Overview

The Borneo Nature Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization that aims to protect the rainforest habitats of Central Kalimantan, for the conservation of biodiversity and the many benefits these ecosystems provide to people. We implement programs of habitat protection, management, and restoration in three distinct forest landscapes, working with government and university partners and empowering local communities to lead conservation efforts, and implementing research, education, community development, awareness, and capacity building initiatives to create long-term impacts. BNF is headquartered in Palangka Raya, supported by international partner organizations, and funded by a diverse range of grant-giving bodies and other donors.

We are seeking a Cat Scientist (CS) to work under the BNF Research Manager and to lead the new Kalimantan Wild Cat Initiative, a joint initiative by Borneo Nature Foundation (BNF), Global Wildlife Conservation (GWC), and Panthera. This person will become an ambassador for the five wild cat species of Borneo and will put these understudied and under-protected felids in the conservation spotlight. At the forefront of this new initiative, the CS will be responsible to lead, develop and implement the Wild Cat initiative’s activities to meet the following objectives:

  • Continue and build upon conservation research activities in BNF’s field sites in Central Kalimantan (Sebangau, Rungan, and Barito Ulu);
  • Assess how conservation mitigations impact cat populations through camera trapping surveys and interviews with local communities; and
  • Establish and develop a new Borneo Cat Working Group: bringing together all groups working on felid conservation in Kalimantan, Sabah, and Sarawak to facilitate the development of effective conservation strategies to protect Borneo’s threatened cats.

The CS will be confident and outgoing to liaise with government authorities, universities, and NGOs to build up new collaborations and long-term partnerships. We are looking for an Indonesian national who is fluent in both spoken and written Bahasa Indonesia and English for this role. This position is not expected to be a stepping stone in someone’s career, but an opportunity to establish a long-term conservation initiative working in partnership with three leading conservation NGOs. It is therefore essential that the CS has a strong interest, enthusiasm, and commitment to wildlife conservation.

Key Tasks and Responsibilities:

  • Overseeing the camera trapping efforts at BNF’s main field sites (Sebangau, Rungan, and Barito Ulu). This includes coordinating with field staff on data collection and management, data analysis, grant, and manuscript writing, attending conferences and workshops, and contributing to communication outputs for the Kalimantan Wild Cat Initiative.
  • Ensure that field data are collected according to protocol and are of high quality, that field data are entered correctly into electronic databases, and that the integrity of all data collected is maintained and improved.
  • Providing field training and supervision to local research coordinators, plus local and international students working on the Kalimantan Wild Cat Initiative.
  • Working together with relevant personnel from BNF, GWC, and Panthera to ensure that the Kalimantan Wild Cat Initiative objectives are achieved.
  • Maintain positive and productive collaborations with other project scientists and partners re strategic goals for external partnerships and local network development.
  • Prepare grant applications and internal/external reports relevant to the Kalimantan Wild Cat Initiative.

Experience and Requirements:

  • Indonesian Nationality
  • Education: Minimum Masters degree (S2)
  • Excellent spoken and written English
  • A minimum of 3 years experience in relevant research areas, ideally in a research/conservation organization and with significant time working in the field.
  • Experience in writing, peer-reviewed manuscripts in a relevant research area would be beneficial
  • Ability to build and coordinate teams
  • Able to link to other projects e.g. Borneo Nature Foundation collaborations with other universities
  • Skilled at producing reports for both internal and external
  • Enthusiastic, confident, and committed to research and conservation initiatives

Salary and benefits:

  • Competitive for the sector and commensurate with experience.
  • Initially, accommodation will be provided in town free of charge for a couple of months and then the staff has to pay a monthly fee. At camp, accommodation and food at camp will be provided during fieldwork activities.