Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment

Project: Mapping and conservation prioritization of dry grasslands and savannas of peninsular India

Location and period
The position is based in Bangalore, but may require periodic travel to various locations. The appointment is for 22 months, starting February 2012. Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience and will be similar to DST Fellowships for SRF/ RA. The selected candidates should be willing to join immediately.

Interested candidates may send a short (one page) cover letter detailing suitability for this position and CV to avanak@atree.org before 25 Jan 2012. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed over skype or personally, depending on availability.

Responsibilities
The SRA will be responsible for the development of spatial datasets for the classification, mapping and conservation prioritization of dry grassland and savanna biome in peninsular India. The position requires strong software skills and willingness to undertake intensive GIS/RS tasks as well as fieldwork for ground truthing.

Responsibilities will include but will not be restricted to:

• Creation of geo-spatial datasets from multi-format RS imagery, topographical maps etc.
• Identification, classification and delineation of dry grassland habitats
• Implement various spatial data analytical procedures required for the project such as species distribution mapping, land cover change analysis etc.
• Archiving and management of the spatial database

Minimum qualifications
Masters degree with specialization in GIS and Remote Sensing, with background in Botany/Zoology/Life Sciences/Environment or related fields

 OR

Masters degree in Life Sciences/Botany/Zoology/Environmental Science or related fields with sound training in GIS and RS

Experience and skills

• Minimum 2-3 years of experience in a position  with primary responsibilities in RS/GIS related tasks
• Strong software skills in ArcGIS, ERDAS Imagine and IDRISI. Familiarity with Maxent and Marxan or similar conservation prioritization software is a plus
• Familiarity with multi-format GIS and RS datasets
• Proficiency in English both for communication and report writing. Verbal proficiency in either Hindi, Marathi, Kannada and Telugu a plus
• Ability to work in a team with possible time deadlines
• Willingness to travel extensively under difficult field conditions for ground-truthing surveys

Desirable qualifications

• Familiarity with spatial modeling of species distributions or environmental properties are highly desirable
• Familiarity with Idrisi, QGIS, and other open source GIS software will be helpful
• Knowledge in webGIS or DBMS
• Knowledge in web technologies or website content management