Overview

Join the growing team of the Monarch Joint Venture, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving the monarch butterfly migration across North America. We are hiring up to three teams of field technicians (two persons each) to study monarch butterfly breeding and migratory habitat throughout California in 2022. Positions are full time, approximately 40 hours per week, with likelihood of paid overtime up to 50 hours per week. Field technicians must be able to commit to the full monitoring season (aside from one week of unpaid leave for technicians working through mid-September; to be coordinated among field teams), drive long distances, and live away from home during project dates. Technicians will travel extensively throughout the state collecting biological data on monarch butterflies, milkweed, and other floral resources.

Responsibilities:

• Training and field season preparation (5%). General onboarding procedures including organizational operations and safety training.
• Field data collection (65%). Conduct field surveys. Data collection involves walking a series of transects at each site and recording the information within 1-m2 quadrats, examining milkweed for monarch eggs and larvae within a 1-ha area, and recording adult monarchs observed along a transect or incidentally.
• Data and field logistics management (15%). Maintain, organize, and enter field data on tablets/computers (provided by MJV) throughout the season.
• Train others in Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program protocols (5%).

Qualifications and Skills:

• Field technicians must have experience in the fields of biology, botany, wildlife, or another related field.
• Technicians must be able to work both independently and in close collaboration with a teammate.
• Work will entail long days of driving and collecting plant and insect data in direct sunlight, high temperatures, and buggy or other harsh conditions.
• Technicians must be comfortable interacting with private landowners and available to spend overnights in distant or remote locations (e.g., camping).
• The positions require excellent verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and the ability to enter data accurately onto a mobile device and computer.
• Valid driver’s license.
  Experience collecting plant and insect data.
• Knowledge of California milkweed species and other flora.
• Experience with GIS and navigating with a GPS or compass. Coursework or experience identifying plants and insects.