Volunteer Field Assistant St. Lucia, Caribbean

Volunteer Field Assistant St. Lucia, Caribbean

Deadline's extended 21st June 2009.

Volunteer Field Assistant St. Lucia, Caribbean.

Company : The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Sector : Conservation
Contact Email : recruitment@durrell.org
Telephone : 01534 860 087

Since the 1970's Durrell has been working with the St Lucia Ministry of Agriculture' s Forestry Department on conservation of the island's biodiversity. Durrell's conservation approach is primarily species led and we focus on the monitoring, protection and management of rare, endemic and highly threatened species.To achieve our conservation goals, we rely on the support that volunteers can provide to these long term projects. We are currently looking for four volunteers to commit to a minimum of three months in St Lucia, starting early July 2009, and a preference will be shown to applicants committing to six months. In the second half of 2009, volunteer activities will be focused around the following, with an emphasis on the first two:

* Piloting control techniques for alien invasive iguanas that have been inadvertently introduced into the wild in the South West of St Lucia and threaten the genetic integrity of St Lucia iguanas (in the North East of St Lucia) through hybridization and competion.
* Baseline research on habitat determinants of white breasted thrasher distribution, and geographic structuring of DNA variation, in the northern sub-population.
* Management of a translocated meta-population of St Lucia whiptail lizards.
* Monitoring migratory bird species at wetland sites.

Ideally, applicants will have a background in biological sciences (preferably at graduate level) and experience of working in the tropics. However, similar prior experience, a determination to work, under sometimes uncomfortable or frustrating conditions, combined with good physical fitness and careful attention to data recording are the most important attributes we look for.

Volunteers will work alongside SLFD staff and local communities around our field sites.We need you to cover your flight, vaccinations and personal equipment but we will cover your insurance and in-country costs for basic subsistence and accommodation. Personal equipment needs are basic (work clothes, good boots, reliable watch, torch, etc) but we do ask you to bring your own tent and sleeping mat. This is the ideal opportunity for someone looking for practical conservation experience working with some of the world's most threatened species. However this is also full time work that requires the volunteer to be independent and self-motivated.

Working hours are typically long, and usually for 6 days per week with one day off. But the opportunity to live and work in a tropical country on real conservation projects will be more than compensation for this for the right candidates. If you wish to apply, please ensure you have read the longer job description first (the PDF at http://www.durrell.org) and then contact recruitment@ durrell.org submitting a 2 page CV(resumé) and a cover letter, together with email contact details for two references.

The selection process will involve short-listing and a phone interview for the short listed candidates with our Eastern Caribbean Programme Manager, Matthew Morton.

Gerardo García, PhD
Head of Herpetology Department
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
Les Augrès Manor,
La Profonde Rue,
Trinity,
Jersey
JE3 5BP
Channel Islands,
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 1534 860072
Fax: +44 1534 860001
email: gerardo.garcia@durrell.org
Skype: gerardo_garcia_ jerseyOnline: www.durrellwildlife.org

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