J’offre un poste rémunéré d’assistant.e de terrain pour m’assister dans la collecte de données sur le comportement vocal des bonobos à Kokolopori, RDC, pendant 7 mois minimum (Septembre 2022-Avril 2023). Plus de détails dans l’annonce ci-dessous, merci d’avance de transmettre ceci aux primatologues de votre entourage qui seraient intéréssé.e.s !
We are looking for a field assistant to work at the Kokolopori Bonobo Research Project (KBRP), Democratic Republic of Congo. The successful candidate will assist a post-doc to collect vocal data on 3 groups of wild bonobos. Typical duties include conducting focal and ad libitum recording of bonobo vocalizations, assisting the postdoc in their own data collection, and data processing (call extraction and dataset management).
Kokolopori’s field site is in an extremely remote location: it is only accessible by motorbike, several hours from a small city comprising a small airfield and a basic medical facility. There is no running water or electricity at camp. There is no access to phone or internet coverage, but assistants are allowed to send/receive a few short text emails per week using the camp basic email system. Field camp members are housed in tents at the field site. Meals provided consist primarily of locally sourced foods (beans, manioc, rice).
Fieldwork is challenging, both physically and mentally: it involves hours of walk in a hot, humid and dense forest, with bonobos which are at times difficult to see and follow due to the dense vegetation.
Additional information about the Kokolopori area and field site is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokolopori .
QUALIFICATION EXPERIENCE
Essential requirements are
-Previous field experience with primates in a challenging environment
-Above average physical fitness: resistance to hot and humid conditions, capacity for walking fast during long hours in dense vegetation and on challenging grounds, no fear of snakes and insects, resistance to physical discomfort caused by stings and bites etc
-Above average resistance to social/psychological stress: feel comfortable being far away and with almost no contact from family and friends. Be emotionally mature, energetic, enthusiastic, and patient. It is necessary that applicants have good social skills, especially in small groups, and be able to maintain a positive and humorous attitude towards challenging and tiring work. Team player attitude is key: There is little to no privacy at camp and collaboration with everybody is expected.
-Language skills in French and English,
-High open-mindedness and tolerance toward local traditions and beliefs, as the job involves permanent close contact with local staff.
-First aid training
SALARY
500 US Dollar/month
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
• Food and camp fees
• Trip from/to hometown (international plane, charter plane, motorbike ride, hotel nights in Kinshasa)
• Administration fees (visa, official documents…)
• Scientific equipment is provided (GPS, recorder, notebooks etc.), but personal equipment is not (hiking shoes, filed clothes, backpack etc.). A detailed field list will be provided to the successful candidate.
TERM OF APPOINTMENT
The candidate is expected to begin in September 2022 and stay until at least April 2023.
APPLICATION
Please send an updated CV, a motivation letter, and two reference contacts (preferentially of former field supervisors), to Dr Mélissa Berthet (melissa.berthet.ac@gmail.com). Applications will be reviewed until the position is filled.