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Position Summary
The Boreal Conservation Specialist will be a key member of the national science team and will primarily work with the International Alliances Program (IAP) Boreal Conservation Initiative. The Boreal Conservation Initiative’s goals are to increase awareness of and support for boreal conservation, develop science that highlights the conservation values and priorities for the boreal forest region, and collaborate with Indigenous governments and communities to advance their conservation and stewardship goals across the boreal forest.
The boreal forest—North America’s bird nursery—is one of the largest intact forests left on Earth. Stretching from Alaska to Labrador, it provides nesting grounds and migratory stopovers for nearly half of the common bird species found in North America. Reporting to Audubon’s Senior Spatial Ecologist, with a dotted line to the Vice President of Boreal Conservation, and working closely with IAP’s Science Director, this position will help drive conservation outcomes for the boreal forest and the birds that depend on it by synthesizing, generating or facilitating development of information to support Indigenous protected area proposals. The candidate will also help identify opportunities to connect the work and findings in the boreal with Audubon’s annual lifecycle work across the Americas. In addition, the candidate will be responsible for communications with internal and external partners, research related to the global significance of the boreal forest, and coordination of science and monitoring projects with Indigenous groups.
Essential Functions
Coordinate the provision of technical, science, and spatial information on boreal conservation values including birds, other wildlife, carbon, ecosystem intactness, aquatic features, and others.
Create written narratives describing those values in compelling ways in support of Indigenous government proposals for new Indigenous Protected Areas.
Provide expertise on issues of importance in the Boreal Forest biome and communicate information to internal and external partners.
Support and help produce novel spatial and/or quantitative analyses concerning the global significance of the boreal forest and issues of importance for conservation planning.
Share results of scientific analyses in popular and academic publications, meetings, briefings, and other venues.
Coordinate with IAP’s Science Director to connect the work to Audubon’s annual lifecycle initiatives throughout the Americas.
Qualifications and Experience
Master’s Degree (Ph.D. preferred) in avian ecology, biology, wildlife or natural or environmental sciences, or other natural resource conservation-related disciplines. Experience may be considered in lieu of education.
2-3 years applied experience in the conservation field.
Excellent GIS skills, particularly with ArcGIS products.
Research experience in avian ecology; knowledge of the boreal forest and its ecology a plus.
Demonstrated ability to: manipulate data and script analyses in R, Python, and/or another statistical software; clearly frame research questions, design studies, and implement analyses
Strong interpersonal, oral, and written communication skills and the ability to communicate science content to diverse technical and non-technical audiences.
Advanced writing skills and experience writing scientific papers for popular and academic publications.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate with other scientists and stakeholders in co-produced analyses, reports/publication, and visualizations.
Technically savvy, to include proficiency with Microsoft Office suite applications and comfort using web-based engagement systems.
Experience engaging and elevating voices, ideas, needs, and concerns of communities of color and other people historically marginalized in America and the conservation movement.
A self-starter who can think creatively about connections among birds, places, and people.
A demonstrated ability to work both independently and as part of multi-disciplinary team to achieve high-impact collaborative results.
Willingness to travel every few months, mainly to Canada, as COVID-19 guidelines allow.
Preferred location is Maine; working remotely is also an option.
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