Rangeland Pollinator Research Technician - North Dakota

This is a part-time or temporary non-benefited position.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and the position may be filled prior to the last date to apply.

Description & Details:

We are seeking a motivated technician to assist with data collection in pollinator research projects in North Dakota rangelands. The successful candidate will survey pollinators and flowering plants in grazed pasture treatments including virtual fencing, patch-burn grazing, and season-long grazing. There may be a small amount of experience with avian and vegetation surveys in these same treatments as well as occasional opportunities to pin and identify bees in the lab.

The technician will be trained in the following skills for this position:

• Identifying and counting grassland floral species
• Catching bees with sweep nets and handling bees with catch jars
• Photographing, swabbing, and collecting live bees
• Visually identifying and counting butterfly and moth species along transects
• Line-transect distance sampling of grassland birds
• Data collection on plant community structure and composition
• Pinning, labeling, and identifying collected bees in a laboratory
• Entering and/or uploading all collected data onto shared Google documents

Typical challenges associated with working in grasslands do apply. Expect wide-ranging weather conditions, intense sun, mosquitos, ticks, and very long days working in the field and driving to and from survey sites.

The technician will be directly supervised by Bethany Roberton, a PhD student, and Michael Warne, an MS student, and will interact with multiple NDSU faculty and students. Housing will be provided. Start date is flexible but should not be any later than June 1st. End date is flexible but will more than likely be in mid-August.

Work Schedule:

Applicants must be willing to work 40 hours per week on a variable schedule according to weather (not always Monday-Friday each week). The chosen applicant MUST be able to work for the entire field season.

Advertised Pay:

$16/hr housing at Central Grasslands Research Extension Center in Streeter, ND

Minimum Qualifications:

Technicians will be living and working very closely with fellow team members, so a positive attitude and the ability to get along with others is a must. Self-reliant, motivated, and flexible individuals with great communication skills are encouraged to apply!

Applicants must have a valid driver’s license. A work vehicle will be provided for travel to and from survey sites, but all non-work driving (grocery, shopping, etc.) must be done in a personal vehicle (thus a personal vehicle is highly recommended).

Preferred Qualifications:

The most competitive applicants will have experience conducting or assisting with scientific field research. Preferred qualifications are experience with insect and/or floral identification, bird identification, insect capture, or laboratory work.

To Apply - Applications must include the following materials:

Please include within application if you are currently or have in the past 12 months been employed with NDSU, the North Dakota University System or any other North Dakota State agency. If so, include which agency/department, as well as your how many hours you work a week and in the past 12 months.

TO APPLY: Please email Bethany Roberton at bethany.roberton@ndsu.edu and Michael Warne at michael.warne@ndsu.edu for an application.

Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and the position may be filled prior to the last date to apply.

Thank you for your interest!

Contact Persons: Bethany Roberton and Michael Warne

Contact e-mail: bethany.roberton@ndsu.edu and michael.warne@ndsu.edu

About Us:

North Dakota State University is distinctive as a student focused, land-grant, research university. We educate leaders who solve national and global challenges by providing affordable access to an excellent education that combines teaching and research in a rich learning environment.

NDSU is in the highest Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, R1, granted to the top research institutions in the country.

NDSU has offices across the state of North Dakota, and the main campus is in Fargo, on the Minnesota border. Along with Moorhead, Minnesota, Fargo forms one of the largest metropolitan centers between Minneapolis and Seattle. The community is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live.

Employment Eligibility:

NDSU determines employment eligibility through the E-Verify system: What is E-Verify? New employees to NDSU must present specific identification to determine their employment eligibility no later than their first day of work. To view the identification required, please see the List of Acceptable Documents. You will be required to have one item from List A OR one item from List B and List C.

No Smoking Notice:

As an employer, the State of North Dakota prohibits smoking in all places of state employment in accordance with N.D.C.C. § 23-12-10.

EO/AA Statement:

North Dakota State University is an Equal Opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, color, gender expression/identity, genetic information, marital status, national origin, participation in lawful off-campus activity, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, public assistance status, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, spousal relationship to current employee, or veteran status, as applicable.

Diversity Statement:

NDSU strives to be a community of belonging, recognizing unique differences as strengths of our university. We seek to recruit and retain a diverse workforce that supports a community in which diverse populations and perspectives will know and learn from one another. NDSU values candidates who are committed to our core values of respect, inclusivity, community, creativity, excellence, impact, innovation, integrity, resilience, responsiveness, and transformation. Successful candidates will be committed to and help advance our strategic goal to create and maintain an open and respectful environment to promote inclusivity and diversity as a cornerstone of education, research, and outreach.

Veteran’s Preference Notice:

This position is subject to North Dakota Veteran’s Preference requirements.

Reasonable Accommodation Information

North Dakota State University is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education, and employment for individuals with disabilities. To request disability accommodation in the application process, please contact Human Resources at 701-231-8961 or ndsu.hr@ndsu.edu.

We collectively acknowledge that NDSU, a land grant institution, on the traditional lands of the Oceti Sakowin (Dakota, Lakota, Nakoda) and Anishinaabe Peoples in addition to many diverse Indigenous Peoples still connected to these lands. We honor with gratitude Mother Earth and the Indigenous Peoples who have walked with her throughout generations. We will continue to learn how to live in unity with Mother Earth and build strong, mutually beneficial, trusting relationships with Indigenous Peoples of our region. (see www.ndsu.edu/inclusioncouncil/native_american_initiatives/).