Field assistant for research camp setup

JOB DESCRIPTION

Field assistant for research camp setup at Kokolopori, Democratic Republic of Congo. The candidate will be responsible for the construction, logistics and management of a small bonobo research camp. The major work consists of the setup of a forest research camp near to the village of Iete. The candidate will work close together with the local population and will supervise the construction and running of a small camp. Work duties include the local administration such as organizing working schedules, making payments and basic financial accounting, organizing supplies, setup and maintenance of camp infrastructure, communication with local villages. The candidate represents the research project to regional administrators and village leaders. Language skills in French are an ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT. 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 habituation of the bonobos. 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/Experience:
Essential requirements are listed in order of importance: (1) field experience and language skills in French and English, (2) above average physical fitness, (3) high resistance to social/psychological stress, and (4) practical and technical skills to supervise and maintain the camps technical infrastructure such as solar electricity, generator, satellite phone, sw-radio. In addition, candidates are expected to organize and supervise simple construction work (e.g. make-shift buildings in camp). Candidates must have social skills, a sense of leadership, a strong motivation to take on responsibility, and high tolerance. They must be able to achieve tasks by improvisation, using the limited sources that are available. Furthermore candidates should have the capacity to live and work with a small team including local staff and tolerance to costumes and practices of traditional societies. 

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 12MONTH 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