The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is the nation’s most effective environmental action organization. We use law, science and the support of 1.4 million members and online activists to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things. NRDC was founded in 1970 and our staff helped write some of America's bedrock environmental laws. Today, our staff of more than 450 lawyers, scientists, economists, policy and communications experts, and others, work out of offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Livingston, Montana and Beijing.
Position Summary:
NRDC is seeking a two-year, full-time, post-doctoral Fellow in Marine Mammal Science. The Fellow will work with NRDC’s Marine Mammal Protection Project and allied programs, and be supported by NRDC’s Science Center, whose mission is to expand the organization’s scientific capabilities and increase support for the role of science in public policy. We will consider candidates committed to work out of any of NRDC’s offices, but location in Los Angeles or New York is preferred. During the two-year fellowship, the Fellow will also participate in activities related to NRDC’s Science Center and receive additional guidance and mentoring from Science Center staff.
The Fellow will, as a principal project, develop spatially-explicit tools for cetacean conservation in the United States, building on predictive habitat density models and other material compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other sources. The project will likely include: defining boundaries of potential management areas for individual and multiple marine species; quantitatively assessing the degree of potential impacts of human activities within potential management areas; examining how habitat management should incorporate the shifting distributions and densities of cetacean species predicted under future climate conditions; and integrating species density with other data types.
In addition, the Fellow will support NRDC’s scientific and advocacy goals for marine mammals. Such work is likely to include: drafting sections of technical comment letters for submission to NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and other agencies; participating in negotiations with the offshore renewables industry, the oil and gas industry, and other user groups over marine mammal mitigation; speaking at relevant symposia and workshops; and interacting with a range of stakeholders from government, industry, and the conservation and scientific communities.
Responsibilities:
The aim is for the Fellow’s work to result in one or more manuscripts for submission to peer-reviewed journals, for publication as articles in the scientific literature. The Fellow will also use NRDC’s outreach capacity and its relationships with government decision-makers to communicate results as they are available. This will ensure that the Fellow’s work will be relevant to critical policy decisions soon after the beginning of her/his assignment. At the end of two years, we expect that the Fellow will have gained a range of policy experience in addition to achieving publication on a cutting-edge topic in marine mammal conservation.
Required Qualifications:
- Ph.D. in Marine Mammal Biology or related field.
- Strong technical skills in spatial modeling and analysis using ArcGIS.
- Experience with metadata analysis, data quality control, and data integration.
- Background or interest in working on marine mammal conservation policy, particularly spatial management.
- Ability to show initiative and work effectively with minimal supervision, and to clearly communicate and interact in a small-team environment.
- Excellent writing and speaking skills.
Desirable Qualifications:
- Expertise in marine mammal population ecology or genetics.
- Experience with other relevant modeling and modeling technologies, such as Maxent, R, and others.
- Experience in working collaboratively on projects across multiple sectors, including with academia, NGOs, and government.
NRDC is committed to workplace diversity and inclusion. We are equal opportunity employers and do not discriminate in hiring or employment on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law. We offer competitive salaries, excellent benefits, and a pleasant working environment. Salary is based on a nonprofit scale and commensurate with experience.
To apply, please create a profile and upload your resume and cover letter which addresses: (a) why the fellowship is desired; (b) how you are qualified; (c) what project-related issues interest you; and (d) how do you hope the fellowship will advance your career goals. Applicants should also submit a curriculum vitae, list of professional references, writing sample, and any examples of spatial analyses/ maps that were conducted or developed by you.
No phone calls or faxes please. Consideration of applications will begin on March 15, 2015, and the position will remain open until filled. Please reference where you saw this posting. NRDC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
If you are having technical difficulty while applying, please reach out to Customer Care by dialing 1-866-803-9663.
For further information about NRDC, please visit www.nrdc.org.
