Employment/research opportunities with Project Seahorse

 

Director: Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation Inc.

 

Project Seahorse Foundation for Marine Conservation, Inc. (PSFMC), is a SEC registered Philippines NGO based in Cebu. This national interdisciplinary organization is committed to conservation of Philippines marine ecosystems through equitable sustainable use and is focused on the Danajon Bank.  The organization is looking to recruit a dynamic Director to lead an exciting portfolio of marine conservation projects funded by national and international grants. 

This job would suit someone with at least 8 years working in the NGO sector or a related field who has a strong history of project and operational management, including complex budgets. They must possess a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field or equivalent experience. They will have an understanding of, and passion for, the conservation of aquatic habitats and fauna and sustainable development issues associated with coastal communities. They must possess leadership and fundraising experience, a background in project and staff management and possess outstanding organizational skills, strong written and oral communication skills and good computer skills.  

The successful candidate will be independently driven and show initiative, with good inter-personal skills (including a diverse range of stakeholders) and a commitment to the environment. Due to the international collaborations associated with PSFMC, the new director must be at ease dealing with Westerners, and ideally speak fluent Cebuano, Tagalog and English.

Salary Range P45,000 – P60,000 per month

Qualified applicants may send their resume with a covering letter to Dr Jurgenne Primavera, Chair of the PSFMC Board of Trustees, via email to georginehp@yahoo.com by Friday 5th April 2013.   (more details)

 

 

Postdoctoral Research Positions

Project Seahorse invites strong candidates to apply for postdoctoral fellowships. All positions are based out of the University of British Columbia, but there are options for candidates looking to base their studies in the United Kingdom. Deadline for applications is open until suitable candidates are found. Project Seahorse is accepting applications for all three postions. Please send a cover letter and your cv, including a list of your academic publications, to ps_admin@fisheries.ubc.ca. Please anticipate deadlines well in advance if we will need to write complementary documentation for you. 

Research opportunity #1: Supporting doctors and traders towards marine conservation in traditional Chinese medicine

This post would suit somebody with a strong desire to apply research skills to active conservation and management.  Project Seahorse has made measurable strides in reconciling the interests of marine conservation and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).  We are moving towards our goal of adjusting consumption of marine species to sustainable levels through a programme of rigorous analysis, creative activity and thoughtful engagement with partners.  

Goal: Put in place mechanisms and processes to adjust TCM consumption of marine medicinals to sustainable levels.  

Focal work:

1. Support Chinese Medicine colleges to embrace conservation in their training
(a) document existing conservation components of TCM training and treatments
(b) identify areas where more conservation input might be beneficial
2. Support TCM traders to adjust consumption of marine medicinals for sustainability

(a) critically document existing conservation behaviour and attitudes among TCM traders (e.g. looking at effects of a trader’s age)

3. Research into marine medicinals and pre-packaged medicines in critical cities for TCM use: Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Taipei and Singapore.  

(a) document current use of marine species in TCM

(b) analyse, for the first time, the use of marine species in commercially-prepared, pre-packaged ‘fast’ TCM, a growing sector of the TCM community, and one with serious conservation implications.  

Qualifications:

  • PhD in conservation, ecology or related discipline
  • Fluent in Mandarin and/or Cantonese
  • Strong qualitative research skills
  • A substantial interest in translating science into management and policy
  • Strong communications skills
  • Excellent capacity to work collaboratively and independently.

 

Research opportunity #2: Biological and/or social aspects of marine protected areas 

This post would suit somebody with a strong desire to apply research skills to active conservation and management.

Our team has been instrumental in establishing, supporting, and studying 34 MPAs in the central Philippines. We have an extraordinary set of databases relating to marine protected areas that we have only begun to mine. We would welcome colleagues to join us in tapping into the following, as well as many other related datasets:

13 years of biological surveys at the family level (plus habitat data), twice annually, for 8 MPAs (inside and out) and 5 reference sites in one region;

Three years of biological surveys of more than 400 fish species, every month, for six MPAs (inside and out) and two reference site;s

19 socioeconomic variables for 26 MPAs;

Social data on the establishment of more than 34 MPAs in one region.

The data range from wonderful to wonky, so you would need to bring some creative approaches. We seek people who will grin at imperfection and keep moving, recognizing the realities of field work in developing countries.

Focal work:

  • Conduct novel analyses on existing data sets to questions that we define together.
  • Generate primary papers and management briefings on the findings from these analyses.

Qualifications:

  • PhD in conservation, ecology or related discipline
  • Strong quantitative and/or rigorous qualitative skills
  • Experience working with large datasets
  • Aptitude for creative analytical approaches  
  • Interest in translating science into management and policy 
  • Excellent capacity to work collaboratively and independently
  • Coral reef experience a bonus.
  • Aptitude with R or MatLab welcome

 

Research opportunity #3: Seahorse conservation and ecology

This post would suit somebody with a strong desire to apply research skills to active conservation and management.  

Focal work:

Develop and implement a one stop resource site for seahorse biology, conservation and trade.  The site must include decision tools for ensuring seahorse exports are sustainable.  Some web technical support available.

Develop a co-ordinated global assessment of wild seahorse populations, to be executed by many partners including government, NGO, academics, public institutions, industry and community organizations.  This will involve planning data collection protocols, analysing data uploaded by partner, and synthesizing knowledge for conservation action.

 Qualifications:

  • PhD in conservation, ecology or related discipline
  • Strong quantitative skills
  • Understanding of web design
  • Modeling skills
  • A substantial interest in translating science into management and policy
  • Strong communications skills
  • Excellent capacity to work collaboratively and independently

 

Funding sources

We ask that applicants apply to the following fellowships, as eligible to support their salary.

 

Project Seahorse, Fisheries Centre
2202 Main Mall
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 1Z4
E-mail: ps_admin@fisheries.ubc.ca

 

Postgraduate research opportunities

Please check back again for postgraduate research opportunities with Project Seahorse.

Internships

Please check back again for internship opportunities with Project Seahorse.