Conservation Monitoring Scientist

Conservation Monitoring Scientist

Salary: $80,168.40 - $ per year; FLSA exempt.

Opening date: 07/10/2026. Closing date: 07/24/2026.

Job type:
Regular, Full-time.

Union:
Non-Represented. Openings: 1.

Location:

Hybrid (on-grounds 2-3 days per week, remainder remote). Frequent international travel required.

This position requires frequent international travel, occasionally for multiple weeks at a time.

• You’re a strategic conservationist with a strong science and data foundation: You hold an advanced degree in a relevant field and bring experience designing and implementing robust monitoring systems across complex ecosystems. You have deep familiarity with protected area management, ecological fieldwork, and working collaboratively with diverse communities and stakeholders.
• You’re a skilled researcher and analyst: You confidently design species monitoring protocols, conduct demographic modeling, and manage ecological and social datasets. Tools like Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART), Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Vortex, and Meta Model Manager  are already in your toolkit, and you’re comfortable interpreting complex data for both technical and community audiences.
• You’re a systems‑thinker and effective collaborator: You thrive at the intersection of strategy and fieldwork, connecting monitoring insights with adaptive management and long‑term conservation outcomes. You work with government agencies, NGOs, and academic partners to ensure alignment, integration, and innovation.
• You’re organized, adaptable, and mission‑driven: Whether you’re developing a ranger patrol system in Papua New Guinea, preparing a grant report, or facilitating a multi‑stakeholder workshop, you balance detail‑oriented precision with big‑picture vision, always keeping species recovery and community priorities front and center.

• Lead the development and refinement of adaptive monitoring strategies across Woodland Park Zoo’s (WPZ) field conservation programs, including participatory methods, community engagement, and multi‑level data analysis.
• Oversee program work plans for the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP), particularly in relation to monitoring and protected area management in the YUS Conservation Area.
• Design and implement monitoring protocols for target species, utilizing tools such as population viability analyses, Vortex, Meta Model Manager , and other modeling platforms.
• Facilitate workshops and stakeholder engagement processes that align conservation priorities with IUCN and government recovery goals as well as community‑defined success measures.
• Support and evaluate protected area management systems, advising on opportunities for better alignment and integration across governance levels.
• Review and implement best‑practice tools and methodologies for ecological and social data collection, including GIS and SMART. Lead or coordinate field research projects to address knowledge gaps in species monitoring, threat assessment, and land‑use change.
• Collaborate with WPZ’s Animal Care teams and conservation partners to align in‑situ and ex‑situ programs, including species reintroduction and One Plan Approach efforts.
• Manage data integration across internal and external systems (e.g., ZIMS, partner databases), ensuring consistency in conservation reporting and evaluation.
• Maintain and build scientific and technical partnerships with universities, conservation NGOs, and government agencies.
• Represent WPZ in key international forums and working groups, including the SMART Network and IUCN Species Specialist Groups.
• Contribute to the development of monitoring‑related fundraising and grant proposals, donor reports, and scientific publications; develop and assist in the preparation of technical and operational reports.
• Support the refinement of WPZ’s conservation monitoring and evaluation framework, research agenda, and strategic plan results chains.
• Travel regularly to domestic and international field sites, conservation partner locations, and conferences.
• Actively support and follow the mission, values, and goals of Woodland Park Zoo and the Field Conservation department.