Expedition staff for Ecuadorian Amazon region
Reference Number
ECGVI-003
Date Posted
05/11/2008
Status
Vacant
Duration
Long-term contract (min 1 year) signed after suitable, paid trial period.
Location
The expedition is located on the upper Napo River in the Orellana province of the Ecuadorian Amazon about 9 hours from the capital Quito. The expedition focuses on rainforest conservation and community development and is run in partnership with Ecuador’s Yachana Foundation (www.funedesin.org) which is located 20 mins further up and across the Napo River from the expedition base.
Start Date
ASAP
Job Type
Community Development
Work Type
Contracted Job
Description
We are looking for a new staff member who can join the team in the field and assist with the management of volunteers on a biodiversity and community expedition in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The main responsibility of this position is to provide assistance in continuous volunteer management with a sound basis in GVI’s Health and Safety regulations. Another main responsibility is to assist with the planning and execution of the biological projects supporting the local partner Yachana Foundation and community projects teaching English language.
Number of positions available
1
Responsibilities
- Volunteer management
- Maintaining high Health and Safety standards
- Leadership, training and programme development in tropical research and community projects to untrained expedition members.
- Assisting in planning and execution of a comprehensive biodiversity study (including some plants), in support of a local nature reserve and its management plan.
- Providing leadership and logistical support to the expedition and science program managers in the day-to-day execution of the program including teaching tropical science and field survey techniques to local high school students in Spanish.
Qualifications Required
- Good people management skills
- International volunteer experience
- BSc or MSc in one of the following fields: botany, medicinal plants, wildlife biology, zoology, tropical ecology, entomology, herpetology, conservation, forestry, or other relevant scientific discipline
- Current First Aid qualification
- Ability to work as part of a team and with minimal supervision
- Ability to provide leadership for youth and adults
- Ability to accept basic communal living with very long hours in hot & humid/wet conditions during 10-week phases
- Minimum intermediate fluency in Spanish
Qualifications Desired
- Demonstrated field study experience (tropical rainforest experience is preferred)
- Working knowledge of medicinal plant identification
- Working knowledge of one or several animal groups
- Rainforest field guide or naturalist experience
- Experience mist-netting and handling birds and/or bats
- Amphibian or small mammal trapping and handling experience
- Teacher qualification in the fields of biological sciences, conservation, environmental education or community development
- TEFL/TESOL qualification
- Emergency First Aid (EFR) Instructor qualification
- Proficiency in SPSS and GIS ArcView packages
Other Details
For full details of the Amazon expedition please see GVI's volunteer recruitment website www.gvi.co.uk
Conditions
Long term contract is subject to a successful 4-week paid trial period in country. Personal medical insurance, including air evacuation and repatriation, is required.
Included
- Food, accommodation, stipend
