The Sea Watch Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to marine research, conservation, and public education is seeking applications for the following:
RESEARCH ASSISTANT/INTERN COORDINATOR IN CARDIGAN BAY 2017
This position is responsible for assisting the Monitoring Officer in the running of the “Cardigan Bay Monitoring Project” and coordinating the project interns. The project is based in New Quay, Ceredigion, West Wales, and takes care of the conservation management of the bottlenose dolphin, harbour porpoise and grey seal populations of Cardigan Bay, monitoring their abundance, distribution, reproductive success and population structure using a combination of line-transect, photo-identification, land-based and acoustic surveys.
Start Date: April 3rd 2017 End Date: October 29th 2017
Responsibilities will include but are not limited to:
- Coordinate between the Monitoring Officer/Sightings Officer and the project interns – in charge of the intern shared house and the intern weekly office rota.
- Assisting the Monitoring Officer/Sightings Officer in intern basic training of land- and boat based surveys, photo ID studies, database entry and more.
- Assisting the Monitoring Officer in all phases of the research.
- Assisting the Sightings Officer with maintenance of the national sightings database.
- Optional opportunity to undertake a personal research project supervised by the Monitoring Officer. Research topic will be chosen according to Sea Watch Foundation requirements and applicant’s interests.
Requirements:
The successful applicant is expected to have completed a BSc degree (or higher) in biology, marine biology, zoology, chemistry, or related field and able to demonstrate previous experience in marine mammal research. A strong interest and knowledge of British cetaceans and experience are beneficial.
The applicant should ideally have some experience using DSLR cameras. Practical experience of photo-identification (both photography and matching) is desirable. Experience with other equipment regularly used by Sea Watch Foundation such as hydrophone, theodolite, digiscope and camera drone is advantageous.
The applicant must be proficient with database and word processing software and be willing to learn new software applications. Specific experience in use of Access and GIS would be advantageous. Knowledge of other relevant software such as PAMGuard and Raven is useful but not essential. The preferred candidate should have a proven track record as a team player since the project will involve working closely with other researchers, but also must be able to supervise small groups of people as they will be coordinating a team of at least 6 interns. They must be self-motivated, with the drive and determination to work independently and responsibly. If a personal research project is undertaken, this brings the opportunity to submit work for scientific publication, and for presentation at the European Cetacean Society Conference. This position is unpaid, but accommodation will be covered by Sea Watch Foundation.
The Research Assistant will be responsible for their own travel expenses to New Quay. Due to the touristic background of New Quay, part-time paid evening work is generally easy to find if required by the applicant. The Research Assistant will have one day of every weekend free and may take a week’s vacation. Dates for this week should be previously agreed if possible.
International applications are welcome but it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure visa requirements are met; Sea Watch cannot sponsor visa applications.