GT
Professional Profile

Goperamanan Thirusenthivel

GIS & Information Management Specialist

Over 20 years of international experience with WHO, UNOCHA, IOM, and MONUSCO — delivering geospatial intelligence and information management in the world's most complex humanitarian emergencies.

📍 Sri Lanka
✉️ gopi@gtdigital.tech
📞 +94 77 329 5228
🇬🇧 English — Expert தமிழ் Tamil — Mother Tongue සිංහල Sinhala — Intermediate
Professional Summary

Information Management and GIS Specialist with over 20 years of field experience across Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. Deployed in active conflict zones, post-disaster settings, and complex humanitarian emergencies — consistently delivering geospatial products that drive strategic decisions at the highest UN levels.

Technical expertise spans the full IM stack: from field data collection using ODK/Kobo, through spatial analysis in ArcGIS and QGIS, to predictive modeling in Python and R, and health information systems using DHIS2. Proven track record of establishing IM units from scratch and building local capacity in fragile states.

Current Venture
Founder & Director — GT Digital

Drawing on 20 years of technical field experience — building data systems, managing complex information flows, and deploying digital tools in some of the world's most demanding environments — Gopi founded GT Digital to bring that same precision and discipline to everyday business needs.

GT Digital delivers web development, mobile app development, UI/UX design, and digital marketing for businesses that need solutions that actually work. The agency's strength is not just in building things, but in understanding what data, systems, and users actually need — a perspective shaped by years of UN fieldwork rather than agency convention.

Visit GT Digital →
🌐 Web Development 📱 Mobile Apps 🎨 UI/UX Design 📈 Digital Marketing
Career Timeline
🌐
World Health Organization (WHO)
Health Information Management / GIS Specialist
Sep 2022 – May 2025  |  HQ Geneva · Somalia · Sudan · Bangladesh
Provided GIS and geospatial analytics support to WHO's GIS Centre. Wrote R and Python code for data wrangling, statistical analysis, and spatial visualization. Developed and validated predictive models. Supported the WHO UNICEF COVAX GIS Working Group at country level.
🤝
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Information Management Coordinator / GIS
Apr 2018 – Feb 2021  |  Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh · P3 Grade
Led the IM unit for the SMEP project. Built and managed a team of 50 staff. Designed GIS maps and online data collection systems for large-scale disaster response and shelter operations. Acted as Operation Manager when required.
🗺️
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
Information Management Officer / GIS
Apr – Oct 2017  |  Mogadishu, Somalia · P3 Grade
Established humanitarian information management networks. Produced GIS maps and project monitoring databases. Managed data collection platforms, web platforms, and humanitarian visualization products.
🇺🇦
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
Information Management Officer / GIS
Jul 2015 – Dec 2016  |  Kiev, Ukraine · P3 Grade · Supervised 6 staff
Built and led the IM team for UNOCHA Ukraine. Led Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) and Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) production. Managed data analysis, visualization, and coordination with UN clusters and government counterparts.
🇨🇩
MONUSCO / UN Volunteers (UNV)
GIS Specialist
Feb 2013 – Aug 2015  |  Goma, DR Congo
Produced mission-critical geographic intelligence for UN peacekeeping operations. Managed the enterprise geodatabase, delivered GIS training to military and civilian UN staff, and led field surveys and road assessments across eastern DRC.
🇱🇰
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
GIS/Data Coordination Officer → Associate → Assistant
Aug 2005 – Feb 2013  |  Sri Lanka · NO-A Grade · Supervised 5 staff
Progressed from GIS/Database Assistant to GIS/Data Coordination Officer over 8 years. Chaired the UN Geographic Information Systems Working Group (UN GISWG) in Sri Lanka. Led IM coordination, data standardization, and GIS operations through the Tsunami response (2005), the Sri Lanka civil war (2009), and post-war IDP camp management (2010).
Defining Achievements
🏕️
Mapping 300,000 IDP camp residents — Manik Farm, Sri Lanka (2010)

Conducted a full foot survey of all 8 camps at Manik Farm, gathering resident data and producing maps for humanitarian agencies and local authorities. The data enabled targeted aid delivery to approximately 300,000 war victims.

🌊
Tsunami shelter mapping — Ampara district, Sri Lanka (2005)

No data existed on transition shelter sites for Tsunami victims in Ampara district, blocking donor funding and aid delivery. Conducted field visits, gathered and plotted data, and produced the mapping that directly enabled aid delivery and served as justification for donor pledges.

🏗️
Built IM units from zero in Sri Lanka, Ukraine, and Bangladesh

Established, recruited, and led Information Management units in three separate country operations — each time building the team, systems, and workflows from scratch under emergency conditions.