Skip to main content

This job has expired

Wildlife Biologist

POSITION SUMMARY:  Wildlife biologist conducts monitoring and management of rare and endemic wildlife species on Santa Catalina Island. She/he conducts introduced species control, habitat restoration, and reintroductions as necessary. A strong interest in and experience with wildlife biology as it applies to conservation and land management is expected. 

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

A Wildlife biologist will perform any combination of the duties listed below as needed or assigned:

  • Develop and/or implement wildlife biology projects with a focus on maintaining and improving faunal biodiversity, ecological processes, introduced species management and/or habitat restoration measures that facilitate the maintenance and recovery of native faunal communities on Santa Catalina Island.
  • Monitor, and where necessary implement, appropriate management for island wildlife and/or specific introduced, rare, threatened, endangered or endemic wildlife species.
  • Recommend appropriate resource management practices to improve the ability of the Conservancy to accomplish its mission.
  • Effectively communicate progress and results through professional organizations and publications, staff training, presentations to general public, internal/external media.
  • Identifies and pursues funding opportunities from foundations and government agencies to finance management, monitoring and restoration projects.
  • Coordinates with government agencies, NGOs, universities, and colleges in the conservation of natural areas and open space in the Channel Islands and Southern California.
  • Perform essential administrative functions including, but not limited to, the following:  develop and manage operating and capital budgets; purchase services and materials; maintain and care for equipment and tools; maintain payroll and human resource records; implement safety policy and procedures for assigned areas. 
  • Performs duties in a safe and efficient manner to maintain a safe work environment.  Responds to hazardous situations/potentially unsafe conditions by taking corrective action and notifies supervisor.
  • Updates and enhances knowledge by continuing education for professional growth, i.e., attends relevant conferences, seminars and certification programs.
  • Other duties as assigned.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

           

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS:

  • Ability to use standard wildlife sampling methods for project-specific or island-wide monitoring, such as:
    • performing bird point count surveys;
    • performing annual population surveys of the Catalina Island Fox or other wildlife species; deploying and checking traps; animal handling (microchip injection, vaccination, blood and parasite sampling, radio collaring, identification of health-related conditions and age estimation);
    • locating radio-collared animals using both triangulation and walk-in telemetry techniques; laboratory duties including processing (via centrifugation) and cataloging of blood and fecal samples;
    • and deploying remote cameras and identifying wildlife in photographs.
  • Experience designing and managing projects including budgets, grant writing, and supervising personnel.
  • Ability to manage, analyze and prepare technical reports or papers on wildlife monitoring data including using Microsoft Access, Excel, and statistical software like Program R.
  • Ability to adapt and respond to unexpected ecological (e.g. fire, new invasions) or programmatic (e.g. changes in priorities or funding) circumstances while still progressing towards core program objectives.
  • Ability to work effectively on interdisciplinary team balancing conservation, education and recreation goals.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to function and thrive within complex, multi-goal (conservation, education, recreation) organization with diverse professional staff. 
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Ability to work both independently or as a part of a team.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • B.S. in wildlife biology, ecology, biology, or other equivalent discipline from an accredited institution and 5 years of work experience. M.Sc. in Biology or related field preferred.
  • Field work experience should include some or all of the following:
  • Conducting bird point counts.
  • Trapping, handling, and drawing blood from meso-carnivores (particularly island foxes).
  • Using radio telemetry.
  • Remote camera deployment and analysis.
  • Using GIS to plot location data.
  • Operating 4WD vehicles and Zodiac rafts with outboard motors.
  • Managing large amounts of data using Microsoft Excel and Access.
  • Knowledge of California/Mediterranean ecosystems.
  • Supervisory experience in managing interns and volunteers with varying skills.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

M.Sc. preferred, but candidates with a strong background in applied wildlife research will be considered. A relevant educational background is required which typically includes a degree in, or an equivalent combination of education and on-the-job experience in applied conservation management.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:

  • Employee must desire to live and work on Catalina Island and be comfortable with the major aspects of island life including schools, medical care, housing, shopping, and transportation.
  • The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  The office environment has moderate noise levels and is a non-smoking environment.  Field conditions are strongly weather-dependent and may be hot, dusty, cold, muddy, and/or wet depending on season and degree of exposure.  Smoking is allowed only at limited designated locations on the island.  Work may be conducted independently or with groups of staff and volunteers.  Hiking conditions include steep, rugged terrain with unstable rocky substrate and cactus.  Wild animals, including bison and rattlesnakes, may also be encountered in the field and pose some threat.
  • The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Position involves functioning in both field and office environments.  Field work involves manual labor, hiking long distances over rugged terrain and through dense scrub, and routine odd hours and night surveys.  The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

    POSITION SUMMARY:  Wildlife biologist conducts monitoring and management of rare and endemic wildlife species on Santa Catalina Island. She/he conducts introduced species control, habitat restoration, and reintroductions as necessary. A strong interest in and experience with wildlife biology as it applies to conservation and land management is expected. 

    ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

    A Wildlife biologist will perform any combination of the duties listed below as needed or assigned:

  • Develop and/or implement wildlife biology projects with a focus on maintaining and improving faunal biodiversity, ecological processes, introduced species management and/or habitat restoration measures that facilitate the maintenance and recovery of native faunal communities on Santa Catalina Island.
  • Monitor, and where necessary implement, appropriate management for island wildlife and/or specific introduced, rare, threatened, endangered or endemic wildlife species.
  • Recommend appropriate resource management practices to improve the ability of the Conservancy to accomplish its mission.
  • Effectively communicate progress and results through professional organizations and publications, staff training, presentations to general public, internal/external media.
  • Identifies and pursues funding opportunities from foundations and government agencies to finance management, monitoring and restoration projects.
  • Coordinates with government agencies, NGOs, universities, and colleges in the conservation of natural areas and open space in the Channel Islands and Southern California.
  • Perform essential administrative functions including, but not limited to, the following:  develop and manage operating and capital budgets; purchase services and materials; maintain and care for equipment and tools; maintain payroll and human resource records; implement safety policy and procedures for assigned areas. 
  • Performs duties in a safe and efficient manner to maintain a safe work environment.  Responds to hazardous situations/potentially unsafe conditions by taking corrective action and notifies supervisor.
  • Updates and enhances knowledge by continuing education for professional growth, i.e., attends relevant conferences, seminars and certification programs.
  • Other duties as assigned.
  • REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

               

    KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS:

  • Ability to use standard wildlife sampling methods for project-specific or island-wide monitoring, such as:
    • performing bird point count surveys;
    • performing annual population surveys of the Catalina Island Fox or other wildlife species; deploying and checking traps; animal handling (microchip injection, vaccination, blood and parasite sampling, radio collaring, identification of health-related conditions and age estimation);
    • locating radio-collared animals using both triangulation and walk-in telemetry techniques; laboratory duties including processing (via centrifugation) and cataloging of blood and fecal samples;
    • and deploying remote cameras and identifying wildlife in photographs.
  • Experience designing and managing projects including budgets, grant writing, and supervising personnel.
  • Ability to manage, analyze and prepare technical reports or papers on wildlife monitoring data including using Microsoft Access, Excel, and statistical software like Program R.
  • Ability to adapt and respond to unexpected ecological (e.g. fire, new invasions) or programmatic (e.g. changes in priorities or funding) circumstances while still progressing towards core program objectives.
  • Ability to work effectively on interdisciplinary team balancing conservation, education and recreation goals.
  • Strong interpersonal skills and ability to function and thrive within complex, multi-goal (conservation, education, recreation) organization with diverse professional staff. 
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills.
  • Ability to work both independently or as a part of a team.
  • MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • B.S. in wildlife biology, ecology, biology, or other equivalent discipline from an accredited institution and 5 years of work experience. M.Sc. in Biology or related field preferred.
  • Field work experience should include some or all of the following:
  • Conducting bird point counts.
  • Trapping, handling, and drawing blood from meso-carnivores (particularly island foxes).
  • Using radio telemetry.
  • Remote camera deployment and analysis.
  • Using GIS to plot location data.
  • Operating 4WD vehicles and Zodiac rafts with outboard motors.
  • Managing large amounts of data using Microsoft Excel and Access.
  • Knowledge of California/Mediterranean ecosystems.
  • Supervisory experience in managing interns and volunteers with varying skills.
  • EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

    M.Sc. preferred, but candidates with a strong background in applied wildlife research will be considered. A relevant educational background is required which typically includes a degree in, or an equivalent combination of education and on-the-job experience in applied conservation management.

    WORK ENVIRONMENT:

  • Employee must desire to live and work on Catalina Island and be comfortable with the major aspects of island life including schools, medical care, housing, shopping, and transportation.
  • The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  The office environment has moderate noise levels and is a non-smoking environment.  Field conditions are strongly weather-dependent and may be hot, dusty, cold, muddy, and/or wet depending on season and degree of exposure.  Smoking is allowed only at limited designated locations on the island.  Work may be conducted independently or with groups of staff and volunteers.  Hiking conditions include steep, rugged terrain with unstable rocky substrate and cactus.  Wild animals, including bison and rattlesnakes, may also be encountered in the field and pose some threat.
  • The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  Position involves functioning in both field and office environments.  Field work involves manual labor, hiking long distances over rugged terrain and through dense scrub, and routine odd hours and night surveys.  The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.  Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Get job alerts

Create a job alert and receive personalized job recommendations straight to your inbox.

Create alert