Assistant Director 2: Eco-DRR Data Management Specialist at South African National Biodiversity Institute

Job Description

• The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is looking for a self-motivated and professional individual to ensure biodiversity data is accurate, organised, standardised, accessible, and sustainably maintained. The focus of the work will be on data governance, quality, systems, pipelines, and long-term management and security of the Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction (Eco-DRR) project’s biodiversity data.
• This position requires a degree in Biodiversity Informatics, Environmental Science, Information Science, or equivalent qualification with NQF 7. A post-graduate qualification in Biodiversity Informatics, Environmental Science, Information Science, or equivalent qualification at NQF 8 will be an added advantage. 
• This position also requires 6 years of work experience in the relevant field of biodiversity data management, informatics, or environmental data systems of which 3 years should be in supervisory position(s).
• The following competencies are required for the candidate to be successful in this position: Demonstrated experience with: Ingestion, cleaning, validation, and QC of biodiversity or spatial datasets; GIS systems (especially ESRI tools) and spatial data workflows; Coordinating data contributions from researchers, institutions, field teams, or citizen scientists and supporting users in a data or technical environment (helpdesk-style role).
• ESRI ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Enterprise, Survey123, Field Maps, Spreadsheet tools (Excel), scripting (Python/R), an advantage; Metadata and documentation tools and valid driver’s licence with at least one year practical driving experience and a willingness to travel is essential.

Key Performance Responsibilities include:

• Oversee ingestion, validation, quality control, and curation of biodiversity and spatial datasets;
• Ensure metadata standards are applied (e.g., Darwin Core, SANBI metadata standards);
• Maintain data infrastructure reliability, versioning, backups, and access control;
• Support data contributors, citizen scientists, and internal users, working closely with the BIM Team on hosting, security, user access and system stability; and
• Coordinate data lifecycle management from collection, processing to publication.

Closing Date 14 July 2026