GIS Manager
Farsi GeoTech
Total years of experience :28 years, 4 Months
Company Profile:
• Farsi GeoTech is the major provider of maps and GIS across Saudi Arabia https://www.farsigeotech.com/
Designation Chronology:
• January 2013 to date: GIS Manager
• June 2009 - December 2012: Geo-database Manager
• May 2003 - May 2009: Maps Production Manager
• January 1996 - May 2003: Senior Cartographer - Paper Maps Production
Key Projects:
• Inventory of Property of the Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia - Creation of a centralized geodatabase for preparing inventory of and document all property of the MOH including buildings and lands across Saudi Arabia. The database contains geographic information as well as descriptive and statistical data to enable the Property Management Department and regional branches of the MOH in managing the property and update the database from a central location
• Postal Numbering and Geocoding Project Phase 7, Saudi Post - Complete geodatabase of buildings and digital base maps up to parcel level for 56 cities across KSA with geocoding and numbering of the postal address including various layers of roads, centre line, districts and POIs using high resolution satellite imagery and data collection through field surveys.
• Establishment of the GIS Centre, Khamis Mushait Municipality - Establishment and development of the Municipality’s GIS Centre to enable delivery of municipal services to citizens using automated methods and web services. Scope of work includes collection of geographic data from municipal records and through field surveys, creation of digital maps, building of the geodatabase and development and integration of the system.
Key Responsibilities:
• Collaborate with the leadership team in developing and implementing strategic plans for defining and achieving goals and objectives of the GIS division.
• Contribute to the preparation of the organization’s budget by working with the leadership team to complete and review proposal worksheets.
• Lead the development, implementation and updating of processes, policies and procedures assuring efficiency and effectiveness across all activities.
• Review requests for proposal (RFP) issued by various clients for GIS related projects and provide technical guidance and cost estimates for preparing competitive bids and proposals.
• Supervise the implementation of GIS systems across various projects, evaluate variances against plans, implement required corrective actions and submit periodic reports to the General Manager.
• Lead exercises to analyze proposals for GIS projects/initiatives to determine requirements and priorities to ensure optimum allocation and utilization of resources.
• Supervise the operations of the Applications department, provide guidance and support and monitor performance to ensure on time, within budget, quality completion of assignments.
• Mentor and coach departmental staff, promote commitment to the departmental mission, monitor performance and ensure professional development to improve performance and productivity.
• Develop and sustain effective communication channels facilitating consistent and accurate communication between the Application and GIS data teams.
• Negotiate and finalize service level agreements (SLA) with internal - GIS data team and Sales department - and external customers and ensure compliance with SLA obligations.
Key Project:
Postal Numbering and Geocoding Project Phases 1 to 6 - Saudi Post
• Building geodatabase and digital base maps up to parcel level of all main cities of the Kingdom using high resolution satellite imagery as well as data collection through field surveys; geocoding and numbering postal addresses covering various layers including roads, centre lines, districts and POIs
• Development of a system of digital maps and GIS solutions to complement paper maps to keep abreast of the cultural evolution and renaissance taking place in the Kingdom.
• Facilitation of Saudi Post in using the latest IT technologies and internet applications to automate dispatch services by restructuring the postal coding system with a new coding system which divides the Kingdom into 8 zones then to sectors, branches, divisions and quadrates to form a 5-digit Zip Code.
Key Responsibilities:
• Supervised the creation of large scale digital maps of major cities in Saudi Arabia using high resolution satellite imagery for various products and services offered by the company.
• Coordinated with the authorities of Saudi Post and provided overall direction and control for execution of Phases 1 to 6 of the Saudi Post geocoding and numbering project.
• Led the updating of the Farsi GeoTech Geodatabase to provide accurate and up-to-date GSI inputs for preparing high quality maps to meet various objectives.
• Planned, scheduled and supervised execution of all field surveys to collect data to supplement satellite imagery for all GIS and maps projects of the company.
• Prepared annual production plan for the maps production department based on the overall business plans and requirements of ongoing and upcoming projects.
• Developed cost estimates for GIS and maps projects and monitored actual costs to ensure compliance with budgets and project profitability.
• Monitored implementation of quality assurance/quality control procedures across the production process and ensured quality of all produced digital and paper maps.
Key Publications:
• Atlas of Road Networks, Ministry of Transportation
• Atlas of Drinking Water and Dams, Ministry of Agriculture
• Eastern Region Atlas, Eastern Region Emirate
• Riyadh City Guide Atlas, Riyadh Municipality
• Atlas of Saudi Cities and Regions
• Atlas of Saudi Arabia
• A-Z Maps - Riyadh, Jeddah, Eastern Region, Al Madinah Al Munawarah
• Folded Maps - The World, Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah, Madinah, Abha & Khamis, Tabuk, Qassim, Hail, Jubail, Yanbu, Baha, Jizan, Al Jawf, Najran, and Taif, Regional maps of KSA including Eastern Region and pocket editions of the folded maps
Key Responsibilities:
• Managed, directed and controlled the design, printing and publication of all atlases, folded maps, pocket maps and other publications of the company for general sale as well as for various authorities and ministries
• Coordinated with clients and internal departments to finalize scope of each publishing project including content, layout, costing and pricing of the product.
• Worked closely with the cartographic department ensuring on time availability of maps ready for inclusion in the publication meeting quality requirements.
• Monitored and ensured all production jobs complied with requirements of basic cartographic design principles for ease of use and interpretation by end users.
• Supervised the award of contracts for printing of maps and atlases to various printing houses and monitored and controlled jobs ensuring on time, quality deliveries.
• Liaised with sales and distribution departments to monitor inventories of various products and ensured reprinting if required to replenish stocks in time.
• Led programs for revising and updating content of all existing publications ensuring inclusion of current data and information as well as correction of inaccuracies if any.
• Administered the department ensuring adherence to all policies and procedures, implemented budgets and controlled costs to achieve business objectives.
Key Responsibilities:
• Created maps of assigned areas using ArcGIS, balancing cartographic theory and practice to create maps meeting client requirements.
• Ensured efficient and effective production of maps by utilizing basic cartographic design principles and standard cartographic workflow for on time quality deliveries.
• Reviewed all maps produced and assured ease of interpretation with optimum design aligned to the target audience as well as the delivery medium.
• Researched, evaluated and selected appropriate map source data for applying to the preparation of maps and charts to various scales.
• Coordinated with clients to understand their requirements and ensured the maps produced contained all required data meeting accuracy and quality standards.
• Maintained and updated the GIS database of the assigned areas ensuring availability of secure, accurate and comprehensive data required for cartographic assignments.
PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS
• Sep 1991 to Dec 1995 (5 Years 3 Months): Engineer Cartographer, Cartographic Department, Military Survey Directorate, Republic of Yemen, Aden Yemen - Participated in the production of topographic maps of Yemen in the scale 1:500, 000
Memberships: • Member, Saudi Council of Engineering (ID: 87636), Valid till May 17, 2018
