Announcement of Position Availability at the Jornada Basin LTER
Department: Biology
TITLE: Research Assistant (Requisition #2009004135)
ANTICIPATED START DATE: June 15, 2009
SALARY: Commensurate with education and experience. Continued employment
contingent upon federal funding
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS: A Bachelor's degree in Biology, Soil Science.
Environmental Sciences or field of research applicable to the position and
two years of related experience.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS: Preferred qualifications include research-related
field experience with identification of plants and use of dichotomous keys,
practical experience with electrical and mechanical maintenance of
climatological and hydrological instruments, and skill in the use of hand
and power tools. Other preferred qualifications include knowledge of
Chihuahuan Desert flora and fauna.
The successful candidate will be flexible, able to enjoy working in the
field under high heat, sun, and wind 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 essential.
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Driver's license.
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 plant ecology (~35%), aeolian studies (~20%), hydrology (~10%),
animal ecology (~5%), soils (~9%), and climatology (~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 plant identification and
measurements; soil moisture measurements using a neutron probe; collection
of hydrology data and frequent maintenance of hydrological equipment;
maintenance of field instruments, equipment, and infrastructure; handling
and identification of small mammals; and repeat photography. The position
will entail manual labor such as installation and maintenance of
experimental study infrastructure 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 ~200 plant
species and ~20 small mammals 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, limited 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).
BENEFITS: Group medical and hospital insurance, group life insurance, state
education retirement, worker's compensation, annual leave, sick leave, and
unemployment compensation.
Review of APPLICATIONS: Review of applications will begin June 4, 2009 and
continue until filled. Submit letter of interest, resume or CV, copy of
unofficial transcripts, and 3 references with contact information.
Electronic submissions must be in MS WORD, Rich Text 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: 575-646-5818
P.O. Box 30003 Fax: 575-646-5889
MSC 3JER New Mexico State University Email: jande...@jornada.nmsu.edu
Las Cruces, NM 88003-0001 [2995 Knox Street, Suite 200 for FedEx, etc.]
NMSU IS AN EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER. All
offers of employment, oral and written, are contingent on the universitys
verification of credentials, individuals eligibility for employment in the
United States and other information required by federal law, state law, and
NMSU policies/procedures, and may include the completion of a criminal
history check.
