Field Technician
Omschrijving
Deze vacature is alleen beschikbaar in het Engels. We are seeking a highly skilled field technician to co-lead demographic monitoring, colour-ringing and GPS tracking of Eurasian spoonbills within the Waakvogels consortium run by BirdEyes, Centre for Global Ecological Change. The position is administratively within the Faculty of Science and Engineering and is primarily based at the Herdershut field station on the island of Schiermonnikoog, with frequent expeditions to other barrier islands in the Dutch Wadden Sea. The role mainly involves a variety of fieldwork tasks and associated data management, and will be conducted in close collaboration with another field technician and a PhD candidate, supervised by a postdoctoral researcher of BirdEyes. For some tasks the position includes mobilisation and organisation of volunteer field assistants, including representatives from local governments, nature management organisations and other stakeholders.
Functie eisen
- Excellent track record in conducting long field campaigns and demonstrable experience with various ornithological research techniques (e.g. biometrics, estimating egg age to predict hatching dates, applying and reading colour-rings, deploying camera traps and interpreting footage).
- Demonstrable experience with catching, colour-ringing and GPS-tracking of wild birds; experience with catching adult spoonbills is highly desirable.
- Holds an 'Article 9' certificate under the Dutch Experiments on Animals Act, required for obtaining blood samples from wild birds.
- Proactive and flexible attitude, able to plan ahead and adapt to weather and challenging logistics across the Wadden Sea.
- Collaborative mindset and ability to work well with senior and early-career researchers.
- Ability to engage positively with a wide variety of stakeholders, including local government officials, nature managers, and the general public.
- Commitment to high ethical standards, animal welfare, and fostering a safe, inclusive social environment across genders, races, cultures, and sexual orientations.
- Fluency in Dutch and English.
Taken
- Lead and support in-depth demographic monitoring on Schiermonnikoog, including monitoring number of nests and breeding success.
- Scale up GPS-tracking of adult spoonbills from Schiermonnikoog and Texel to nearly all islands in the Dutch Wadden Sea.
- Colour-ring a minimum of 25–30 spoonbill chicks and GPS-tag at least 5 spoonbill chicks on at least five Wadden Sea islands.
- Resight colour-ringed spoonbills at high-tide roosts and post-breeding aggregation sites.
- Manage and digitise field data.
- Organise and coordinate volunteers to assist in chick-ringing expeditions.
- Maintain valuable field equipment.
Werkomstandigheden
- Appointment is temporary for four months (July–October 2026) at 1.0 FTE.
- End-of-year bonus (8.3%) and holiday allowance (8%).
- Possibility to work more or fewer hours in exchange for correspondingly more or fewer free hours (flexible hours arrangement).
- Extensive opportunities for personal and professional development.
Beschrijving van de organisatie
The Faculty of Science and Engineering provides teaching and research across a wide range of disciplines, and collaborates with partners from industry, healthcare, and society to address challenges such as energy, sustainability, digitization, and medical technology. The academic community is open and informal, with a diverse international population of students, PhD candidates and staff.
BirdEyes, Centre for Global Ecological Change is an interfaculty research centre that develops collaborative programs to understand global environmental shifts by "seeing the world from a bird's perspective." The centre links fundamental avian migration research with societal challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss, using high-tech multi-sensor tracking to translate complex data into narratives for scientists, policymakers, nature managers and the public. BirdEyes is strategically positioned as a breeding ground for innovation and maintains ties with research institutes and regional partners.