Monitoring and GIS Specialist

Position: Monitoring and GIS Specialist

Full Time/Part Time: Full Time

Job Type: Term Appointment

Position Summary: The New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute seeks an eager and creative-minded Ecological Monitoring and GIS Specialist to join its diverse team of ecological restoration professionals.

The Ecological Monitoring & GIS Specialist is an integral member of the New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute (NMFWRI). The Ecological Monitoring Program at NMFWRI maintains a professionally managed field crew to collect data on short and long-term ecosystem responses to restoration treatments, wildfires, climate change, and other disturbances. This data provides a critical scientific basis for adaptive management decisions and improved treatment effectiveness. The program also works with partners to build statewide capacity in ecological monitoring, adaptive management, and restoration.

This Specialist will assist with data collection, analysis, interpretation and communication. This position works with the Ecological Monitoring program manager and our team, with the GIS program manager and team, and with other FWRI teams as needed.

We welcome candidates who can work collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team of professionals working towards wildfire resilience, post-fire restoration, and watershed conservation. This position will require excellent attention to detail; good self-care; strong analytical capabilities; and engaging communication skills with audiences of various ages, socioeconomic statuses, and cultural backgrounds.

Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, working closely with the field crew in data collection and analysis (including overnight travel); working with complex datasets; supervising and providing mentorship to student workers and interns; analyzing, interpreting and communicating management implications of monitoring data; participating in the creation, revision and publication of training materials; providing training in field methods or other topics to various audiences; assisting in project management; and some administrative tasks.

• We are looking for a candidate with solid geospatial technology and cartography skills; • Our new teammate will have strong organizational skills and will be able to creatively apply their skill and knowledge to new and emerging projects; • We seek a new team member who can wrangle GIS and monitoring data in its many forms and put it to work for our team and partners; • The ideal candidate will enjoy getting out of the office and gathering field data in scenic places, using some of the latest GNSS technology; • The new specialist will showcase their talent for making maps and building cartographic web experiences in service of a community passionate about the conservation and restoration of our New Mexico forests and watersheds.

We take care of our staff! Once hired, our Ecological Monitoring & GIS Specialist will be mentored by experienced GIS and Monitoring professionals and have a chance to teach us a thing or two as well! They will have opportunities for professional development. They will work with a passionate team engaged in and excited about education, ecological monitoring, and collaborative conservation.

As a New Mexico Highlands University employee, benefits include superb health, paid leave, and retirement benefits, an extended winter holiday break, and educational opportunities, including tuition waivers at New Mexico Highlands University.

Where you will work: From city to wilderness, valley to the mountaintop, our Las Vegas, New Mexico-based team serves our communities from the office and in the field. NMFWRI’s Ecological Monitoring and GIS Specialist will also train others and receive training at locations throughout the state. As members of a team, they will collect data and train others for selected projects in forested, grassland, and riparian settings, bringing it back to the office for processing, analysis, and distribution to others. This can be a fully on-campus or a hybrid position, and the ideal candidate should reside within a two-hour drive of our Las Vegas, NM office, as a minimum of two in-office days per week is required.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Responsible for maintaining and updating NMFWRI field and collaborative projects served via ArcGIS Online web mapping applications;
• Coordinate and maintain NMFWRI’s GPS and other GIS equipment;
• Create and maintain ESRI ArcGIS Online web mapping applications such as Field Maps, Survey 123, and Story Maps to collect data and information and to communicate issues and activities related to the health of New Mexico’s forests and watersheds;
• Assist staff with developing, designing and carrying out research projects;
• Perform statistical analysis and create products to support interpretation of field data/monitoring results;
• Interpret analysis results, translate data collected in the field into ecological/management implications and create publications, presentations and other materials that communicate these findings in ways that are accessible to a variety of partners for use in adaptive management;
• Use, edit, and write scripts in R coding language for data quality control, analysis, and visualization. Work with complex historic datasets using FFI, Microsoft Excel, SQL, Access, and other database softwares with attention to detail;
• Design field data collection applications using GNSS-based field data collection and assist training field crews in data collection. During the field season months this includes participation and training student interns and staff, which may include some overnight travel;
• Maintain a Wilderness First Responder or higher certification, participate in field crew safety trainings and serve as a back-up emergency contact for crews during field season;
• Assist with revision and publication of various documents, including the field manual, research papers, and other materials designed to make GIS, monitoring and restoration methods and data more accessible to partners;
• Perform basic GIS analyses and data management, produce maps and web apps for publications, create GIS workflow documents, write project reports, and create metadata for GIS data products;
• Conduct fieldwork related to trail mapping, GIS, and/or ecological monitoring;
• Work with NMFWRI staff and NMHU faculty to conduct training and outreach related to forest measurement, treatment, and analysis techniques, and provide training to stakeholders on new GIS applications, in the form of webinars and in-person training;
• Supervise and provide mentorship for student workers/interns while in the office and in the field;
• Participate in the accomplishment of forest and watershed restoration treatments and GIS trainings as part of professional development opportunities;
• Maintain regular attendance and clear communication with supervisors and colleagues in office, field, and online working environments;
• Perform other duties as assigned by supervisors.

Minimum Job Requirements:

• EDUCATION: M.S. in Forestry, GIS, Remote Sensing, Natural Resources Management, or a related field (e.g., biology, hydrology, biostatistics, geography) with a thesis option, OR a B.S. in one of these fields with substantial and in-depth, directly related training and work experience.
• EXPERIENCE: At least 2 years of field experience and data analysis, including working with ArcGIS software and experience with GNSS-based field data collection in a professional work environment.

Preferred Qualifications:

• EXPERIENCE: 3 years’ experience working with ArcGIS software in a professional work environment; GIS instruction experience; skill with HTML, Python and R programming languages; experience working with Imagery and LiDAR data and developing ArcGIS web mapping applications.
• EXPERIENCE: Crew leadership; Wilderness First Responder or higher training.

Special Conditions for Eligibility:

• Continued employment is contingent upon grant funding;
• Must have a flexible schedule, some travel (including overnights and camping) will be required;
• Must have a valid state-issued driver’s license;
• Must be willing to occasionally work weekends, evenings, and odd hours, as required;
• Must be willing to travel, at times to remote locations.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Skill using ESRI ArcGIS software and/or other related GIS software packages;
• Working knowledge of GIS applications in natural resource environments;
• Knowledge of ecological measurement and techniques;
• Knowledge of basic forestry and ecological science concepts;
• Skill using GPS technologies;
• Ability to teach GIS applications and develop training materials;
• Knowledge of web mapping applications;
• Skill at plant identification and knowledge of the range of southwest vegetation types;
• Skill using R coding language for figure creation;
• Knowledge of data quality control processes;
• Effective time management skills, and ability to achieve goals and independently undertake tasks with minimum direct supervision;
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community;
• Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing;
• Ability to work independently and as a member of a team;
• Ability to work effectively with others who have a wide range of skills and backgrounds.