Assistant Conservation Media Jobs (NOW HIRING)

Position:                                          Research Assistant (RA), Ocean Giants
Reports to:                                      Executive Director, NY Bight Program 
Position Managed:                         None
Location:                                        New York (Hybrid)
Sector:                                            GCP/Marine Conservation
Scope:                                             Site Focused
Position Type:                                Full-Time

Job Summary:
Join a dynamic team with a proven track record in achieving change to address conservation challenges and threats to marine mammals in the New York Bight. The Research Assistant (RA) will gain valuable experience in applied conservation and research as part of the Ocean Giants Program and will be primarily focused on data processing and analysis of large acoustic data sets as part of our acoustic monitoring projects in the New York Bight. Data analysis will include validation and classification of cetacean vocalizations from automated detection outputs, with the potential to work on the characterization of ambient noise. The RA will also assist with field work activities in the New York Bight collecting marine mammal sightings, photo identification (ID), genetic and tag data. Other aspects of the position include: 1) contributing to policy, education, and advocacy initiatives, and 2) working actively on current or planned projects on ocean noise, eDNA and integration and synthesis of multiple types of data.
The RA will be expected to work independently under the supervision of the Executive Director, NY Bight Program  and the Marine Conservation Scientists and will assist with organizing and processing acoustic data and conducting analyses to satisfy the project goals. The RA position requires individuals that have some experience with analyses of large datasets (particularly acoustic data), have some quantitative analysis skills and fieldwork experience. Candidates are expected to demonstrate the ability to write scientific papers, have excellent communication skills and the ability to work positively under difficult conditions when in the field. The RA will also be expected to contribute to report writing and publications. The RA is expected to undertake an independent research project of interest, providing that work aligns with one of the Ocean Giant Program's project objectives, which would be expected to result in publication.
Major Responsibilities:

• Support the Ocean Giant team with acoustic projects.
  • Assist with training interns on the acoustic review process and the identification of cetacean vocalizations.
• Assist with conducting field work activities in the New York Bight including:
  • Deploying/recovering acoustic units
  • Gather data on vessel surveys; maintain all appropriate field equipment.
• Contribute to analyses and/or approaches for marine mammal science and conservation.
• Assist with the management of acoustic data and data collected during field work activities in the New York Bight including sightings and behavioral data, photo ID catalogs and genetic and tag data.
• Maintain data quality standards and backups of all field-collected and acoustic data.
• Contribute to report writing for major donors.
• Contribute to and/or design an independent research project of interest, providing that the work aligns with one of the Ocean Giant Programs project objectives, with the expectation that it would result in a peer-reviewed publication.
• Advance policy, education, and advocacy initiatives consistent with WCS's mission and objectives.
• Work on current or planned projects on ocean noise, eDNA, and the synthesis/integration of multiple types of data to support conservation and management outcomes.
• Create and advance novel content on programmatic website whalesofnewyork.wcs.org (with Conservation Technology group) and related social media.