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Deer Research Biologist

State of Indiana

Work for Indiana

Grow your career with the State of Indiana! With more than 50 executive branch agencies, the State of Indiana is a diverse workforce offering employees stimulating and challenging projects across a broad scope of career opportunities. As a State of Indiana employee, you impact the well-being of Indiana’s communities every day.

At the State of Indiana, we don’t just talk about diversity and inclusion - Our goal is to create a welcoming, accessible, and equitable workplace, with a workforce that is representative of the State of Indiana population. As a proud equal opportunity employer, reasonable accommodations may be available to enable individuals with disabilities to complete the application and interview process, as well as perform the essential functions of a role.

Next Level benefits at the State of Indiana are here! Be sure to review our expanded benefit package offerings below.

About the DNR Fish and Wildlife Division:

The Division of Fish & Wildlife enriches the quality of life for present and future generations by balancing the biological, ecological, recreational, and economic benefits of Indiana’s fish, wildlife, and their habitats.

Salary Statement

The salary for this position traditionally starts at $53,222.00 but may be commensurate with education or work experience.

Role Overview

The goal of the Indiana Deer Management Project is to integrate deer population, human, and ecological data to manage deer using the governance principles of wildlife management. The Deer Research Biologist works closely with the Deer Project Leader and a team of temporary employees (both in the field and office) to achieve the objectives of the Indiana Deer Project. A major focus of the Deer Research Biologist will be to implement the methods identified in this project. Specifically, this will be to collect population data using a combination of drones, crewed aircraft, and remote camera to estimate population density using conventional distance sampling. The position requires both long term planning of research projects (e.g., monitoring designs for density estimation that optimize cost effectiveness, which includes both cost savings and statistical inference) and short-term research reacting to unforeseen situations (e.g., disease outbreaks in which we desire immediate inference). For this reason, the Deer Research Biologist must be well trained in quantitative ecology. The incumbent must be a confident decision maker and must also exhibit the desire and ability to learn new, sometimes complex, statistical skills or concepts in a short amount of time. The following skills are critical to this position:

  • Software and data management
  • R Programing Language
  • Microsoft Office
  • ArcMap
  • Statistics
  • Linear models
  • Generalized linear models
  • Mixed-effect modelling
  • Distance sampling
  • Resampling techniques

A Day in the Life:

The essential functions of this role are as follows: 

  • Develop, execute, and direct research or management of programs on a large resource or large geographic region that covers multiple districts. 
  • Coordinate with other states and participate on multistate management teams for interjurisdictional resources. 
  • Identify resource and research priorities through input, strategic plans, work plans, statewide surveys, and public input. 
  • Coordinate university and multistate research projects. 
  • Program administration of environmental and habitat projects including applying for and managing federal grants and managing environmental permitting processes. 
  • Design, develop, and implement surveys for the purpose of analyzing and tracking data to present scientific findings. 
  • Coordinate scientific investigations and research findings through internal and external forums. 
  • Review technical materials and attend professional meetings to keep abreast of new developments. 
  • Prepare and present evidence exhibits in court and act as an expert witness in courts of law and/or hearings. 
  • Recruit, select, onboard, and train employees to ensure role responsibilities and expectations are clearly understood while providing opportunities to continue professional development. 
  • Set expectations, measure progress, provide ongoing feedback, and evaluate the performance of employees. Ensure work adheres to quality standards, deadlines, and proper procedures. 

The job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee. Other duties, responsibilities and activities may change or be assigned at any time with or without notice. 

What You'll Need for Success:

You must meet the following requirement to be considered for employment: 

  • Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree within a Natural Resource related field. 
  • Demonstrated leadership and problem-solving abilities. 
  • Thorough knowledge of biological principles, ecological variables, and interactions of species. 
  • Knowledge of state and federal laws pertaining to the environment and habitat management. 
  • Comprehensive knowledge of scientific methods, procedures and theories, and the ability to apply them. 
  • Ability to operate and maintain a wide variety of work, shop, and office equipment. 
  • Ability to prepare and present evidence and to act as an expert witness in a court of law and /or hearing. 
  • Ability to improvise and adapt methods and equipment for specialized tasks. 
  • Ability to read, use, and manipulate topographic maps, aerial photographs, wetland delineation maps, soils maps, and ArcGIS mapping systems. 
  • Ability to use R as a statistical package for data analysis. 
  • Ability to communicate and influence stakeholders concerning the management of species, habitats, and recreational values. 
  • Ability to budget and allocate resources effectively. 
  • Ability to delegate work, set clear direction, and manage workflow. 
  • Ability to effectively give feedback, provide guidance or corrective action, coach, and develop employee skillsets. 
  • You must satisfy the following requirement to continue employment: 
  • Ability to obtain and hold an Indiana driver's license 
  • Ability to obtain and maintain professional licenses or certifications as required by the specific job duties such as pesticide applicators license, burn card, chemical immobilization certificate or similar specific licenses. 

Supervisory Responsibilities/Direct Reports:

This role may provide direct supervision for one or more staff members.

Benefits of Employment with the State of Indiana:

The State of Indiana offers a comprehensive benefit package for full-time employees which includes: 

  • Three (3) medical plan options (including RX coverage) as well as vision and dental plans
  • Wellness Rewards Program: Complete wellness activities to earn gift card rewards
  • Health savings account, which includes bi-weekly state contribution
  • Flexible work scheduling options, including the potential for hybrid remote work for employees whose work may be performed outside state facilities
  • Deferred compensation 457B account (similar to 401k plan) with employer match
  • Two (2) fully-funded pension plan options
  • A robust, comprehensive program of leave policies covering a variety of employee needs, including but not limited to:
  • 150 hours of paid new parent leave
  • Up to 15 hours of paid community service leave
  • Combined 180 hours of paid vacation, personal, and sick leave time off
  • 12 paid holidays, 14 on election years
  • Education Reimbursement Program
  • Group life insurance
  • Referral Bonus program
  • Employee assistance program that allows for covered behavioral health visits
  • Qualified employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program
  • Free Parking for most positions
  • Free LinkedIn Learning access

Equal Employment Opportunity:

The State of Indiana is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to recruit, select, develop, and promote employees based on individual ability and job performance. Our policy is to provide equal employment opportunity to all people in all aspects of employer-employee relations without discrimination because of race, color, creed, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical or mental disability, or veteran status. We will comply with the spirit as well as the letter of all applicable state and federal laws. 

If you are a qualified individual with a disability and require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, you can request assistance by contacting the Indiana State Personnel Department at jobs@spd.IN.gov.

The State of Indiana has established a culture that welcomes equity, inclusion, and opportunity for all employees and applicants. We encourage you to apply if you feel you have the transferrable skills to be successful in this position and we look forward to reviewing your application.

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Confirmed 8 hours ago. Posted 22 days ago.

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