The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) is the global standard for ecosystem risk assessment, applied in over 100 countries and all continents, including Australia. The RLE has been recommended as a key indicator for measuring progress towards the latest global conservation goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Developing clear processes for using existing global and regional biodiversity databases and indicators will increase capacity of RLE assessors to complete assessments in an efficient, repeatable, and timely manner, and will be essential to meeting the goal of global coverage by 2025.

Position: We are seeking a casual, short-term (~6-8 weeks) research assistant (RA), in Deakin’s Conservation Science Research Group. The RA will support a project to develop a workflow that links global databases and biodiversity indicators to the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems process and Global Ecosystem Typology, to support the development of global ecosystem assessments. The project involves a four-day workshop bringing together local and international experts (Tuesday 6^th to Friday 9^th September).

Key duties and responsibilities, under direction and in collaboration with project leads Emily Nicholson, Jess Rowland and Simone Stevenson, include:

1. Collate and review available global databases and biodiversity indicators for their relevance to Red List assessments for different ecosystem types.
2. Help manage workshop logistics, including coordinating attendees, agenda, materials.
3. Attend and participate during the workshop
4. Undertake initial analyses for project outputs, including scientific papers.

Selection criteria

We are seeking an individual who can meet the following selection criteria:

Essential:

1. PhD, Masters, or undergraduate degree (with Honours) or equivalent in quantitative ecology, conservation science or a related discipline.
2. Demonstrated ability to plan and organise projects and data.
3. Skills and experience in data management and analysis, in R, GIS or similar
4. Strong research skills and experience, including the capacity to work independently and in teams
5. Demonstrated ability to communicate and work effectively as part of a small team.

Desirable:

1. Experience working with biodiversity indicators and/or global ecosystem and/or biodiversity datasets
2. An understanding of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems, and/or IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

If you are interested in applying for this short-term position, please send the following to Emily Nicholson (e.nicholson@deakin.edu.au):

1. A letter highlighting your suitability for this position and addressing the selection criteria.

2. Your curriculum vitae.
3. Names and contact details of two references

Applications are due by COB 12th August 2022 (or when the position is filled). We endeavour to fill this position by mid-August 2022.