Reference: TdV-2015-SR

Closing of applications: Sunday, September 13, 2015

Mission: 

The Tour du Valat is a private foundation working for the research and conservation of Mediterranean wetlands. Founded in 1954 by Dr Luc Hoffmann and based in the Camargue, it is at the cutting edge of multidisciplinary fields of research, building bridges between science, management and public policies, and drawing up management plans. The Tour du Valat has internationally recognised scientific expertise, and provides practical responses to problems regarding the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources. The Tour du Valat’s projects are carried out in the Camargue and around the Mediterranean Basin.

With its 2600-hectare estate, the Tour du Valat has laboratories, experimental field sites and offices surrounded by wetlands and various other Mediterranean habitats. It has developed a wide range of local, national, and international partnerships. The Tour du Valat research teams work in close collaboration with several national and international research centres, in particular the nearby universities and CNRS (national scientific research centres) of Montpellier and Marseille, the Edward Grey Institute (Oxford), and the Doñana Biological Station (CSIC, Sevilla).

The Tour du Valat employs 60 people, including 10 researchers and about ten Ph.D. or other students.

Fish in the Mediterranean region, with many endemic species, are at the heart of multiple issues, including conservation and socio-economic issues concerning their sustainable exploitation, their role in food webs, and exotic species. The Tour du Valat’s current work on fish essentially concerns populations of Mediterranean lagoon fish (especially the eel), the impact of introduced freshwater species (e.g. European Catfish) and the conservation of endemic freshwater fish, in particular Mediterranean trout species

The Tour du Valat is seeking a junior research scientist to continue developing its fish research and conservation programme.

His/her main task will be to develop a research programme after the retirement of a research director (see his CV). The programme will be in the field of the ecology of fish populations, in particular long-term studies of populations of marked individuals in metapopulation contexts. The Tour du Valat has a long tradition of research on the biology of populations, with large databases on the life histories of individuals.

The research assistant will join the Tour du Valat’s “Conservation of Species” department, which aims is to provide solutions to issues regarding the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources involving Mediterranean wetland species, both threatened species and those causing problems. The conservation solutions it proposes are based above all on scientific knowledge, resulting from its research projects, and on the transfer and application of the information produced by the scientific community in general.

Profile

The successful applicant must have the desire to develop a long-term research programme together with:

(1) A doctoral degree on an appropriate subject;
(2) A solid research experience;
(3) A proven interest in applied conservation research;
(4) The capacity to work highly autonomously in the management and development of his/ her research programme (maintaining and developing national and international partnerships, fund seeking, etc.);
(5) Good small-team management skills (technician, PhD students and interns).

Expertise in modelling and Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) Analysis would be a further advantage.

Duration

Permanent contract (CDI), starting from the fourth quarter of 2015.

More information

Download the job offer

How to apply

Send the application file to daubigney@tourduvalat.org (ref: TdV-2015-SR) by 13 September 2015, with:

• a covering letter;
• a resume/CV
• a list of publications;
• a research programme proposition (max. 2 pages);
• the names and contact details of three references (with e-mail addresses), including a recent
• employer.

The shortlisted applicants will be invited for an interview on 6 October 2015. They will make a short presentation of their research and their proposed programme to the selection committee. Travelling expenses can be reimbursed at the applicant’s request.

Contact

For any questions concerning the application procedure, please contact Florence Daubigney by mail