Marine Technical Officer

Do you have a passion for marine conservation? Do you want to help an international NGO working at the forefront of the marine science-policy interface, delivering innovative analysis to inform better management of our oceans? If you have excellent spatial analysis experience and a desire to learn new techniques then working for the BirdLife Marine Programme could be for you.

BirdLife International is the world’s largest nature conservation partnership. Through our unique local-to-global approach, we deliver high impact and long-term conservation for the benefit of nature and people. We are a partnership of national grass root conservation organizations present in more than 110 countries and territories, with a combined public membership of over 2.5 million people. The BirdLife mission is to conserve birds, their habitats and global biodiversity, working with people towards sustainability in the use of natural resources. The Partnership is coordinated by the BirdLife International Secretariat which has its global headquarters in Cambridge (UK) and six regional offices. 

Background

The world’s governments have pledged to protect 10% of the oceans by 2020, but current progress stands at less than 4%. If progress is to be made to achieve these targets there is an urgent need for new partnerships, innovative data sharing and analysis, and rapid transmission of scientific inputs to national governments and relevant policy mechanisms. Since 2006 BirdLife has been successfully working to provide these inputs to a range of policy mechanisms and international agreements. We currently work closely with the Convention on Biological Diversity, (particularly relating to the description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in need of protection), the Agreement for the Conservation of Albatross and Petrels (ACAP), the EU Bird’s Directive and the Nairobi Convention. 

In collaboration with BirdLife Partners in over 100 countries worldwide and the wider marine science community we have developed new databases to further our understanding of the oceans and identify the key areas that are in need of better management and protection. These products have set a new standard in data compilation and analysis for migratory marine species. In 2012 we launched our first global inventory of marine Important Bird Areas (www.birdlife.org/datazone/marine), a ground breaking collaboration to identify over 3500 priority sites for seabird conservation around the world. We also manage the seabird tracking database (www.seabirdtracking.org), another unique collaboration bringing together data from over 100 seabird species worldwide, making it the largest existence. 

This position

An opportunity has arisen for a Marine Technical Officer to join our team. We are looking for an expert in GIS (with a familiarity of R) to assist with managing the seabird tracking database, undertake analysis of data for varied regional projects, and provide technical inputs to submissions to a range of international agreements.

You will work as part of the BirdLife Science team (based in Cambridge at the new Cambridge Conservation Initiative Sir David Attenborough Building and have frequent contact with the wider BirdLife Marine Programme as well as the Information Management and Policy teams.

A detailed job description can be found at www.birdlife.org/jobs

Position details

Contract duration: 9 month fixed term contract with potential to extend subject to funding availability.

Salary: £24,000 - £28,000 pro rata dependent on experience.  Competitive pension benefits.

Application: Applications should include a covering letter summarising the applicant’s suitability for the position, a detailed CV and contact details of two referees known to the applicant in a professional capacity. Applications should be sent by email, stating where the advert was seen, to: recruitment@birdlife.org     

Closing date for applications: 7th December 2015

Interviews: Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. Interviews will be held in mid-January 2016 with a preferred start date of February 2016.