focuses on the Senior Open Data Management Consultant for Madagascar and Senegal. The Consultant will have the primary responsibility for specific tasks but will be expected to work together with the Land Information Management and Advocacy consultant from the Land Portal Foundation to supervise and support the implementation of the Open Up Guide in Madagascar and Senegal. She/He will report directly to the Land Portal Team Leader.

Required Competencies: 

It is expected that the applicant demonstrates a range of skills and experience with the implementation of open data projects. Specific experience with the implementation of Open Up Field guides is preferred. The consultant should possess extensive international development experience and have a track record of implementing projects in partnership with national governments and donor agencies.

Principal Tasks & Responsibilities: 

Specific responsibilities and outputs relating to the senior open land data management:

• Supervise and ensure the completion of all the activities related to the implementation of the Open Up Guide in Madagascar and Senegal.

• Specifically the consultant shall supervise and ensure completion of all the responsibilities and outputs related to the technical data analysis. 

• This includes the development of data inventories  and conducting a technical analysis to understand the technical capacity of the relevant actors with regards to their current status and their ability to implement an open data information system. 

• Support virtual workshops and webinars to raise awareness, build capacity, discuss common challenges in the process of publishing data, and share experiences and emerging findings on 1) Open Data and Public Value Creation, 2) Land Data/Open Up Guide, 3) Use Cases amongst others and 4) Present the Final Report and Roadmap.

• Manage and advise on open data readiness assessments and present the results at workshops. 

• Provide support to the consulting team including the Open Data Consultant, Technical Data Consultant and Land Data Consultant and other partners to;

  • Organise and support a Local Workshop to raise awareness, introduce the project.

  • Support desk research and key stakeholder interviews to map and assess the state of government land data and information as well as other stakeholders.

  • Support research on the Open Data Policy Frameworks (Legal and Policy Analysis) in Madagascar.

  • Support the development of a Madagascar Open Data Roadmap

  • Provide support to the Technical Data Analyst and other partners.

  • Support identification of capacity needs and conduct capacity and awareness raising events.

• Participate in the bi-weekly exchange calls organized by the Land Information Management and Advocacy Consultant to share updates and experiences and discuss progress.

Specific deliverables and outputs relating to open data management:

• Support and ensure completion and delivery of;

  • Map and report on the information ecosystem and the state of land information.

  • Draft a technical data inventory, capacity and resource analysis.

  • Draft report on the Open Data Readiness Assessment of Madagascar.

  • Together with the Technical Data Analyst Consultant and the Land Governance Consultant, draft the Madagascar Open Data Roadmap.

  • Input to the final report containing all country implementations describing lessons learned, identified use cases and promising actions that can be shared with other governments.

  • Conduct and support virtual workshops and webinars to raise awareness, build capacity, discuss common challenges in the process of publishing data, and share experiences and emerging findings including on 1) Open Data and Public Value Creation, 2) Land Data/Open Up Guide, 3) Use Cases amongst others and 4) Present the Final Report and Roadmap.

Schedule of deliverables will be agreed upon with the Land Information Management and Advocacy Consultant 

Reporting

The Open Land Data Management Consultant will report to the Land Portal Team Leader. For some of the communications & engagement related tasks s/he might be asked to coordinate with the Communications Specialist.

Timeframe

This consultancy is expected to start in February 2021 and be completed over a period of 12 months, or as agreed between the Consultant and the Land Portal Foundation. The Consultant will be responsible for their own office infrastructure and facilities. 

Application

Interested candidates are expected to submit:

Cover letter (one-page);

CV;

Two references for similar work who can be contacted. University references are also accepted.

by closing of business day (European Summer Time) January 21st, 2021 to the following email address jobs@landportal.info.