Biological Science and Volunteer Engagement Technician Schoodic Institute

This opportunity is well-suited to biological technicians with some professional field work experience who are interested in highly independent work, amphibian conservation and road ecology, and working closely with a group of volunteers over several field seasons (spring, summer, fall). The data collected on this project will support Acadia National Park’s efforts to reduce amphibian road mortality. Field work collection and analysis will be overseen by a graduate student at the University of Maine.

The technician can expect to work a highly flexible schedule that varies with weather, projects, and roles. See the breakdown below to understand how the technician’s time will be spent. Note that the list is not exhaustive and additional projects or tasks may be added as needed, depending on the funding we receive.

• 25% of time will be spent on volunteer recruitment, training, and management. The technician will be responsible for planning and conducting training, helping volunteers sign up for shifts and for encouraging and supporting volunteers through frequent communication.
• 35% of time will be spent on conducting amphibian road crossing surveys. The majority of these surveys involve walking transects on roads in the park. Two or three surveys will involve driving all paved roads in the park as part of a three-person team. Because of the nature of amphibian movements, work occurs in the dark and in the rain. In the spring, temperatures during outdoor field work may drop below 40 degrees
  
  F.
• 20% of time will be spent assisting Schoodic Institute field staff on a variety of natural resource-related field work.
• 10% of time will be spent on additional field work in support of amphibian conservation research at the University of Maine. This may include breeding wetland surveys, calling amphibian surveys, eDNA collection, data management of citizen science datasets, and deployment of amphibian camera traps.
• 10% of time will be spent on additional outreach and interpretation, with opportunities to develop science communication projects in a variety of formats, as desired by the technician.

Daily and weekly schedules will vary based on project needs. Night work will be required, with most work concluding by midnight, with the possibility of working until 3 am on 2-3 nights over the course of the appointment. Days may be split between some office work during the day followed by evening work after sunset. Longer days will be balanced by shorter workdays within the same week.

Some weekend work is expected.

Housing may be available on Mount Desert Island.