Environmental Social Scientist, Guyana/Guiana Shield

The Field Museum is a not-for-profit organization located on the Museum Campus of Chicago. Since the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, we have conducted research across all seven continents and accumulated a collection of over 40 million specimens and artifacts.

We are running concurrent searches for two Environmental Social Scientists to join our Andes-Amazon team: one for Guyana/Guiana Shield and one for the Putumayo-Içá watershed. Please apply to each position individually, i.e., if you are interested in both positions, please apply to each one with a separate cover letter explaining your qualifications for the position in that geography.

The Field Museum's Keller Science Action Center translates museum science and expertise into action for conservation and quality of life. We are seeking an Environmental Social Scientist to focus on Guyana, where we have been working in recent years, with the possibility and aspiration to extend our efforts to other parts of the Guiana Shield. The successful candidate has significant knowledge of Guyana's and/or the Guiana Shield's conservation context and local and Indigenous communities, a passion for collaborative interdisciplinary research and fieldwork in remote areas, and a dedication to tangible, real-time results.

We seek an experienced social scientist who will contribute to our concepts, methods, strategy, and future directions and who will work with team members to develop and consolidate innovative approaches to community engagement in the conservation of the Amazon. This position is hired on a 3-year term with potential for renewal. It is based at the Field Museum in Chicago and reports to the Senior Environmental Social Scientist for the Andes-Amazon. The work involves frequent travel to South America, with approximately 30-40% of the year in the field.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Co-lead the Field Museum's strategy and execution of community-centered conservation in Guyana and the Guiana Shield
• With other social scientists, conduct rapid social assessments as part of rapid biological and social inventories in landscapes with high conservation value, with the goal of establishing and sustaining conservation that benefits local people,
• Manage key relationships with partners and help establish new partnerships that advance our conservation and wellbeing goals
• Contribute to efforts for asset-based planning, participatory action research, and rapid rural appraisal to place local community knowledge, values, and aspirations at the center of conservation efforts
• Work closely with Action Center staff and partners to synthesize insights and outcomes across particular experiences and generate understanding applicable to larger landscape scales, and produce demonstrable results on the ground
• Support the monitoring, evaluation, and iterative improvement of the program
• Contribute to grant proposals, technical reports, and other materials for dissemination, including peer-reviewed publications

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in anthropology or anthropological sciences, human ecology, sustainable development, environmental sciences or cultural geography
• Three to five years of experience in participatory action research, conservation, asset-based planning, or sustainable natural resource use with rural and/or Indigenous communities, with demonstrated experience in Guyana and/or the Guiana Shield
• Openness to work across social and natural science disciplines
• Experience with project management and competency working both independently and in a team
• Demonstrated facilitation skills
• Excellent communication, synthesis, and writing in English and one of the following: Portuguese, French, Dutch, Spanish, or Amerindian languages. Working understanding of Spanish is a plus
• Willingness to travel frequently and work in a fast-paced environment

Important Note: In order to protect the health and safety of our employees, guests and their families, the Field Museum is requiring all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Requests for exemptions from the vaccine will not be considered as given the nature of this position, we are unable to provide an accommodation for anyone who has not been vaccinated.

The Field Museum is an equal opportunity workplace and employer. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, Veteran status, or any other protected class. We strive to create a working environment that is free of all forms of discrimination and one that promotes human dignity and mutual respect among all staff. We believe every member of our organization enriches our diversity by exposing us to a broad range of ways to understand and engage with the world, to identify challenges, and to discover, design, and deliver solutions.

The Field Museum strives to ensure that our career website and recruiting process are accessible to all. If you are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our online application, or if you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to accessibility@fieldmuseum.org.