WBG Pioneer - SPARC for Conflict-Affected and Reconstruction Contexts Intern

The internship supports the thematic expansion of the SPARC geospatial intelligence initiative to conflict-affected and reconstruction contexts. The intern will assist in applying parcel-level spatial evidence for urban planning, disaster risk management, and recovery investment prioritization in sensitive FCV contexts.

Responsibilities

• Review SPARC materials, reconstruction, and forced displacement use cases, and good practice on remote monitoring, damage detection, displacement tracking, and urban recovery analytics.
• Map relevant conflict-specific (including forced displacement) data sources and methods, including satellite imagery, building footprints, road networks, land cover, nighttime lights, population proxies, hazard exposure layers, and administrative datasets.
• Support definition of SPARC use cases for conflict and post-conflict settings, including reconstruction prioritization, service disruption screening, and remote supervision of recovery investments.
• Contribute to analytical frameworks, prototype analytics, mock-ups, and concise operational materials for selected contexts, subject to data availability and team priorities.
• Prepare notes, briefs, slide inputs, and documentation on data quality, uncertainty, limitations, validation needs, ethical considerations, and appropriate use in sensitive FCV contexts.

Requirements

• Candidates must be currently enrolled in, or in the final year of, a postgraduate master’s or PhD program.
• Candidates must have 1–6 years of relevant professional experience.
• Academic background in urban planning, geography, geospatial analytics, data science, remote sensing, international development, public policy, disaster risk management, conflict studies, economics, or a related field.
• Demonstrated interest in applying geospatial data and analytics to urban resilience, reconstruction, FCV, displacement, service delivery, or infrastructure planning.
• Strong analytical, research, and problem-solving skills, including ability to synthesize technical material for non-specialist audiences.
• Experience with GIS, remote sensing, spatial data management, Python/R, Google Earth Engine, QGIS or ArcGIS, or related tools.
• Ability to work effectively in diverse, team-based environments.
• Excellent written and spoken English; knowledge of Arabic, Ukrainian, French, Amharic, Swahili, or other relevant languages is an asset.

Skills

• Urban Planning
• Geospatial Analysis
• Data Science
• Remote Sensing
• International Development
• Public Policy
• Disaster Risk Management
• Conflict Studies
• Economics
• Spatial Data Organization
• Python Programming
• R Programming
• Google Earth Engine
• QGIS
• ArcGIS
• Research Skills
• Analytical Skills
• Problem Solving
• Technical Synthesis

Languages

English, Arabic, Ukrainian, French, Amharic, Swahili