Biology Assistant - AmeriCorps

POSITION DETAILS

Position Title: Biology Assistant - AmeriCorps

Conservation Legacy Program: Stewards Individual Placements

Site Location: Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Pacific Island Network, Hawaii National Park, Hawaii

Can this position be fully remote: No - Must be within commuting distance to office location.

Number of positions available: 1

TERMS OF SERVICE

Duration: 52 Weeks (not flexible)

Flexible Start Date: Yes

Start Date: 01/12/2026

End Date: 01/11/2027

AmeriCorps Slot Classification: 1700 hours - this is the minimum number of hours the selected candidate must serve.

BENEFITS

• Segal AmeriCorps Education Award of $7,395.00 upon successful completion of position.
• Living Allowance of $600.00 per week.
• Relocation Allowance of $1,100.00 (distributed as a one-time lump sum with first paycheck)
• Student Loan Forbearance if applicable (administered by MyAmeriCorps, directly).
  • Student Loan Interest Payments if applicable (administered through MyAmeriCorps, directly).
• For 52-week-long positions only:
  • Healthcare Coverage (opt in)
  • Childcare Coverage (opt in)

APPLICATION TIMELINE

The position will close after receiving 60 applications, or at 11:59 p.m. EDT on Sunday, 12 October, 2025, whichever occurs first. The review of applications will begin after Sunday, 12 October, 2025. Preference given to applicants who submit applications before Sunday, 12 October, 2025.

PURPOSE

This Biology Assistant is an AmeriCorps position. SIP participants on this project will collect and analyze data on the status and trends of plant communities within National Park Service units across the pacific islands. They will assist with improving data quality and developing efficiencies in data management steps and ultimately contributing to science communication through data summaries, data visuals, and science communication to visitors, local communities, and natural resource managers to help guide scientifically informed management decisions. For example, this information is especially important to understand how highly endemic, native-dominated plant communities are changing from stressors (e.g. environmental changes, invasive species, expanding populations of established non-native plants) and responding to management actions (e.g. invasive species control).

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES

The Pacific Island Inventory and Monitoring Network (PACN) is recruiting an SIP participant to assist with data science duties for vegetation monitoring conducted within the national parks of the Pacific Islands. Major duties include 1) preparing, summarizing, and analyzing vegetation datasets with a focus on assessing plant community status and trends, 2) documenting data science steps and procedures via R programming language including promotion of reproducible results by storing, testing, and executing all procedures from within an R package environment, 3) Opportunistically assisting with vegetation monitoring field projects, data entry, and data quality control when appropriate. Important responsibilities of this position include ensuring a respectful environment, safely conducting service in a remote and physically challenging backcountry environment, documenting service activities in a neat and complete manner, and communicating effectively with supervisor, mentors, and crewmembers.

KEYWORDS: long-term data, data science, visualization, analyst

DELIVERABLES

Deliverables include: 1) R scripts (or R markdown files) demonstrating the procedures used to select and combine appropriate datasets, explore, visualize, and validate datasets used in trend analysis and steps to recognize and handle errors and improve data quality, 2) A SOP (standard operating procedure) document outlining the main steps involved and key decisions points and choices made to achieve and replicate final results, 3) A science communication product (article, story map, poster, presentation, etc.) highlighting the projects completed and future steps needed.

QUALIFICATIONS

• United States citizen, United States national, or a lawful permanent resident alien.
• Has received a high school diploma or equivalency certificate; or has not dropped out of secondary school to enroll as an AmeriCorps participant and agrees to obtain a high school diploma or its equivalent prior to using the education award.
• Prior to starting the position, agrees to provide information to establish eligibility and to complete a National Service Criminal History Check for the employer of record, Conservation Legacy, and a separate government security background check for the NPS site location.
• The applicant must be available to participate for 52 Weeks in order to be considered and participate.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
Qualifications necessary for project success: 1) demonstrated ability in utilizing R for data science related projects, 2) demonstrated understanding of basic statistical analyses, 3) demonstrated ability to serve self-sufficiently on assigned tasks. Applicant should demonstrate these qualifications by describing relevant coursework, school projects, previous experience, or personal projects. Additional desired skills: 1) advanced use of R (for example: designing functions for use in R packages or utilizing nested dataframes for statistical analysis), 2) experience utilizing linear mixed-effects models and case bootstrapping, 3) experience collecting and summarizing vegetation or other natural resources data.

ADDITIONAL POSITION AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION

POSITION SETTING

position duties will be approximately 80% office projects, 20% field projects. At Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, the resident community within the park is small and located in a remote area. The elevation at park housing is 4,000 feet. The weather is variable but can be cool with frequent rains year-round. Volcano Village, a small community with limited services, is located 5 miles away. The nearest large city of Hilo (population 40,000) is located 30 miles from the park entrance. Government vehicles are available for project duties and obtaining groceries/necessities, but are not available for personal recreation (e.g. site-seeing). The county bus has a stop at the park visitor center - however the bus schedule is very limited, so a personal vehicle is recommended for general recreation outside of the park housing area.

VEHICLE AND DRIVER’S LICENSE REQUIREMENTS

• Applicant must have a valid driver's license to drive a government vehicle.
• A personal vehicle is recommended for this position.

HOUSING

Park housing is available and will be provided at no cost to the participant. Shared housing within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is available and is located within walking distance of scenic views of Kilauea Caldera, project offices, and the Kilauea Visitor Center. SIP participants will be provided private or shared rooms with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. Housing has basic furnishings, kitchen appliances, cookware, plates, utensils, towels, and linens.

HOW TO APPLY

Apply online, all Scientists in Parks positions are listed at: https://conservation-legacy.breezy.hr/. Complete the application for this position, highlighting why you are interested in the position and how your background and experience will help you succeed in this position. Be prepared to upload your resume and unofficial transcript as part of completing the application questionnaire.

Once you begin applying for a position, the application must be completed in one sitting. You cannot save and return later to complete it. Applicants can apply for up to five Scientists in Parks positions per season. You need to complete a separate application for each position in order to be considered. You should receive a confirmation email after successfully submitting an application. Sometimes institutional email filters/settings can redirect or block emails related to the application. We recommend watching spam, junk, and promotional email folders in case your email service delivers messages there. Please visit How to Apply for additional resources and information about applying (i.e., learn what materials to have ready for applying, find a worksheet that previews application questions, etc.). Learn more about Scientists in Parks at: https://www.scientistsinparks.org/.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Conservation Legacy is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to perform essential functions. Some positions may require periodic overnight travel, non-traditional hours, ability to move across varied terrain, use program-specific tools and a range of technology on an infrequent or frequent basis. Exerting up to 25 pounds of force occasionally to lift, carry, push, pull, or otherwise move objects. Ability to safely drive an organizational vehicle may also be required for some positions.

TIME REQUIREMENTS

• This position is expected to serve full time each week, but exact service schedules may vary.
• Lunch breaks will not be counted towards AmeriCorps service hours.
• Member may be required to participate in national, state, or local service projects or events as part of their service term.

ORIENTATION AND TRAINING

• Orientation that includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities.
• Pertinent training from the NPS site location throughout the term of service.
• Free professional development webinars led by Conservation Legacy staff.

EVALUATION AND REPORTING

As an AmeriCorps member, performance will be evaluated on whether the member has completed the required number of hours, the member has satisfactorily completed assignments, and if the member has met other performance criteria that were clearly communicated at the beginning of the term of service.

Reporting requirements include, but are not limited to, bi-weekly timesheets and accomplishment tracking.

Stewards Individual Placements (Stewards), a program of Conservation Legacy, provides individuals with AmeriCorps service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants serve with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits to provide institutional capacity, develop community relationships, and support ecosystem health. Stewards in partnership with the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Pacific Island Network will host a Biology Assistant.

Conservation Legacy is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements.

If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to Scientists in Parks using the email address at the base of the home page, under “Questions? Contact us!”