THE NATURAL CAPITAL PROJECT Position Announcement MONITORING POSTDOC
We are a partnership among Stanford Universitys Woods Institute for the Environment, University of Minnesotas Institute on the Environment, The Nature Conservancy, and World Wildlife Fund developing approaches for modeling and monitoring ecosystem service change across land- and seascapes. We seek a creative and talented ecologist with strong analytical and experimental design skills to help coordinate a monitoring network across 9 watersheds in Latin America, in order to evaluate the effectiveness of water funds in supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Through our collaboration with the Latin American Water Funds Platform and TNCs Northern Andes South and Central America (NASCA) team, we are supporting the establishment of statistically robust yet cost effective monitoring systems in developing countries, and seek someone with the expertise to help field teams implement established monitoring protocols and guide development of new ones where needed. The successful candidate will build upon monitoring efforts already underway, and will engage with researchers and practitioners in the field to coordinate these ongoing efforts. We seek a candidate with true multidisciplinary interests able to synthesize existing work or develop new metrics and monitoring protocols across scales and for multiple objectives, including several water‐related ecosystem services (sub‐annual water supply, water quality, groundwater recharge) and other co‐benefits that may be impacted by water fund activities (carbon storage and sequestration, freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity and possibly pest control, pollination, and seed dispersal). Principal responsibilities: Coordinate design and facilitate implementation of a monitoring system that will achieve the following goals: o Assess the effectiveness of different water fund activities (e.g. fencing, silvopastoral systems, etc.) for achieving water fund objectives (improved water‐related services and human well being) as well as co‐benefits from non‐targeted services. o Assess the effectiveness of the water funds overall investments at the watershed and human community scale. o Improve data sets used in assessment and modeling efforts that guide water fund investments. Engage additional partners that will be involved in the monitoring process. o Contribute to and coordinate with ongoing monitoring efforts in the area undertaken by The Nature Conservancy and other partner organizations. o Organize and help lead workshops with partners and stakeholders to identify monitoring metrics, establish sampling designs, choose target watersheds, and subsequently to examine data. o Help standardize monitoring protocols already developed for water-related services, and collaborate on designing protocols for co-benefits, giving special attention to statistical robustness of sampling designs. o Facilitate implementation of established monitoring protocols through training and technical support. o Analyze and communicate results. Required qualifications: Ph.D. in ecology, conservation science or related fields. 5 years experience in statistical analysis and study design, preferably for both primary research and practical settings. Experience with monitoring in a developing country context, or anywhere where security and capacity are limiting issues. Experience coordinating multi-institution or multi-investigator projects. Established publication record in diverse, peer-reviewed journals. Strong interest in and commitment to using science to inform policy. Experience working with collaborators from diverse backgrounds and the capacity and interest to work with interdisciplinary teams. Excellent verbal and written communication skills with both technical and non-technical audiences, in English and Spanish, and some familiarity with Portuguese preferred. Ability to produce rigorous analyses under tight deadlines Term: July 1, 2012 November 30, 2014 and beyond, contingent on funding Location: The position is a postdoctoral research position located in Palo Alto, California at Stanford University and will require extensive interaction with interdisciplinary teams and travel in Latin America. How to Apply: Send a cover letter describing your experience and interest, as well as a CV and contact information for three references to [email protected] with MONITORING POST-DOC in the subject. We will begin reviewing application 22 June, 2012 and the position will remain open until filled. Stanford University is committed to equal opportunity through affirmative action in employment and we are especially eager to identify minority persons and women with appropriate qualifications. More information on the project can be found at www.naturalcapitalproject.org and http://invest.ecoinformatics.org.
