Bonobo field assistant for research and camp administration in DR Congo
martin surbeck
The Kokolopori Bonobo Research Projects is seeking a field assistant for running a small research camp at Kokolopori, Democratic Republic of Congo. The candidate will be responsible to support the maintenance, logistics and management of a small bonobo research camp. The candidate will work close together with the local population and will help to supervise the running of a small camp and some research activities. Work duties include communication with local villages, coordinating community projects, communication with the local administration, organizing working schedules, making payments and basic financial accounting, organizing supplies, maintenance of camp infrastructure. The candidate represents the research project to regional administrators and village leaders. Language skills in French are an ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT. The research assistant will be accommodated in a Research Camp, which is located in an extremely remote area with no running water or electricity. The candidate will work closely together with a second assistant mainly responsible for organizing the data collection on the bonobos. Exact distribution of duties will be done according to the background of the candidates. Additional information about the field site Kokolopori is available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokolopori .
Qualifications/Experience:
Essential requirements are listed in order of importance: (1) field experience
and language skills in French and English, (2) above average physical fitness,
(3) high resistance to social/psychological stress, and (4) practical and
technical skills to supervise and maintain the camps technical infrastructure
such as solar electricity, generator, satellite phone, sw-radio. In addition,
candidates are expected to organize and supervise simple construction work
(e.g. make-shift buildings in camp) and oversee habituation of neighboring
bonobo communities. Candidates must have social skills, a sense of leadership,
a strong motivation to take on responsibility, and high tolerance. They must be
able to achieve tasks by improvisation, using the limited sources that are
available. Furthermore candidates should have the capacity to live and work
with a small team including local staff and tolerance to costumes and practices
of traditional societies.
SALARY/FUNDING
500 US Dollar/month (higher when more than 3 years of relevant experience)
ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
- Food (mix of mainly local food and some western food items)
- Lodging (in tents) at the field site
- Airfare for one domestic return flight from Kinshasa to the field site and back
- Contribution of up to 1000 US Dollar towards an international return flight (reimbursement ONLY AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF A 12 MONTH TERM OF APPOINTMENT)
- Expenses for Visa (reimbursement ONLY AFTER SUCCESSFUL COMPLETITION OF A 12 MONTHS TERM OF APPOINTMENT)
Please note that expenses during the stay in Kinshasa on the way in/out of Congo can only be partially covered by the project
TERM OF APPOINTMENT
Twelve months starting as soon as possible (Early November 2021
Applications should be sent via email to Dr. Martin Surbeck (msur...@fas.harvard.edu)