The Smithsonian Institution is seeking a dynamic person to manage the Smithsonian’s Movement of Life (MoL) Initiative. MoL is developing partnerships within and outside the Smithsonian to advance the field of movement ecology and its contributions to sustaining biodiversity and understanding how environmental and climate change may affect organismal movement in the future. This is a full-time, 2-year appointment at the GS9 level.
MoL focuses on: • Advancing new tools and technologies to address movement ecology. • Developing standardized approaches for conducting animal movement research around the world. • Expanding existing training programs in movement ecology through collaboration with other organizations (e.g. AniMove). • Creating exciting new stories for public audiences to learn about animal movement and its role in creating and maintaining life on Earth. The Program Manager will be responsible for providing project management support to MoL, including updating web content, managing scientific projects and research activities, and performing analytical and evaluative work to track program progress. A significant amount of time will be allocated to identifying funding opportunities and writing grant proposals. The incumbent will work with the MoL advisory committee to oversee the continued development and implementation of MoL’s overall strategy, to further develop and serve as a spokesperson for the initiative at national and international meetings. The incumbent will be physically based at SCBI in Front Royal, VA, but will work across Smithsonian research centers and bureaus to advance existing and develop new research partnerships. Successful candidates have significant experience in conducting movement ecological research (aquatic, avian, or terrestrial) and managing field campaigns (e.g. designing projects, tracking species in the field). The successful candidate will: • Collaborate with scientists from within the Smithsonian and from around the world to design and develop research projects on movement ecology and how environmental and climate change may affect organismal movement; • Encourage and promote studies of interest to MoL and advance the Smithsonian’s mission for understanding and sustaining a biodiverse planet; • Participate in scientific meetings and symposia and corresponds with members of the scientific community involved in related research; • Communicates scientific discoveries and information on animal movement into primary literature, popular media outlets, websites, and social media outlets; and • Develop proposals for additional financial support. Qualifications: • Two years’ knowledge and experience in conducting movement ecology research using animal tracking. • A graduate degree, M.S. or higher in ecology, zoology, or related academic field. • Ability to coordinate collaborative research, conservation, and training programs. • Demonstrated excellence in written communication, especially as it relates to grant writing. • Demonstrated skills in communicating with a wide-range of audiences using different outlets ranging from peer-reviewed scientific articles to web and social media. • Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and in using R for analyzing data. Please send letter of interest explaining your qualifications, a CV, and three references to scbi....@gmail.com by September 15th, 2018. Please include “Program Manager - MoL” in the subject header and compile all application materials into one document before submission. The cover letter should include (i) the applicant’s earliest possible start date; and (ii) a summary of the applicant’s research and program management experience.
