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SalaryTHE OUTSIDE IS IN US ALL.
Please remember to attach the required documents listed in this announcement:
- Cover Letter
- Resume
Applications missing the requested documents will be considered incomplete and may not progress further in the process. Documents not requested will not be considered in the recruitment process. The State Application is not a substitute for a Resume. This position closes at 11:59 PM Mountain Time on April 14, 2024. You must apply through the State of Montana Career site.
Identity of applicants who become finalists may be released to the public if the Department deems it necessary. Employees who exceed 1,040 hours in a calendar year are also provided health, dental and life insurance. Other benefits include retirement, paid vacation, sick and holidays. This position may be covered by a VEBA (Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association).
A successful applicant will be subject to a background investigation.
Women and minorities are under-represented in this job category and are encouraged to apply.
Special Information:
This is a permanent Research Technician position that will focus primarily on mule deer research for at least 5 years, with additional duties related to other ongoing ungulate research projects. Future assignments will be determined as ongoing research projects are completed and new priorities emerge. This position will require field work across all regions of Montana, and extensive travel will be required. Field work will include capture and handling of wildlife, aerial and ground telemetry to locate study animals, aerial surveys to count and classify wildlife, and field necropsy of study animals to identify causes of death. Field skills need to be supplemented with strong interpersonal and communication skills that allow for effective application and administration of research within a diverse working environment. Furthermore, statistical expertise and scientific writing skills will also be necessary to summarize and communicate research data for decision-makers. Application materials should emphasize interest and experience with regards to the above described field skills, data collection, statistical analyses, scientific writing and communication.
Field studies typically require the applicant to work alone in remote locations, driving, hiking & climbing long distances over mountainous terrain, sometimes in inclement weather. Must perform field duties in habitats where encounters with dangerous wildlife and dangerous environmental conditions are possible. Requires extensive driving on highways, primitive logging roads & occasionally off-road. Field studies require considerable time flying as an observer in fixed wing or rotating wing aircraft near ground level in rugged terrain. Also, capturing and handling large mammals may involve hazardous flying conditions in light aircraft and the use of potentially lethal immobilization chemicals. Hours of work are often long, irregular & include evening meetings & occasional weekend work & overnight camping or lodging. Identity of applicants who become finalists may be released to the public if the Department deems it necessary.
Duty station is somewhat flexible but limited to areas with available office space within existing FWP regional headquarters or area offices, including Kalispell, Bozeman, and Dillon, Montana.
Job Duties:
This position will focus on measuring the rates of survival and reproduction for ungulates, causes of mortality, and mechanisms potentially driving population dynamics, including nutrition, climate, disease, predation, and human impacts. This position will focus on data collection, data management, project logistics, communication and coordination amongst many project collaborators, statistical analyses and writing of reports and peer-reviewed manuscripts, under the direction of the Research Wildlife Biologist.
Specific tasks may include conducting aerial surveys and sex/age classifications of animal species, monitoring survival and movements of transmitter-collared animals aerially and from the ground, sampling vegetative, weather and other habitat conditions, deploying and maintaining remote cameras, and other field-related tasks. The incumbent will enter and manage ecological/biological data and will conduct professional level analyses of biological data using statistical software packages. The incumbent will determine appropriate habitat, weather, and land use data variables to use in analysis of interrelationships with survival/mortality, reproductive, and population size data. The incumbent will produce written and oral reports to the project leader, cooperators, and the public. The incumbent will also prepare or assist in preparing manuscripts submitted to professional, peer-reviewed journals. Reports and professional papers will often be cooperative efforts among a variety of researchers within the agency and in other organizations.
The incumbent will facilitate the logistics of conducting field research, including purchasing and maintaining a variety of equipment, scheduling field efforts, traveling widely across much of the state, and working cooperatively with a wide variety of contacts and collaborators. The incumbent will represent the Wildlife Research & Technical Services Bureau and FWP in public education and outreach, professionally represent FWP in a variety of situations and to a variety of people interested in the assigned research projects. This will include landowners, hunters, University personnel, state and federal agency personnel, FWP staff, the media, and the general public. These contacts will be made in the field during the conduct of field work as well as during prescheduled workshops and meetings.
Minimum Qualifications:
The knowledge, skills, and abilities of this position are normally attained through combination of education and experience equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology, fish and wildlife management, animal ecology, biology, or a closely related field and some related work experience. Combinations of education and experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
