GIS Coordinator

Parks & Recreation 

Natural Resources GIS Coordinator 

Posting Expires: November 14, 2024

Salary: $80,000/annually 

Summary

The City of Atlanta Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is seeking a highly skilled GIS Coordinator to join our dynamic team within the Office of Natural Resources. The successful candidate will play a key role coordinating GIS projects and activities associated with the City in a Forest: Protecting Atlanta’s Legacy grant, which will create Atlanta’s first comprehensive Urban Forest Master Plan. The position is supported by a 5-year Urban and Community Forestry Grant funded by the Inflation Reduction Act – USDA Forest Service and is focused on work in disadvantaged areas of Atlanta, as defined by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST). 

Responsibilities will include compiling new data collected by grant-funded assessments and existing data from City departments and external partners into ESRI ArcGIS databases and sharing the information among City departments and partners.  Work to be completed as part of this grant will be conducted through collaborative efforts of both staff and contractors, and will include a complete street tree inventory, extensive natural area assessments, and greenspace accessibility assessments within disadvantaged areas of the city to further characterize Atlanta’s urban forest. This information will help identify and prioritize maintenance needs, tree planting locations, and other priorities for improving Atlanta’s urban forest in disadvantaged areas. The Natural Resources GIS Coordinator will oversee additional DPR staff members supporting GIS work including database development, data collection, data analysis, and other GIS aspects of assessments throughout the grant period.

The GIS Coordinator will use geospatial technology expertise, including skill in ESRI software and current ArcGIS mapping applications and tools for creating maps and maintaining GIS records. The Coordinator will provide spatial analysis, data analysis, map production, report production, and GIS database management. Responsibilities will includedatabase design, preparation and development of data for distribution internally and externally, providing spatial analytics for customers' needs, creating and integrating GIS applications for broader use of GIS to support DPR’s mission and vision, and providing general technical support to natural resources-related work of the City.

Supervision Received

Reports to a supervisor in the Office of Natural Resources with guidance from other offices in the Department. May work independently or with other skilled or semi-skilled workers with responsibility for completion of assigned tasks. This is a senior level position capable of carrying out most assignments under very general supervision and direction. May work independently with other skilled or semi-skilled workers or contractors with responsibility for completion of assigned tasks. 

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

These are typical responsibilities for this position and should not be construed as exclusive or all inclusive. May perform other duties as assigned.

• Manage GIS Analyst staff members and other support staff as needed. Assign and oversee work, provide training, performance evaluation, coaching and mentoring of staff. 
• Manage, maintain, and update a digital library of DPR asset data and geographic maps in various file types pertaining to Urban Forestry and natural areas. 
• Perform data cleaning and munging of urban forestry assessment data collected by contractors and GIS personnel. 
• Analyze spatial data using mapping software to discover urban forestry patterns and trends. 
• Develop and maintain geodatabases needed for urban forestry assessments and to track related work.  
• Prepare technical specifications and write scripts and queries to identify database discrepancies and automate corrections and updates where possible.
• Assist Natural Resources GIS Analysts in collecting field data within parks and public natural areas using a tablet or cell phone, GNSS Receiver, and ESRI or third-party application as needed.
• Work with contractors and staff to complete urban forest assessments.
• Incorporate urban forestry assessment findings into DPR’s Equity Data Tool as needed.
• Coordinate with GIS Manager located in Division of Data and Performance on identifying issues with DPR GIS asset data and updating Equity Data Tool as needed. 
• Digitize and georeference physical maps as needed.
• Research records including legislation, parcel numbers, ownership, and other information required to verify GIS accuracy. 
• Provide lead oversight of map production and GIS report production for all grant work.
• Coordinate cross-departmental collaborative meetings and planning sessions related to existing and potential plans and projects.
• Assist DPR staff with prioritizing and scheduling urban forestry work to optimize efficiency. 
• Develop public-facing, interactive urban forestry maps showing the results of urban forest assessments. 
• Develop interactive maps for City use to prioritize forested land acquisition, prioritize natural area restoration, prioritize public tree maintenance, and display tree planting locations.
• Assist with creating and updating an online hub to link interactive maps, recorded meetings, presentations, and resources. 
• Use third party apps such as iNaturalist to develop interactive native plant inventory for DPR’s natural areas.
• Assist Parks Arborists and the Department of City Planning in developing Tree Activity Reports and developing urban forestry standards based on urban forest assessment data.
• Assist Arborist Division in determining best areas in the City to focus tree planting efforts based on Urban Tree Canopy Assessments, Atlanta Heat + Flood Risk Assessment, street tree inventory data, internal work order software tracking locations of ground stumps, and other data as received.
• Contribute to Urban Forestry Master Plan stakeholder meetings.

Leadership Provided

Serves as a technical resource or mentor to other employees. Provides guidance and training as needed for external partners, employees, and staff.  Exercises managerial authority over Natural Resources GIS Analysts.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities 

This is a partial listing of necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities required to perform the job successfully.  It is not an exhaustive list.

• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Excellent project management skills with the ability to independently coordinate and lead multiple projects simultaneously with a focus on quality and project follow-through.
• Attention to detail and good problem-solving skills.
• Good interpersonal skills. 
• Self-starter with ability to initiate projects and collaborate with diverse teams. 
• Skill in using a range of software tools for GIS map creation, maintenance, and data analysis, including ESRI ArcGIS software (ArcGIS Pro and Online).
• Proficiency with use of Microsoft Office Suite.
• Ability to understand land survey maps, documents, and related information for digitizing any corresponding polygons, lines, and shapefiles in ArcGIS.
• Experience building and maintaining databases.
• Familiarity with urban forestry data including tree inventory, mapping invasive plants, and hydrology.
• Ability to build online data hubs and create ESRI Story Maps to increase data accessibility to the public.
• Demonstrated interest in urban forestry and natural areas.
• Experience with creating and analyzing data from sources including aerial photography, terrain, topographic, hydrologic, urban forestry data, and time-sequenced event data to provide concise visual representations of complex ideas or data.