Description

Department: ACNC/Phoenix Zoo Field Conservation Research Department

Supervisor: Field Research Project Manager

FLSA Status: Part Time, Seasonal, Non-exempt

Starting Payrate: $18.00/hour

Duration/hours: Up to 24 hours/week for 6-8 weeks in May & June; half in office, half optional from home.

Application Submission Deadline: 4/19/2024

General Statement:

This part-time, paid internship focuses on managing and organizing data from wildlife projects across Arizona, USA; Sonora, Mexico; and Costa Rica. After initial training, the Wildlife Research Assistant (‘WRA’) will be responsible for refining database & server management, preparing documents for grants and permits, compiling references and annotated bibliographies, conducting initial analyses and summary statistics for various projects, inventorying field gear, and assisting the Field Research Project Manager as needed. The WRA will also be exposed to the formal research process of question development, study design, data collection, and, potentially, data analysis, and writing. However, priority for this position will be on data organization and management.

Essential Duties:

1. Provide quality guest service to both internal and external guests by maintaining a WILD (friendly, helpful, positive and professional) working attitude and appearance.
2. Maintain and organize data from various projects in Arizona, Sonora, & Costa Rica, ensuring not to lose any data.
3. Properly manage Excel sheets and record metadata on camera locations and information collected in the field.
4. Successfully upload and back-up data to provided servers and website platforms.
5. Organize and help consolidate database and server systems, resulting in a more efficient and more easily navigable system.
6. Sort the videos by following instructions on Sanderson’s Camera Sweet method (resources provided) to transform the video data into usable-for-analysis information.
7. Identify native Arizona wildlife, especially mammals.
8. Participate in appropriate field conservation/research activities as assigned and as timing permits, under the supervision of Phoenix Zoo staff.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, skills, duties, requirements, efforts, or working conditions associated with the job. Management reserves the right to revise the job or to require that other tasks be performed when circumstances change (e.g. emergencies, changes in personnel, workload, rush jobs, or technological developments.) 

Qualifications

1. Current enrollment in a four-year degree track in life sciences with a minimum 30 credit hours completed; OR a four-year degree in life sciences completed within the last year.
2. Keen attention to detail and experience with computer file/data management.
3. Ability to creatively troubleshoot technical issues and to problem solve.
4. Demonstrated interest in wildlife research and conservation.
5. Familiarity and previous experience with Arizona wildlife - especially mammals.
6. Previous research and/or data management experience, particularly with wildlife camera data in Arizona.
7. Ability to work well in groups and independently.
8. Ability to bend, stoop, crawl and walk on uneven surfaces.
9. Willingness and ability to participate in multi-day field work, including overnight camping in remote areas.
10. Ability to work indoors and outside, often in extreme weather conditions.
11. Ability to pass pre-employment background check and drug test.