Request for Proposal (RFP) - Marine data specialist - Mediterannean

About the role

Global Fishing Watch is an international, non-profit organization committed to advancing ocean governance through increased transparency. We create and publicly share knowledge about human activity at sea to enable fair and sustainable use of our ocean. Founded in 2015 through a collaboration between Oceana, SkyTruth, and Google, GFW became an independent non-profit organization in June 2017. Using cutting-edge technology, we create and publicly share map visualizations, data, and analysis tools to enable scientific research and drive a transformation in how we manage our ocean. By 2030, we aim to monitor and visualize the impact of ocean-going vessels, both industrial and small-scale, that are responsible for the vast majority of the global seafood catch. We believe human activity at sea should be common knowledge in order to safeguard the global ocean commons for the common good of all. Using cutting-edge technology, we create and publicly share map visualizations, data and analysis tools to enable scientific research and drive a transformation in how we manage our ocean. To pursue our unified organisational strategy, by 2030 across 30 countries we aim to empower institutions and people to 1) support the reduction of illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and destructive fishing practices 2) better enforce and protect the rights of 1 million small scale fishers and 3) improve the effective designation and management of marine protected areas and other area based conservation measures. Mediterranean countries have committed to the global 30x30 target. Within the European Union, this effort is supported by the Natura 2000 framework, which provides a foundation for designating and managing marine protected areas across EU member states. Beyond EU borders, the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) plays a central role in coordinating fisheries governance across both EU and non-EU coastal states, including through the establishment of Fisheries Restricted Areas (FRAs) and Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) - spatial management tools designed to protect sensitive habitats and support the recovery of overexploited stocks. GFW is actively engaged across this diverse regulatory landscape, working with national authorities, regional bodies, and research institutions in both EU and non-EU countries to strengthen monitoring, improve data transparency, and support the effective implementation of spatial protection measures. The Mediterranean region hosts some of the richest marine biodiversity in the world. However, increasing pressures and insufficient protection have left it vulnerable. Today, only 6.01% of the Mediterranean is covered by protection measures, and just 0.23% is fully or highly protected. Despite global and regional conservation commitments, significant efforts are still needed to achieve the 30% and 10% protection and conservation targets in an effective and ecologically representative manner. Professional profile: GFW seeks to hire a marine data acquisition and integration specialist consultant to support the identification, acquisition, assessment, and preparation of datasets relevant to marine protected area management across the Mediterranean. The primary objective of this consultancy is to expand the dataset library available through Marine Manager by identifying and obtaining high-value marine datasets that can support conservation planning, monitoring, management, and decision-making. The Consultant should have experience working with marine spatial datasets, biodiversity and conservation datasets, geospatial platforms, and marine conservation initiatives related to the Europe/Mediterranean context as described below under Scope of Work (a). Experience identifying, acquiring, licensing, curating, or managing environmental datasets is highly desirable. The consultant should also demonstrate experience preparing datasets for integration into spatial data platforms, including data cleaning, harmonization, metadata preparation, and formatting of large and heterogeneous geospatial datasets. The consultant should also be familiar with working with government agencies, research institutions, and NGOs in the Mediterranean. Scope of Work: a) Dataset Identification and Assessment Under the direction of the relevant GFW team, the Consultant will: Identify regional, national, and site-specific datasets relevant to marine protected area management and conservation across the Mediterranean. Priority will be given to biodiversity, conservation, habitat, and protected area datasets, including species distribution datasets, protected area datasets, key biodiversity areas, important habitats, and other spatial datasets that can support marine conservation planning, monitoring, and management. Specifically including species distribution datasets (e.g. GBIF, OBIS), key biodiversity areas, important marine habitats, and

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GLOBAL, application closes July 1 2026

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