Saturday, May 6, 2017

Assistant Population Biologist



Assistant Population Biologist

European Association of Zoos and Aquaria

EAZA, the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, represents and links 400 zoos, aquariums, national federations and other organisations in 44 countries. In addition to furthering the professional standards of our members with regard to the care and accommodation of the animals kept in their collections, EAZA also facilitates cooperation in our key mission areas of conservation, education and research. More than 140 million people visit EAZA members each year. EAZA runs more than 400
conservation breeding programmes that are overseen by 39 EAZA Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs).
The EAZA Executive Office is based at Artis Zoo, Amsterdam. A staff of 16 people, plus two others located off-site, is responsible for the day to day running of the association with activities divided across two departments: Communications and Membership and Collection Coordination and Conservation.

Job Description
The position of EAZA Assistant Population Biologist is initially for a fixed one year contract period with the option to extend. He/she will work for the Collection Coordination and Conservation department and reports to the Collection Coordination and Conservation Manager. The EAZA Assistant Population Biologist’s main role is to assist both EAZA’s Population Biologist in their roles supporting the EAZA Taxon Advisory Groups (TAGs) and breeding programmes (EEPs and ESBs) with defining goals and setting population management targets, producing long-term management plans for EEPs and providing technical population management advice, as such contributing to achieving increasingly sustainable populations for EAZA.

The EAZA Assistant Population Biologist is expected to contribute to the process of preparing for the implementation of EAZA’s new population management structure and developing EAZA’s Population Management Centre.

Duties and Responsibilities
Population management
· Provide assistance with the preparation and publication of Long Term Management Plans (LTMPs)
· Provide assistance with the preparation and publication of Regional Collection Plans (RCPs)
· Assist the population biologist team with providing population management advice to EEPs and ESBs both strategically (goal setting, master planning) and to day-to-day questions related to population management software and interpretation of data analyses.
· Run quick population assessments as part of the EEP evaluation process, ensuring a qualitative assessment of each programme.
· Teach in the EAZA Academy basic Breeding Programme Management
Courses.

General
· Contribute to various ongoing tasks in the Collection Coordination and Conservation department as appropriate and needed.
· Where relevant, assist with preparation related to conferences and other general  tasks in the office;
· Contribute to ensuring the communication and publication of related information to the membership (e.g. by publication in eNews, Zooquaria, EAZA website, Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, etc.);

Required Qualifications and Experience
Education
· A degree in a related discipline such as zoology or biology is required for the Assistant Population Biologist position. It is beneficial if the candidate is educated to a Master (MSc) degree level or equivalent.

Experience
Candidates must have a minimum of two years’ relevant work experience within the zoo and aquarium community. Work experience including small population management and breeding programme management is preferred;
· Candidates must have experience with small population management theory and  tools (SPARKS, PMx, ZIMS);
· A proven ability in public speaking is essential;
· Experience with standard office word processing and spreadsheet packages is essential;
· Experience of project management and working in a multidisciplinary team environment is preferred;

Skills
· The ability to work effectively to deadlines and under pressure is paramount;
· Excellent project management skills;
· Fluent written and spoken English is essential. The ability to communicate in another European language is preferred;
· The ability to think strategically and creatively;
· The ability to initiate new ideas and take the initiative in response to challenges and opportunities;
· The ability to explain and teach complicated technical matters in simple terms to non-specialists;
· Candidates must have excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work across multiple cultures.

Employment Conditions
The position of Assistant Population Biologist is a full-time post working five days a week (38 hours) based at the EAZA Executive Office in Amsterdam. The successful candidate will be expected to work weekends and outside normal working hours where required, for example at conferences. There is a holiday allowance of 25 days a year and a company pension is available. The contract is initially subject to a one year fixed period, with a probation period of one month.

Applications
Applications should include a covering letter and a full CV with references. All applications are to be sent by email (info@eaza.net) by 9 June 2017, addressed to Mr. Danny de Man, Collection Coordination and Conservation Manager of EAZA).

Interviews for the position are scheduled to take place during the week 19-23 of June at the EAZA Executive Office in Amsterdam




Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant
      

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