| Description |
Open Position -- Student Affairs Manager (SAM):
The SFS Centre for Wildlife Management Studies, located in Rhotia, Tanzania, seeks an enthusiastic, team-oriented individual to assist resident staff in the delivery of high quality, field-based academic programs to undergraduate students from American colleges and universities.
Institutional Mission:
SFS creates transformative study abroad experiences through field-based learning and research. Our educational programs explore the human and ecological dimensions of the complex environmental problems faced by our local partners, contributing to sustainable solutions in the places where we live and work. The SFS community is part of a growing network of individuals and institutions committed to environmental stewardship.
Program Focus:
Through classroom and field activities, students will contrast the conservation issues in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem of northern Tanzania with those in the Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystem in Kenya, just north of Mount Kilimanjaro. In this two-country program, students will begin their study at one field station, gaining general knowledge about the wildlife in the region, the pastoralist lifestyle, and principles of wildlife management. Just shy of the half-way point in the semester, students will travel overland to the other field station to apply the foundational knowledge of wildlife management to delve into the specific issues in that region. They will conduct the Directed Research in the final month of the program at the second field site. Students will visit multiple protected areas and group ranches at both sites.
Start Date:
12 month contract beginning late August 2011. The SAM must be available to travel to SFS headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts for one week of training in mid-August.
Reports to:
Center Director
Duties & Responsibilities:
Under the oversight of the Centre Director, the SAM, as an individual and as a member of the Centre faculty/staff team, will assist in the following areas:
Student Affairs
- Deliver in-country orientation and ongoing training to students in the areas of community building, critical thinking, cross-cultural issues, conflict resolution, self-awareness, communal living, and health and safety
- Act as a resource to students on their program-related and personal needs
- Facilitate communication within the student group and between staff and students
- Preemptively monitor and address individual student and group attitudes and behavior
- Keep the Centre Director informed of potential problems
- Participate in resolving group management issues and student discipline problems
- Facilitate establishment and support of student committees
Safety & Risk Management
- Take responsibility for the safety of all program participants
- Adhere to, actively model, and enforce all school-wide and Centre rules and polices
- Coordinate incident reporting system and on-site safety audits
- Ensure that incident information and reports are provided to SFS headquarters
- Submit a Risk Management Plan to SFS headquarters prior to field trips
- Participate in the review and revision of Centre risk assessment and management plans
- Coordinate the Centre’s emergency plans, including for evacuation and fire safety
- Recommend and review policies and procedures needed to manage risks
- Coordinate the safety and health portions of the on-site orientation
- Maintain all land-based medical kits and safety supplies
Community Outreach
- Work with Centre faculty/staff to develop and implement community outreach activities
- Arrange recreational programming for students within the local community
- At all times, work to ensure good relations between the Center and local community
- Organize and facilitate guest speakers from the community
Program Support
- Coordinate and communicate scheduling of program to students as needed
- Participate in training activities for new Centre staff prior to and during the program
- Provide periodic reports, marketing materials, and student input to SFS headquarters
- Participate in preparation of final reports and Center field preparation guide revisions
- In cooperation with other Centre staff and as delegated by the Centre Director, provide day-to-day coordination of interns
- Participate in planning activities prior to program start and in review post-program
- As requested by the Centre Director, assist with other logistical, group management, and administrative tasks
Daily Centre Life
- Live on-site for the duration of each program period and take meals with students
- On a rotating basis, take responsibility for Centre-specific staff of the day duties
- Ensure that all staff understand the responsibilities of the staff of the day role
- Take part in, and occasionally lead, Centre upkeep projects, social, and field activities
- Serve as Centre caretaker during program breaks as requested by the Centre Director
- Drive standard transmission vehicles as needed
Minimum Qualifications:
- Ability to receive Tanzanian work authorization required
- Clean driving record and able to operate manual transmission vehicles
- B.A./B.S. required
- Extensive group and student facilitation experience
- Significant experience living, working, or studying internationally
- Background in experiential educational programming
- High emotional and cross-cultural intelligence
- Experience with crisis and risk management
- Accustomed to working long hours in remote environments with limited resources
- Ease with living communally and using shared facilities
Preferred Qualifications:
- College-level study of international education
- Experience living, working, or studying in the country or region of Centre
- Familiarity with navigating medical resources in developing countries
- Background in wilderness, travel, or tropical medicine
- Student and residential affairs experience in higher education
- Conversational ability in Kiswahili
Other Expectations:
- Wilderness First Responder certification required by start date (SFS reimburses up to a cap)
- Willingness to work flexible hours and live on site at the field station with a small team of permanent staff, groups of US undergraduate students and visiting researchers or programs
- Participate in the residential campus activities and community outreach
- Represent SFS at local and international conferences
- At all times, work to ensure good relations between the SFS and the local community
Compensation/Benefits:
Salaried, travel and health insurance reimbursement, room & board, and excellent benefits package included.
We are proud to be an EEO / AA employer M/F/D/V.
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