Staff Engineer affiliated with the project EvoLight

The position

Do you want to work with understanding how fast animal populations adapt when their range shifts into areas with a novel light environment? A position as Staff Engieere (avdelingsingeniør) is available at the Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB). 

The position is linked to the research project EvoLight, funded by a Tromsø Forskningsstiftelse (TFS) Starting Grant , and is carried out in the research group Arctic Chronobiology and Physiology (ACP). 

The position is temporary with a funding for 3 years.

The workplace is at UiT in Tromsø. You must be able to start in the position within 6 months after receiving the offer.

About the Department

The Department of Arctic and Marine Biology (AMB) includes 6 research groups. Research and teaching at AMB has a broad span, from molecular mechanisms at cellular/subcellular levels via studies of adaptations at the organismal level, to ecological interactions in aquatic and terrestrial environments. The institute is an exciting and cutting-edge academic and research unit in biology that addresses challenges in basic research, industrial and administrative-oriented research with a strong focus on the North. The Institute has extensive national and international research collaboration including regional institutions like Framsenteret, IMR and NIBIO.

Job description

EvoLight aims to understand how fast animal populations adapt when their range shifts into areas with a novel light environment. For this we will use the recent (~80 years) expansion of the songbird great tit (Parus major) into the Arctic as a natural experiment to address this question. We are setting up a nestbox population of great tits on the Tromsø island and will carry out studies/experiments both in the field and in the lab.

Tasks

For this position we are looking for a motivated candidate who is willing to work with great tits. The work will involve intense great tit nest monitoring in the spring/summer, when the birds are breeding (April to late July), and the rest of the year will be dedicated to setting up feeders, marking birds, data entry and experiments with animals in captivity. 

The candidate will also be expected to assist with setting up indoor testing facilities and with animal care. The position is physically demanding, sometimes requiring long hours in the field under all weather conditions. During the breeding season the candidate also has to be prepared for working outside normal hours. The work is carried out by an international team of researchers and students, so teamwork and communication skills are essential.

The necessary tasks of the position include:

Field tasks: 

• Intensive fieldwork activities with songbirds, especially in summer 
• monitoring nest boxes
• catching, ringing and sampling (blood, nail, feathers) adult birds and chicks
• bird tracking
• checking/maintaining feeding stations, traps and outdoor cameras.
• Field tasks include working outside regular hours in certain periods of the year (e.g. peak breeding season).

Lab tasks:

• Animal caretaking (keeping, feeding, cleaning).
• Preparing experimental setups.
• Assisting with studies involving captive birds.
• Data entry and management. 
• Training and supervising students in field and lab tasks.

Qualifications

To be eligible for this position you must have:

• A bachelor degree or equivalent in Biological Sciences or related areas. Experience from relevant work in combination with relevant courses may compensate for lack of formal education.
• Previous demonstrated experience with animal (bird) handling.
• Ability and physical fitness to conduct fieldwork in any weather condition.
• Fluency in English. The position will be part of an international research community where the working language is English and the application should therefore be written in English. If English proficiency is not documented in the application, it must be documented before starting in the position.

It is considered an advantage if you have:

• Experience with experimental work with small songbirds (e.g. field manipulations, blood sampling, tracking, etc). Experience with carrying out animal experimental manipulations in the field with other taxa will also be considered.
• Bird ringing experience, preferably possession of a ringing license A or equivalent (senior bird ringing license), or sufficient experience to qualify for a license within a short period.
• License to carry out experiments with wild animals.
• Experience with training students.
• A driving license valid in Norway.
• Knowledge of Norwegian language.
• It is considered an advantage if you have: class B driver's license for manual transmission

We will also emphasize motivation and personal suitability for the position. We are looking for candidates who:

• Have good collaboration skills
• Have good communication and interaction with colleagues and students

• Wants to contribute to a good working environment

  We are looking for candidates who are able to work independently as well as coordinate their work in parallel experiments in close collaboration with the project manager and her team, comprised of scientists and students from different backgrounds.

We offer

• A good working environment with dedicated colleagues
• Flexible working hours and a state collective pay agreement
• Pension scheme through the state pension fund

Remuneration of  Staff Engineer positions are in salary code avdelingsingeniør 1085  on the pay scale for Norwegian state employees. There is a 2% deduction for contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund. As a state employee, you have one of the best pension schemes availiable. For more information see: spk.no.

Application

The application must be submitted electronically via www.jobbnorge.no, and must include:

• Cover letter explaining your motivation and interests
• CV
• Degree diplomas
• Certificates/licenses (driving license, bird ringing qualifications, animal experimentation qualifications, etc.)
• 2–3 references with contact information
• If applicable, Master’s thesis and/or any other relevant technical or academic work that document your skills

All documentation to be considered must be in a Scandinavian language or English. Diplomas and transcripts must also be submitted in the original language, if not in English or Scandinavian. We only accept applications and documentation that have been submitted via Jobbnorge within the application deadline.

English proficiency can be documented in ONE of the following ways:

• Applicants from the Nordic countries can document their skills with a high school diploma.
• Diploma and transcript for a completed university degree that was taught and examined in English, OR
• Diplomas from the following language tests with the minimum scores as indicated: IELTS (min. 6.5 in each part), TOEFL iBT (min. reading 22, listening 22, speaking 22, writing 25), TOEFL PBT (min. total 550), Cambridge ESOL Examination (C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency Level), European Language Certificate (telc; min. C1 level).

Inclusion and diversity

UiT The Arctic University i Norway is working actively to promote equality, gender balance and diversity among employees and students, and to create an inclusive and safe working environment. We believe that inclusion and diversity is a strength and we want employees with different competencies, professional experience, life experience and perspectives.

If you have a disability, a gap in your CV or immigrant background, we encourage you to tick the box for this in your application. If there are qualified applicants, we invite least one in each group for an interview. If you get the job, we will adapt the working conditions if you need it. Apart from selecting the right candidates, we will only use the information for anonymous statistics.

General information

The appointment is made in accordance with State regulations and guidelines at UiT. At our website, you will find more information for applicants.

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

More information about moving to Norway and working at UiT: https://en.uit.no/staffmobility

Employees who have been temporarily employed at UiT continuously for more than three years shall be deemed to be permanently employed, cf. the Civil Service Act § 9 (3).

A good work environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background.

UiT will emphasize making the necessary adaptations to the working conditions for employees with reduced functional ability. Questions can be directed to the contact person for the position.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

DIVERSE INFO

Kilde: NAV stillingsannonser
https://arbeidsplassen.nav.no/stillinger/stilling/ceb2a9e1-8fd4-41f5-bdc1-f267228c0afe
IMPORTAPI
https://www.jobbnorge.no/ledige-stillinger/stilling/270892