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Senior Scientific Specialist, Endangered Species - Illinois Natural History Survey/ PRI (144379)

Employer
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Location
Champaign, IL

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Employment Type
Full Time
Institution Type
Four-Year Institution
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Job Details

Description:Senior Scientific Specialist or Assistant Research Scientist, Endangered Species Illinois Natural History Survey Prairie Research InstituteUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) investigates and documents the biological resources of Illinois and other areas, and acquires and provides natural history information that can be used to promote the common understanding, conservation, and management of these resources. INHS is part of the Prairie Research Institute (PRI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, which is centrally located between Chicago, St. Louis, and Indianapolis. Learn more at go.illinois.edu/PRIjobs. The University of Illinois is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer that recruits and hires qualified candidates without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability or veteran status. For more information, visit http://go.illinois.edu/EEO. INHS is seeking a Senior Scientific Specialist or Assistant Research Scientist to administer research activities of the Survey by developing, planning, directing, and conducting basic and applied research with an emphasis on state endangered and threatened species. This position will be located in Springfield, Illinois. Major Duties and Responsibilities:
  • Serve as liaison between three state agencies and the primary contact for the Natural Heritage Database, a statewide database detailing the occurrences of threatened and endangered species
  • Receive, database, research, and archive, records of threatened and endangered species submitted from around the state of Illinois
  • Computerize and digitize records including mapping, verifying, and updating of threatened and endangered species and their habitats.
  • Coordinates with multiple entities the collection and submission of new database records, verifying for accuracy and disseminating to partnering agencies.
  • Assist with maintenance, updating, and troubleshooting of Biotics 5, ArcGIS Online mapping tools, GPS and ESRI Collector software for group.
  • Assist with statewide database that maintains records of all threatened and endangered species throughout Illinois.
  • Expands expertise in threatened and endangered species and their associated habitats.
  • Develop professional contacts and activities at a state and/or national level and building a strong professional reputation.
  • Develop biological data collection and reporting methods for field staff.
  • Act as primary Habitat Resources contact for the Survey and Illinois Department of Transportation project biologists.
  • Compile and extract data needed to respond to natural resources information requests from various entities.
  • Attend professional and scientific meetings, conferences, and training sessions to further expertise about threatened and endangered species and their natural habitats.
  • Conduct and assist with biological surveys in the field.
  • Serve on working groups and/or committees as Natural Heritage Database expert for various state agencies and non-profit organizations.
  • Supervise, mentor, and lead staff to achieve success and foster a culture of innovation and high-level performance at both individual and organizational levels. This includes task assignment, scheduling, and ongoing performance management with coaching and feedback, and travel approval.
  • Assist with training for all new database users including field staff and interns.
  • Conduct data exchange with NatureServe and with county forest preserve districts.
  • Perform other duties to further the mission and goals of the Survey, PRI, and the University of Illinois.
  • Keep abreast of developments in this discipline.
Senior Scientific Specialist Required Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in natural resources, ecology, wildlife biology, or related program. Alternate degree fields will be considered depending on the nature and depth of the experience as it relates to this position. Bachelor’s degree with two years of experience working with natural resources. Professional database management or other computer related skills. Valid Driver’s License, and certification, and work-related experience with GIS and ESRI products. Assistant Research Scientist Required Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in natural resources, ecology, wildlife biology, or related program. Alternate degree fields will be considered depending on the nature and depth of the experience as it relates to this position. Bachelor’s degree with 5 years of experience or Master’s degree with 3 years of experience working with natural resources. Professional database management or other computer-related skills. Valid Driver’s License, and certification, and work-related experience with GIS and ESRI products. Preferred Qualifications: Master’s degree in natural resources, ecology, wildlife biology, or related program. Alternate degree fields will be considered depending on the nature and depth of the experience as it relates to this position. One year of experience with natural resources and experience with state and federal laws governing the protection of threatened and endangered species. Biotics 5 software training. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Knowledge of Illinois’ endangered and threatened species, and familiarity with the scientific literature and bibliographic databases concerning these species and their associated habitats. Effective communication, personal relations, collaboration, organizational, teamwork, and leadership skills. Demonstrated ability to perform effectively in a diverse and fast-paced work environment consisting of multiple and changing priorities with stringent deadlines, under minimal supervision. Attention to detail, sound judgment, and strong conflict resolution skills. Proficiency in commonly employed software and databases. Experience using mapping software including GIS and ESRI. Working knowledge of Midwestern threatened and endangered species and their associated habitats. Environmental Demands: Most of the work of this position takes place in an office setting. The work is sedentary and involves remaining in a stationary position for extended periods of time working at a computer, using a keyboard and mouse, and using repetitive hand motions. Will occasionally require working in adverse field conditions (heat, humidity, biting insects,etc.), travel (including driving to and from research sites) throughout the state of Illinois working irregular hours and overnights? lift and carry equipment weighing up to 25 pounds. Proposed Start Date: Negotiable Salary: Starting salary range for this position is $48,000 - $55,000. Salary is commensurate with qualifications and experience. Appointment Status: This is a regular full-time 12-month academic professional appointment, renewable annually based upon satisfactory progress in the position and continued funding. Eligible for full University benefits package as well as generous vacation and sick leave packages. To Apply: Please complete your candidate profile at http://jobs.illinois.edu and upload a cover letter, CV/resume, and the contact information for three professional references by May 7, 2021. Interviews may be conducted before the closing date; however, no hiring decision will be made until after that date. All requested information must be submitted for your application to be considered.

The University of Illinois conducts criminal background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. The University of Illinois System requires candidates selected for hire to disclose any documented finding of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment and to authorize inquiries to current and former employers regarding findings of sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. For more information, visit Policy on Consideration of Sexual Misconduct in Prior Employment. As a qualifying federal contractor, the University of Illinois System uses E-Verify to verify employment eligibility.

College Name or Administrative Unit:Office of Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Category:6-Research Title:Senior Scientific Specialist, Endangered Species - Illinois Natural History Survey/ PRI (144379) Open Date:04/12/2021 Close Date:05/07/2021 Organization Name:Illinois Natural History Survey

Organization

Since its founding in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation as a world-class leader in research, teaching, and public engagement.

Faculty

A talented and highly respected faculty is the University's most significant resource. Many are recognized for exceptional scholarship with memberships in such organizations as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering. 

Our faculty have been awarded Nobel Prizes, Pulitzer Prizes, and the Fields Medal in Mathematics.The success of our faculty is matched by that of our alumni: 11 are Nobel laureates and another 18 have won Pulitzer Prizes.

Academic Resources

Academic resources on campus are among the finest in the world. The University Library is one of the largest public university collections in the world with 11 million volumes in its 37 unit libraries. Annually, 53,000,000 people visit its online catalog. Students have access to thousands of computer terminals in classrooms, residence halls, and campus libraries for use in classroom instruction, study, and research.

Research

Students and scholars find the University an ideal place to conduct research. The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology is a model for interdisciplinary research, where eighteen research groups from sixteen University departments work within and across three broadly defined themes: biological intelligence, human-computer intelligent interaction, and molecular and electronic nanostructures. The University is also home to the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA).

Undergraduate Education

The University has a fundamental commitment to undergraduate education. Nearly 28,000 undergraduate students are enrolled in nine undergraduate divisions, which together offer some 4,000 courses in more than 150 fields of study.

Undergraduate admission is highly selective. In the 2001 freshman class, students in the middle 50% had ACT scores between 25 and 30 and ranked between the 83rd and 96th percentiles of their high school graduating classes.

The University enrolls over 9,000 graduate and professional students in more than 100 disciplines. It is among the top five universities in number of earned doctorates awarded annually in the United States.

Also integral to the University's mission is a commitment to public engagement. Each year about 65,000 Illinois residents participate in scores of conferences, institutes, courses, and workshops presented statewide. Research and class projects take students and professors off campus to share expertise and technical support with Illinois farmers, manufacturing firms, and businesses. In a typical year, student volunteers log more than 60,000 volunteer hours.

The Arts

A major center for the arts, the campus attracts dozens of nationally and internationally renowned artists each year to its widely acclaimed Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The University also supports two major museums: the Krannert Art Museum and Kinkead Pavilion; and the Spurlock Museum, a museum of world history and culture. 

Other major facilities include the multipurpose Assembly Hall (16,500 seats); Memorial Stadium (70,000 seats), site of Big Ten Conference football games; and the Intramural-Physical Education Building, one of the largest recreational facilities of its kind on a university campus.

Inclusive Illinois, one campus, many voices

Inclusive Illinois is the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Illinois is about how we value difference to make a difference. http://www.inclusiveillinois.illinois.edu/

As evidence of the University’s commitment to enhance the working, living, and learning environment for faculty, staff, and students, the University will encourage a standard of conduct and behavior that is consistent with the values of inclusivity. In an environment of inclusivity, there is no place for acts of hatred, intolerance, insensitivity, bigotry, threats of violence, harassment or discrimination.

Inclusive Illinois, one campus, many voices

Inclusive Illinois is the University’s commitment to cultivating a community at Illinois where everyone is welcomed, celebrated, and respected. Through education, engagement, and excellence, each voice creates the Inclusive Illinois Experience.

How can we appreciate difference to make a difference?

Illinois is the place where we embrace difference. We embrace it because we value it. We value it because we know that we have so much to learn from each other in our living, learning, and working environment.

Illinois is the place where we recognize the power of possibility and where great potential is realized. Inclusive Illinois is the vision of that place: a vision made real by leadership and commitment.

Illinois is the place where consensus is forged by discourse and where everyone’s contributions are recognized: significant contributions that elevate us because they are informed and enhanced by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and gender identity, age, physical ability, religion, class, and national origin. We are enriched by these perspectives, and we are united by the very discourse that brings these views together.

It is a process. It is transformative. And we celebrate the remarkable changes we set in motion here … taking an important step … crossing boundaries … starting with our own.

It all starts with each of us: with our willingness to embark on the journey in the search for answers, and with our openness and acceptance of the answers we find. Illinois is the place where it all comes together.

Learn more about how Inclusive Illinois promotes diversity here.

Commitment to Equal Opportunity

The commitment of the University to the most fundamental principles of academic freedom, equality of opportunity, and human dignity requires that decisions involving students and employees be based on individual merit and be free from invidious discrimination in all its forms, whether or not specifically prohibited by law. Among the forms of invidious discrimination prohibited by the University policy but not law is discrimination, including harassment, on the basis of sexual orientation. Complaints of invidious discrimination in violation of University policy are to be resolved within existing University procedures. The policy of the University of Illinois is to comply with all federal and state nondiscrimination, equal opportunity, and affirmative action laws, orders, and regulations. The University will not engage in discrimination or harassment against any person because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, disability, unfavorable discharge from the military, or status as a disabled veteran or a veteran of the Vietnam era. This nondiscrimination policy applies to admissions, employment, and access to and treatment in University programs and activities

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