Employment
Block title
Job Posting: Bear Team Research Assistant at MPG Ranch
Exemption Classification: Hourly, non-exempt, temporary
Pay: $20 an hour
Expected Hours of Work: Up to 40 hours per week
Term of Employment: As soon as possible thru 11/1/24
Students are welcome to apply, but the job will require considerable time during the school year.
Reports To: Alan Ramsey—PI MPG Ranch Black Bear Program
Overview: The MPG Ranch Research Assistant is responsible for collecting habitat and scat data at bear bed sites and GPS point clusters. They are responsible for live filming bears in the field, processing and labeling trail camera videos from traps, and maintaining copies of media. Work may include baiting traps for black bears and handling black bears.
We encourage people with skills in scientific writing, R, ArcGIS mapping, and coding to apply.
Essential Duties:
- Collect habitat data and scat at GPS clusters and at Paired Random Sites (PRS)
- Film bears
- Available for handling captured bears
- Maintain trail cameras at traps
- Ability to attend scheduled shifts and perform duties on and off-site
- Basic ability to follow directions
- Ability to work in a team and independently, and interact in a professional manner with co-workers
- Ability to learn skills related to long lens camera filming, radio telemetry, GPS navigation, drone piloting, habitat data collection, and trail camera processing protocols.
- Ability to maintain a positive attitude during long hours in the field
- Ability to sit for multiple hours at a time and use binoculars/camera to scan environment
- Ability to hike up to 2-4 miles at a time
- Ability to work during irregular hours including early mornings, late evenings, and extended work weeks.
- Ability to maintain multiple copies of media and drives, and update them regularly
- Good attention to detail and punctuation
- Basic ability to use Mac software
- Maintains trail camera data in an organized format
- Use best judgement to ensure live filming standards of bears are maintained (such as not flying drone too close to bear)
Training will be provided where necessary
- Proficient in GPS, tablets, apps and other technology for spatial data collection.
- Ability to safely operate a variety of hand, power, and motorized tools and equipment.
- Competency with Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Google Sheets, and relational databases.
- Familiarity with GIS tools such as ESRI ArcMap or ArcGIS Pro, Field Collector, QGIS, QField, and mapping apps like OnX, Google Earth, GAIA, Avenza, or similar.
- Ability to identify noxious weeds and use dichotomous vegetation keys.
- Ability to work independently, organize and create work plans, collect data accurately, and communicate clearly.
Supervisory Duties:
This position does not have any supervisory responsibilities.
Education and Experience:
- High School degree or equivalent, preferred
- Coursework or working towards a degree in wildlife biology
Additional Eligibility Qualifications
- Must have a valid driver’s license if driving an MPG Ranch vehicle
Working Environment/Physical Demands:
- The position has physical demands such as sitting, standing, kneeling, and lifting up to 50lbs.
- Ability to drive on rocky, narrow, backcountry roads.
- Ability to work outside in extreme weather conditions during all seasons
- Ability to walk on uneven ground
- Ability to stand and walk for scheduled work hours
- Must be able to work on and off site
- The position will require the employee to drive their personal vehicle to the ranch or other properties where we conduct MPG business