Drone Mapping Consultant at Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT)

Deliverables:

The consultant will deliver the following within the contract period:

Work plan & compliance pack


Brief work plan and schedule;
Flight plan(s) and risk assessment;
Evidence of compliance (KCAA licensing as required, drone registration, and insurance).


DroneTM setup and use


DroneTM project(s) created/configured for the agreed areas;
Tasks/flight planning prepared in DroneTM (or compatible workflow agreed with HOT‑ESA);
All collected imagery organized and uploaded/shared through the agreed DroneTM workflow.


Imagery acquisition


Complete set of raw images covering the agreed areas;
Flight logs (and any other relevant mission metadata).


Quality checks and mapping-ready outputs


Basic QA/QC notes (coverage, overlap, blur, gaps, any re-flight needs);
Mapping-ready outputs in agreed format(s) (e.g., orthomosaic and metadata), if required and feasible within time.


Capacity development & handover


Supervised field-based demonstration(s) and practical coaching for SDI Kenya staff on:

safe drone operations and data capture;
imagery quality checks; and
DroneTM basics (project setup, tasking, imagery upload/management).


Coaching may include staff who are in the process of obtaining pilot certification; however, all flight operations must remain compliant with KCAA rule


Short completion report


2 - 4 page report summarizing what was flown, what was delivered, challenges, and recommendations.


Key Tasks:

Before fieldwork — planning + set-up


Confirm the areas of interest (approx. 33 villages / ~2.7 km² total) and technical specifications with HOT‑ESA and SDI Kenya (e.g., target ground sample distance, overlap, altitude limits, output formats);


Prepare a concise flight plan and risk assessment, including:


KCAA compliance steps and required permissions/authorizations;
community engagement approach (who is informed, when, and how);
safety procedures, contingency plans, and no‑fly constraints;


Configure Drone Tasking Manager (DroneTM) for delivery:


create/configure the project(s) for the agreed AOIs;
set up user access/roles for HOT‑ESA and SDI Kenya;
agree naming conventions and data packaging structure (imagery, logs, metadata);
Prepare a light capacity development plan (what will be demonstrated/coached, to whom, and when), aligned to the "learning‑by‑doing" approach.


Consultant Profile:

A minimum requirement for this role includes:


Demonstrated experience in drone mapping / UAV imagery capture and processing;
Valid Remote Pilot License (RPL) or equivalent recognized by KCAA;
Access to a KCAA-compliant, registered, and insured drone suitable for mapping;
Ability to work collaboratively with community and multi-stakeholder teams;
Fluency in English (Swahili strongly preferred).