Organization: Marine Education and Research Society
Website: http://www.mersociety.org
Location: Port McNeill/Alert Bay, northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia
The Marine Education and Research Society is a non-profit organization
dedicated to promoting conservation and understanding of marine
ecosystems through scientifi
c research, environmental education, and
marine wildlife response. For information about MERS’ research,
education and wildlife response efforts, see
http://www.mersociety.org.
The Research Assistant (RA) will provide data entry, analysis,
administrative and other support to the Marine Education and Research
Society’s efforts to understand and mitigate the threats to marine
species around northern Vancouver Island.
Primary duty: Entering and performing preliminary analyses of humpback
and minke whale sighting, photo identification, and acoustic data.
Additional duties:
• Supervising volunteers during data entry and analysis in order to
maintain the quality of the MERS databases.
• Planning, preparing and attending outreach events.
• Providing further administrative support as needed including
coordinating the humpback sponsorship program.
• Assisting with photo identification and sightings data collection.
(Please note that this position will be primarily office-based with
occasional opportunities for fieldwork).
Time permitting, there may be an opportunity for the RA to use MERS
data to work on an independent project of interest to him/her.
Successful candidates:
• Are Canadian or have a Canadian work permit. (Please note: MERS will
not be able to assist candidates in obtaining a Canadian work permit).
• Are students currently enrolled in a full-time post-secondary
program, returning to school in the fall of 2015 (funding
requirement).
• Are between 15-30 years of age (funding requirement).
• Have strong computer skills. Previous experience with some or all of
the following programs an asset: Microsoft Excel, Photo Mechanic,
Filemaker Pro, Adobe Lightroom, QGIS, and Raven.
• Work well independently and with minimal supervision.
• Have exceptional organizational skills.
• Have knowledge of the biology and ecology of marine mammals in
British Columbia.
• Are able to demonstrate strong abilities in matching whale flukes
and fins for identification.
Salary: $12/hour
Work term: 9 week contract with an anticipated start date of June 29th, 2015
Position location: Port McNeill, BC
Application deadline: May 15, 2015
Application format: Applications should include a cover letter
specifically addressing position requirements, resume, and 3
references (name, position and email address) with a minimum of 2
being employment contacts. Applications should be emailed to:
mersociety@gmail.com
Selection procedure:
• References of short-listed candidates contacted.
• Short-listed candidates interviewed via SKYPE.
• Final interviews held in person in Vancouver or Port McNeill.
Candidates will be asked to complete an exercise to assess their
ability to match whales IDs.
Please note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted and
that this will happen before May 22nd.
