BirdCast Project Leader- Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Texas

Extension Support Specialist I

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Cornell University

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a globally renowned nonprofit institution that advances research, education, citizen science, and conservation to improve the understanding and protection of birds and biodiversity. A vibrant unit within Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Lab has six centers led by full-time faculty and staff. The Center for Avian Population Studies (CAPS), is responsible for collection, curation, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of massive amounts of data on birds and for producing science to support conservation efforts, BirdCast is an high-profile project at the intersection of ornithology, machine learning, and computational sustainability with a primary objective of identifying where, when, and how far birds will migrate and a secondary objective of moving this science to conservation action, messaging, and outreach. BirdCast research characterizes migrations of birds, with particular applications in forecasting and truthing of active migration. Accurate migration forecast models have broad application, including for improving knowledge for aviation safety, tracking zoonotic disease, allowing researchers to understand migratory behavior in response to changing climates, and for linking variation in migration magnitude and timing with subsequent changes in population size. Knowledge of migratory behavior also aids conservation by informing decisions for mitigation of numerous hazards including identifying nights on which lighting of tall buildings and structures could be eliminated to prevent the deaths of millions of birds. In the United States alone, an estimated 600 million birds die annually in building strikes, with many collisions occurring in urban areas.
BirdCast is hiring a project leader to develop a prototype "Lights Out" campaign that integrates on-the-ground organizational management and outreach with the science of bird migration in Houston and Dallas, two metropolitan areas that are particularly risky for migratory birds. The project leader is responsible for gathering information and best-practices from other Lights Out campaigns and working with Texas city governments, individual building managers, local conservation organizations, local TV stations, and the public in Texas to increase awareness and enlist willingness to reduce lighting during nights of heaviest bird migration. This position is essential for the project's success, as a primary spokesperson for the campaigns in Dallas and Houston and promoting adoption of Lights Out action at key buildings. Responsibilities will include direct engagement with city governments, industries, building managers, local conservation partners, and media contacts. Coordinate meetings among all these stakeholders, plus the public, to promote adoption of the campaigns in Dallas and Houston. This position will be based in Texas to promote and help to develop messaging of Lights Out alerts in local Texas media outlets and to new stakeholders for future/next generation alerts.

ons and responsibilities include the following:

• Project Management: Provide daily functional leadership of by o,*er seeing "Lights Out" campaign activities, including: coordinating meetings with building managers and a diverse array of stakeholders in Dallas and Houston, setting priorities for launches of relevant campaign materials, coordinating individual and group activities to meet project deadlines in Dallas and Houston. Gather and summarize information and best-practices from existing Lights Out campaigns.
• Partnership Development, Implementation and Management: Develop and foster communication and high-level collaboration with Dallas and Houston stakeholders, research groups, institutions, NGOS and other partners. Develop and maintain relationships with other cities' "Lights Out" programs and coordinators. Expand campaigns to other cities.
• Outreach. Training and Engagement: Provide outreach and engagement direction for prototype Dallas and Houston"Lights Out" campaigns. Manage creation and implementation of materials for stakeholders in the project. Aid in the development and communication of protocols and procedures for alerting campaign participants, creating city specific information pages for Houston and Dallas, and promoting discussion and dissemination of"Lights Out" messaging via social media. Present information and research at city, state, national and international conferences and public appearances.
• Other Duties: Collaborate on proposal preparation to secure additional program funding, monitor relevant synergies and leverage existing project goals and resources.

This position is a 2 year term position with the possibility of renewal based on performance, available work and funding.

Position will be located in Texas, but will be required to travel to the Lab of Ornithology quarterly.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree, or equivalent, in biological sciences, museum studies, information sciences or other relevant field.
• Less than 5 years of experience with a combination of: using/curating biological research collections, using audiovisual media for scholarly activities, large-scale digital asset management initiatives, literature review, and/or biodiversity bioinformatics data management projects and initiatives.
• Advanced bird identification and observation skills and experience, especially knowledge of bird migration, bird behavior, and migration ecology.
• Must have a record of successfully meeting schedules and milestones of projects involving multiple and diverse stages, participants and stakeholders.
• Demonstrated record of success in large-scale project leadership and management.
• Experience with audiovisual media recording technology, manipulation and archival practices, with emphasis on birds and natural history.
• Experience using audiovisual media collections for research, formal and informal science education, and/or public outreach. Mastery of standard office management (e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc) and communication software (e.g. Slack) required.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Must have ability to obtain and maintain a valid passport and driver's license and be able to travel to New York multiple times a year.
• Must be strongly motivated and outgoing, able to think critically and make a positive contribution to BirdCast and Cornell Lab's mission.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Advanced degree in biology or related field.
• Advanced knowledge and multiple years of experience using BirdCast.
• Advanced sound and video recording, and/or photography experience.
• Knowledge of statistical and computational software such as R, Python.
• Experience with social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram.
• Experience with radar, radar ornithology, radar aeroecology.
• Knowledge of Texas birding and conservation communities.
• Experience with artificial light at night research and outreach.
• Experience with proposal, report, -and manuscript preparation.
• Experience mentoring and advising volunteers and undergraduate students.

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