2301845

Programmer specialist for mobile application development on marine recreational fishing

Job advertisement : Jul 21/2023

Publication cancellation date : Aug 4/2023, 21:59:00

Organizational Unit: FLARG

Job type : Temporary work

Requirement Type: PSA ( Personal Service Agreements )

Grade Level: N / A

Main location : Home-Based

Duration: 4 months

Position Number: N / A

_ FAO seeks to ensure gender, geographic and linguistic diversity among its staff and its international consultants, in order to serve the Member States of the Organization in the best possible way in all regions.

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•  FAO is committed to achieving diversity in its workforce in terms of sex, nationality, origin and culture.
•  Women, nationals of under-represented or under-represented Member States and persons with disabilities with the necessary qualifications are encouraged to submit their applications.
•  All persons working for FAO must comply with the highest standards of professional integrity and conduct and uphold FAO’s values.
•  FAO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, applies a zero tolerance policy for conduct incompatible with its statute, objectives and mandate, in particular sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination.
•  All selected candidates will undergo rigorous reference and background checks.
•  All requests will be treated with the strictest confidentiality.

Organizational framework

The Argentine Continental Shelf is one of the largest in the world. The high productivity of its waters makes this marine region a refuge of global relevance for different marine species unique in their characteristics. The coastal zone of Argentina stretches for approximately 4,500 kilometers from the mouth of the Río de la Plata to Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands and includes 5 provinces. The coastline presents a high geomorphological and climatic variety that maintains a biodiversity of global relevance. This ecosystem is home to important colonies of birds and marine mammals, cetacean breeding areas, sites of international relevance for the rest and feeding of migratory birds, areas of reproductive concentration of fish and crustaceans, algae meadows, mollusk subtidal banks,etc. It includes more than 80 species of seabirds, about 50 of marine mammals and about 600 of fish. The oceanic zone is influenced by the currents of Brazil and that of Malvinas that determine the functioning of the ecosystem. These currents are restricted to depths less than 1500 m and both converge at a latitude near the north center of the Province of Buenos Aires, called the Atlantic Subtropical Convergence, that moves in summer to the south and in winter to the north. In the confluence zone there is an intense mixture of waters with contrasts in temperature, salinity and nutrients that favor the presence of high concentrations of nutrients and high primary production, This area is very important for fishing activity.On the Argentine coast, the threat of overfishing is less than what is seen in many other areas of the world thanks to the management of resources through fishing permits based on CMP. Many populations remain stable or increasing. However, some threats and problems still remain that influence the conservation of marine biodiversity, the main threat being bycatch during fishing and, indirectly, the removal of the white species from the rest of the community. To address the aforementioned problems, the Project aims to strengthen the management and protection capacities of marine biodiversity in areas of ecological importance, through the creation of new marine protected areas ( AMP ) and the application of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries ( EEP ),The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development ( MAYDS ), as the National Environmental Authority and focal point of the Convention on Biological Diversity, is responsible for the execution of the Project in collaboration with the Federal Fisheries Council ( CFP ) and articulation with the National Directorate of Fisheries Planning under the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Nation. FAO is the GEF implementation agency. The Project is divided into three components: ( I ) improve the conservation of marine ecosystems by strengthening the management of MPAs; ( 2 ) deepen the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries ( EEP ) in the regulatory frameworks and national policies for the management of coastal and marine fisheries in the Argentine Sea;and ( 3 ) carry out the monitoring and evaluation of the progress of the Project, compliance with the indicators and dissemination of information related to the initiative.

Context

At a global level, recreational fishing has been attracting more and more interest in academic and management fields, mainly due to its impact, both economic and ecological. The impact of recreational fishing in its various modalities may be relevant to some species and / or groups, such as chondrichthyans and reef fish, which have particular characteristics of life stories that make them more vulnerable. Approximately 38 species of osteicitis and 15 of chondrichthyans ( including sharks, rays and chimeras ) are the main objective of marine recreational fishing. Some shellfish, crustaceans, and cephalopods are also caught.

The Federal Fisheries Regime ( National Law N ° 24922, the main legislation regarding marine fishing in the country ), establishes that exploration, exploitation, conservation and administration of the living resources that occupy the adjacent territorial Argentine Sea up to 12 nautical miles ( mn ) from the coast are under the jurisdiction of the coastal provinces. This Law does not even mention the words “recreational” or “sports”, since this type of fishing rarely occurs beyond 12 nautical miles from the coast. In provincial marine waters there are a few regulations applicable to recreational fisheries that occur along the coastal strip, and controls are, at best, sporadic and insufficient, there are no regular monitoring programs for recreational fishing throughout the maritime coast.One of the main challenges for monitoring recreational fishing in particular is its diffuse nature. Recreational activities extend over wide areas, covering up to hundreds of kilometers of coastline, is discontinuous throughout the year and diverse, with different target species and different catch modalities ( including coastal and embarked fishing ). These characteristics make the monitoring of exploited populations demand a strong investment in terms of resources and personnel dedicated to the collection and analysis of information. Programs aimed at monitoring recreational fishing today combine various sources of information, including telephone or email or postal surveys, on-site sampling and use of applications for mobile devices,from where the fishermen themselves can contribute information on fishing activities on a voluntary basis. Each of these systems has advantages and disadvantages, as well as biases in the information collected. In this sense, the development of an application to collect stress and capture data, is in tune with and contributes to the specific objective of contributing to the protection and conservation of some of the exploited species, including chondrichthyans, promoting the implementation of management measures set forth in document “ Marine recreational fishing in Argentina: Guidelines for Monitoring and Good Practice generated by the FAO Project GCP / ARG / 02S/GFF. On November 2, the meeting “ Guidelines for recreational marine fishing ” was held virtually,organized by the National Directorate for Environmental Management of Water and Aquatic Ecosystems of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Nation ( MayDS ).

The objective of the meeting was to present the document “ Marine recreational fishing in Argentina: Guidelines for Monitoring and Good Practices ”, and to promote a space for exchange with the authorities of the different jurisdictions on the guidelines proposed in said document in order to advance towards the harmonization of management measures, good practices and regulations. Communication between authorities, fishermen and fishing clubs and strengthening monitoring of the activity was raised as a challenge. In this sense, in a meeting with the fishing authorities of the province of Buenos Aires and CESIMAR researchers,agreed on the generation of a multiplatform application for cell phones and smart tablets that adapts to the local realities of recreational fishing activity in the province ( only jurisdiction with specific regulations for recreational marine fishing, focusing on chondrichthyans ), within the framework of a plan for the development of equipment and technologies for monitoring activity. This application is expected to contribute to the dissemination and implementation of good shark-back fishing practices in the towns of the province of Bs. As., Contributing to strengthening the actions aimed at recreational fishing of the PAN-Sharks of Argentina approved for the 2021-2023 operational plan. The consulting activities will be supervised by the app development team,researchers from the Working Network on Fisheries and Coastal Ecosystems of the Center for the Study of Marine Systems ( CESIMAR ) of the CCT CONICET-CENPAT and the Group for Research and Technological Development in Aquaculture and Fishing ( GIDTAP-UTN ) from the Chubut Regional Faculty – National Technological University.

This consultancy is framed in Component 2 of the Project, Product 2.2.3: Evaluation of the effectiveness of the application of the EEP in the Argentine Sea where i ) the effectiveness of fishing techniques and selectivity devices is addressed; ii ) evaluation of mitigation of the impact on the ecosystem through these techniques and devices; iii ) the inclusion of the recommended measures for the application of the EEP in the Argentine Sea.

Objective

The general objective of the mission is to contribute to the development of a multiplatform application for cell phones and smart tablets that adapts to local realities, within the framework of a plan for the development of equipment and technologies for monitoring recreational fishing on the Argentine maritime coast.

Hierarchical dependency

Under the general supervision of the National Director of the Project ( DNP ) and the FAO Representative in Argentina, and the direct supervision of the Technical Coordinator of the Project and the Coordinator of Component 2, the/the specialist should work closely with the Project Executing Unit and the CESIMAR App Development Team and the GIDTAP-UTN.

Tasks and responsibilities

According to the guidelines established in the Project document, the owner must carry out the following activities: – Participate in work meetings with the CESIMAR development team and the GIDTAP-UTN to define the tasks to be carried out. – Collaborate in the analysis of the application in conjunction with the development team. – Carry out development tasks, unit testing and implementation. – Prepare the documentation in the code and the user manual of the application. – Adapt development to pre-existing technology platforms ( node js, react native, Firebase, MySQL ) for what might arise through the requirements. Develop tasks based on specific MayDS and FAO-GEF regulations. You must also ensure that tasks,activities and products developed incorporate the gender approach and vulnerable groups. Provide the information required by the UEP for monitoring and evaluating the Project.

THE CANDIDATES WILL BE EVALUED IN ARRANGE TO THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA:

Minimum requirements

•  Graduated in Computer Science or Systems ( eg: Systems Lic., Computer Lic., Systems Engineer, or related careers as University Programmer Analyst, University Technician in Software Development, etc. ).
•  At least three years of experience in developing mobile applications.
•  Experience with HTML + JS. Basic knowledge about React Native and related development tools ( Visual Studio Code + Github ).
•  Practical knowledge of Spanish
•  Argentine nationality or resident in the country with regular work permit

FAO core competencies

•  Results-based approach
•  Teamwork
•  Communication
•  Building effective relationships
•  Knowledge exchange and continuous improvement

Technical / functional skills

•  Work experience in more than one place or field of work as well as in work and distance teams.
•  Availability and flexibility of time to participate in virtual meetings.
•  Development experience under Node.JS with relational databases ( SQL, MySQL engine ).

Selection criteria

•  Availability to work in coordination with the Project Executing Unit and in coordination with the CESIMAR and GIDTAP-UTN development team.
•  Qualified women and experts with Argentine nationality will have priority over parity of experience and knowledge.
•  Attach a portfolio in the application form to this call.

It is noted that all candidates should adhere to the Organization’s values of commitment to FAO, respect for all and integrity and transparency.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

•  FAO does not charge fees at any stage of the recruitment process ( application, interview, processing ).
•  Incomplete applications will not be taken into account. If you need help or have questions, contact: Careers@fao.org
•  Applications received after the expiration of the application deadline will not be accepted.
•  We inform you that FAO will only consider academic degrees or credentials obtained from a teaching institution included in the World Database on Higher Education, which is a list maintained by the International Association of Universities ( IAU ) / UNESCO. The list can be consulted at: www.whed.net/
•  For any other questions visit the FAO website on employment: http://www.fao.org/employment/home/es/.

HOW TO APPLY Candidates are requested to attach a letter of motivation to the online profile. We encourage applicants to submit the application well before the deadline. If you need help, or have queries, please contact: Careers@fao.org

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