Caribou Field and Research Associate

WCS Canada Internal Title: Caribou Field and Research Associate
Level: SCI 4
Position Type: Full-time, fixed term
Office/Program: Wolverine Program, Ontario Northern Boreal (ONB) Program
Position Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario
Date Written/Revised: March 22, 2024
Reports To: Dr. Matthew Scrafford, Conservation Scientist
Supervises (Direct supervision only): NA

Term: 2-year contract
Salary: $65,000 - 75,000.00 annually based on experience
Start date: May 2024
Closing date: Until applicant is identified.
Position Contact: Dr. Matthew Scrafford, Conservation Scientist

Position Summary

The Caribou Field and Research Associate position is a full-time, 24-month position that will assist with boreal caribou research in northern Ontario. The Caribou Filed and Research Associate will work within the Wolverine Program whose programmatic goals are to provide policy advice and science that can be used to understand, monitor, and manage wolverine populations in landscapes with human disturbance. The Wolverine Program also studies wildlife, including caribou and wolves, who share space with wolverines and whose management affects the species.

The Wolverine Program is within the larger Ontario Northern Boreal (ONB) program which is focused geographically on the far north region of Ontario. The ONB program activities include applied and field-based research on terrestrial and aquatic socio-ecological systems, often co-created with Indigenous communities; engaging with decision-makers to make scientific information more available for land-use planning, management and best practices to improve outcomes for nature and people; and empowering and supporting the next generation of conservation professionals.

The successful candidate will be responsible for entering, analysing and organizing photo datasets, helping to develop field-research methods, organizing and collecting spatial data on roads and landcover that can be used in R and/or GIS, conducting field work, writing reports and peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Additional responsibilities may also include contributing to WCS Canada fundraising (e.g., contributing to the development of grant proposals) and communicating about caribou research (e.g., writing blog posts, contributing photos, etc.) as opportunities arise. There may also be opportunities to participate with other field programs within the ONB program.

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