GEO Mountains Technical Assistant (40-50%)

JOB DESCRIPTION

To help us develop our inventories of in situ observational infrastructure and other datasets, tools, and resources related to various disciplines and mountainous regions globally, we are opening a temporary position of Technical Assistant (40-50% FTE). The selected candidate will be responsible for both populating the inventory using pre-existing information and finding additional resources that are suitable to feature. Tasks will mainly involve searching for relevant datasets in the academic literature (including “data” journals and online repositories such as figshare, PANGAEA, Mendeley Data etc.), as well as contacting representatives of operational services (e.g. national hydrological and meteorological agencies). The inventories will be shared by GEO Mountains with the global community of mountain scientists, policymakers, and practitioners. Other related data tasks in support of the GEO Mountains implementation plan may also be required on an as- needed basis.

The start date is no later than 1 October 2021, preferably earlier, upon agreement. The duration is approximately for 6 months, with a possibility of extension. The place of work is at the MRI Coordination Office, with possibility for some flexible virtual (home office) work. Salary is set in accordance with the University of Bern and the employment conditions of the Canton of Bern.

The MRI Coordination Office is hosted and based at the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE), University of Bern, and offers attractive working conditions.

DESIRABLE SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• BSc in a relevant subject such as Earth sciences (or working towards obtaining a degree);

• Interest in interdisciplinary environmental data for science, policy, and practice;

• Ability to work efficiently, independently, with excellent intercultural communication and interpersonal skills;

• Basic GIS (experience with QGIS preferred);

• Good written and spoken English, as well as German and/or French, with a professional written communication style.