Announcement of Position Availability at the Jornada Basin LTER
TITLE: Research Assistant, Grade-15
START DATE: September 1, 2006
SALARY: $25,292.80 Continued employment contingent upon federal funding
PREFER: The successful applicant will have a keen interest in plants
coupled with field experience in plant identification and the use of
dichotomous keys. Other preferred qualifications include knowledge of
Chihuahuan Desert flora and fauna, field experience with small mammals and
reptiles, practical experience with electrical and mechanical maintenance of
climatological and hydrological instruments, and skill in the use of hand
and power tools.
The selected individual will be flexible, able to enjoy working in the
field under high heat and sun exposure (as this is primarily a desert field
position), work reliably both independently and as part of a team, establish
and maintain effective working relationships with associates and principle
investigators, be comfortable working safely with moderately hazardous
materials, make sound judgments relative to analytical processes, recognize
the extreme accuracy and consistency essential to long term research,
assemble and record accurate data, follow detailed oral and/or written
instructions exactly, communicate well both verbally and in writing, and
have some supervisory skills. Acute attention to small details, enthusiasm,
and the ability to get along well with co-workers, supervisors, and
principle investigators are musts.
REQUIREMENTS: Driver's license.
QUALIFICATIONS: A Bachelor's degree in field of research applicable to the
position required.
RESPONSIBILITIES: Work is based out of New Mexico State University in Las
Cruces, NM. Individual will participate in the on-going and
multi-disciplinary Jornada Basin Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)
program on desertification in the Chihuahuan Desert. Research disciplines
include hydrology (~25%), plant ecology (~23%), animal ecology (~11%), soils
(~9%), climatology (~5%), and aeolian studies (~5%). Approximately 85% of
the time will be spent outdoors collecting data, with the remaining 15% of
the time spent in the lab processing samples, cleaning equipment, and
checking data. Although the position is usually 40 hours a week, additional
hours will occasionally be required both during the week and on weekends.
Specific field responsibilities include extensive plant
identification and
measurements; soil moisture measurements using a neutron probe; extensive
collection of hydrology data and frequent maintenance of hydrological
equipment; maintenance of field instruments, equipment, and infrastructure;
and handling and identification of small mammals and reptiles (usually only
lizards). The position will entail manual labor such as routine carrying of
heavy instruments in the field for extended periods, maintaining and fixing
fences, and painting large structures, and could include tasks like shrub
removal, trenching, and soil coring. The individual will work with a wide
variety of taxa and will be required to learn identification of all flora
(~350 spp.) and selected fauna found in the research area.
General responsibilities include collecting and recording
moderately
complex data in both field and laboratory environments in accordance with
established protocols, data entry, maintaining organizational and historical
data for each study, aiding principle investigators with data collection and
experimental design (assisting with design, testing, and/or modification of
experimental equipment as well as installation of experimental apparatus).
For more information about the Jornada Basin LTER site and
general
research program, see http://jornada-www.nmsu.edu/.
BENEFITS: Group medical and hospital insurance, group life insurance, state
education retirement, worker's compensation, annual leave, sick leave, and
unemployment compensation.
DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: Submit letter of application, resume, 3 letters
of reference and any supportive materials (i.e., publications) by August 8,
2006. Electronic submissions must be in MS WORD, Rich Test Format (RTF), or
PDF. Other formats will not be accepted.
REPLY TO: John P. Anderson, Jornada LTER Site Manager
USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range Voice: 505-646-5818
P.O. Box 30003 Fax: 505-646-5889
MSC 3JER New Mexico State University Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Las Cruces, NM 88003-0001 [2995 Knox Street, Suite 200 for FedEx, etc.]
OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT CONTINGENT UPON VERIFICATION OF INDIVIDUAL'S ELIGIBILITY
FOR EMPLOYMENT IN THE UNITED STATES. NMSU IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
PPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER.
