Field assistant for bonobo habituation

JOB DESCRIPTION

Research assistant for bonobo habituation at Kokolopori, Democratic Republic of Congo. The candidate will overview the habituation and implement data collection for two bonobo communities. The major work consists of daily walks in the forest following semi-habituated bonobos with local trackers. Furthermore the candidate will teach local staff in the use of electronic data collection devices such as GPS. Work duties include entering the collected data in a computer for later analysis. After an initial training in Leipzig, Germany, the research assistant will be accommodated in a Research Camp, which is located in an extremely remote area with no running water or electricity. The candidate will work closely together with a second assistant mainly responsible for the logistic and administration of the research camp setup. Exact distribution of duties will be done according to the background of the candidates. Additional information about the field site Kokolopori is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokolopori .

QUALIFICATIONS

Essential requirements are: (1) field experience, preferably in an African country (2) above average physical fitness, (3) above average resistance to social/psychological stress, (4) practical and technical skills required to orient and move across dense tropical lowland forest without prominent land marks, (5) the capacity to live and work with a small team including local staff. Candidates must be able to work independently, must have strong motivation to take on responsibility, and tolerance to costumes and practices of traditional societies. Furthermore candidates should have French language skills. Experience in biological data collection would be good.

SALARY/FUNDING

450 Euro/month

ADDITIONAL SUPPORT

-  Food (mix of mainly local food and some western food items)

-  Lodging (in tents) at the field site

-  Airfare for one domestic return flight from Kinshasa to the field site and back

-  Contribution of up to 1000 Euro towards an international return flight (reimbursement ONLY AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF A 12 MONTH TERM OF APPOINTMENT)

-   Expenses for Visa (reimbursement ONLY AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETITION OF A 12 MONTHS TERM OF APPOINTMENT)

Please note that expenses during the stay in Kinshasa on the way in/out of Congo can only be partially covered by the project

TERM OF APPOINTMENT

Twelve months starting around end of January 2016

Applications should be sent via email to Dr. Martin Surbeck (surbeck@eva.mpg.de)