Dear Colleagues,
Please find following Pacific Vacancies - Announcement No. 2001/ 109.
Wilco Liebregts
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ECO-CONSULT PACIFIC NOW HAS MORE THAN 850 PACIFIC ISLAND SPECIALISTS ON ITS
DATABASE. IN ADDITION, WE ALSO HAVE AN EXTENSIVE NETWORK OF INDIVIDUALS AND
ORGANISATIONS IN THE PACIFIC REGION FROM WHERE WE CAN SOURCE EXPERTISE.
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TO : Representatives of Governments and Administrations
No. : 01/20
Routine Distribution
FILE : STF 5/14/6 DATE : 4 October 2001
SUBJECT : RECRUITMENT OF A BIOLOGICAL ANALYST FOR THE OCEANIC COMPONENT
OF THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY / EUROPEAN COMMUNITY "PROCFISH" PROJECT
1. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) invites applications for
the position of Biological Analyst within the Oceanic Fisheries Programme.
This is a three-year contract position funded by the European Community
under the 8th Economic Development Fund Pacific Regional Indicative
Programme. The closing date for applications will be 15 November 2001.
2. I would be grateful if Governments and Administrations could advertise
this post widely without incurring any cost to the Secretariat of the
Pacific Community.
3. A statement setting out the duties, responsibilities, qualifications,
experience and skills required for the position plus terms and conditions
of employment is attached to this Recruitment Notice.
Lourdes T. Pangelinan
Director General
Attach.
Original text : English
SPC/Recruitment Notice No. 01/20
Page 1
SECRETARIAT OF THE PACIFIC COMMUNITY
DUTY STATEMENT
BIOLOGICAL ANALYST
The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) is an independent
intergovernmental agency providing technical advice, assistance, training
and research in the service of the 22 Pacific Island countries and
territories of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. It currently has a
staff of more than 230. SPC is officially bilingual, with English and
French being the working languages.
The Oceanic Fisheries Programme (OFP) makes up half of the SPC's Marine
Resources Division, with a staff complement of 20 in 3 sections covering
fishery statistics, stock assessment and ecosystem aspects of Pacific
Island oceanic fisheries, particularly skipjack, yellowfin, albacore and
bigeye tuna. Its overall mission is: "To provide member countries with the
scientific information and advice necessary to rationally manage fisheries
exploiting the region’s resources of tuna, billfish and related
species.”
The Biological Analyst is organisationally placed within OFP Tuna Ecology
and Biology Section, and is responsible to the PROCFISH Principal Oceanic
Fisheries Scientist. The PROCFISH oceanic project component will build
upon the highly-regarded research and monitoring work undertaken on the
main tuna species under the 7th EDF assisted South Pacific Regional Tuna
Research and Monitoring (SPR TRAMP) Programme, and will extend this to
include more detailed analysis and monitoring of bigeye and yellowfin tuna
and by-catch species.
The post is based at the Secretariat of the Pacific Community Headquarters
in Noum¨¦a but may involve considerable travel, including fishing
vessel-based sampling. The Biological Analyst assist the project leader to
achieve the project goals and objectives within budget and planned
timeframes. The work of the position will involve biological
investigations in support of broader studies of the Warm Pool ecosystem,
in particular age and growth studies of a range of pelagic species,
assistance and support for other biological sampling as directed, and
conventional and archival tagging.
The post requires a self-starter with considerable initiative, a good
knowledge of oceanic fisheries in the Pacific Community region, and fish
research laboratory experience. When making letters of application for the
post, candidates are advised to describe their qualities in relation to
the requirements of this and the previous paragraph.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Undertake biological sampling of tuna catches, including by-catch and
discards, according to standardised data collection procedures, as part of
studies of age and growth, reproduction and stock structure.
2. Develop sclerochronological techniques for the ageing of tuna, billfish
and by-catch species; undertake routine analysis of hard part samples, by
reading daily or seasonal marks, according to agreed protocols.
3. Assist in any other analysis of biological material, in pursuit of the
objectives of ecological studies within the project.
4. Undertake deployment of conventional and archival tags during seagoing
trips.
5 Assist the Principal Fisheries Scientist and other staff in data
analysis and report preparation.
SPC/Recruitment Notice No. 01/20
Page 2
6. Assist port sampling and observer programmes, particularly by providing
training for the collection of biological material and the sampling of
catches.
7. Perform other PROCFISH project-related duties as the POFS may require.
QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE
Very important
 A degree or diploma in biological science or related discipline
 Experience with a range of biological analytical/laboratory
techniques, particularly sclerochronological methods
 Knowledge and experience of tropical tuna fisheries and ability
to work effectively at sea in unsupervised conditions
 Familiarity with computer-based and statistical analysis of
fishery, biological and ecological data.
 At least five years of direct relevant experience.
Important
 A demonstrable willingness to travel, sometimes under difficult
physical conditions.
 An ability to work, and socialise, with people in a culturally
mixed environment.
 A working knowledge of both of SPC's official languages would be
advantageous.
A copy of the Oceanic Fisheries component of the PROCFISH project can be
provided by email to those who contact the SPC Oceanic Fisheries Programme
Coordinator, Dr Antony Lewis, at tonyl@...
NATIONALITY RESTRICTION
Owing to the conditions under which this project is funded, applications
can only be considered from nationals of the current 15 member countries
of the European Union or of countries signatory to the Lom¨¦ IV Convention.
Pacific Island countries signatory to Lom¨¦ IV are Fiji; Kiribati; Papua
New Guinea; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tonga; Tuvalu; and Vanuatu.
SUSPENSE CLAUSE AND DISCLAIMER
Although the PROCFISH project proposal has been approved by the European
Union and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, the details of the
Financing Agreement for the project have not been completely finalised.
This recruitment notice is thus issued provisionally and without prejudice
to the ultimate Financing Agreement, in the interests of providing an
efficient start to the project, and it is possible that any contracts that
are ultimately issued may differ in detail from the terms of this
provisional notice.
SALARY AND ALLOWANCE
The starting salary for this position will be SDR 3,234 per month (which
is equivalent to CFP538,429 francs per month at the prevailing reference
exchange rate of 1 SDR = CFP 166.49 francs) in the SPC S1 salary grade. In
addition, an Establishment Grant will be payable to non-residents of New
Caledonia. SPC emoluments are not subject to income tax in New Caledonia
at the present time. The international currency exchange rate at the time
of writing is approximately USD 1.00 = 137 francs CFP.
SPC/Recruitment Notice No. 01/20
Page 3
TENURE
The appointment will be for a period of three years in the first instance,
subject to a one-year probationary period. The contract may be renewed for
a further three years subject to performance and continued funding
availability.
DUTY STATION
Noumea, New Caledonia.
ACCOMMODATION
An SPC-owned house or flat will be made available, based on the following
deductions from basic salary:
2 bedrooms - 11.5%
3 bedrooms - 12.5%
4 bedrooms - 15.0%
Housing is expensive in Noumea and, despite these standard salary
deductions, the cost of housing is heavily subsidised.
LEAVE
Leave will accrue at the rate of 2.5 working days per calendar month of
active duty.
SICK LEAVE
Thirty working days per annum.
MEDICAL BENEFITS
The SPC’s Staff Medical Insurance, to which the appointee will
contribute 1.5% of basic salary, reimburses doctors’ fees, cost of
prescribed medicines, surgical and hospital costs, etc. up to certain
percentages and limits. Supplementary medical insurance is available to
increase these percentage reimbursements and limits.
PROVIDENT FUND
The appointee will be eligible for membership of the SPC’s Staff
Provident Fund. Noumea-based staff contribute six per cent of basic salary
to which SPC adds a matching contribution.
FARES AND REMOVAL EXPENSES
For an appointee recruited outside New Caledonia, air fares by the most
direct/and or economic route for the appointee and recognised dependants,
and reasonable removal expenses by sea of personal and household effects
will be met by SPC on appointment and termination.
SPC/Recruitment Notice No. 01/20
Page 4
COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT
SPC has a standardised computing environment based on Microsoft Office
running under Microsoft Windows.
SMOKE-FREE ENVIRONMENT
Smoking is not permitted in the work place.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
SPC is an equal opportunities employer. Recruitment to SPC staff vacancies
is based entirely on merit, but in cases where two shortlisted candidates
are judged to be of equal rank by the Selection Committee, preference will
be given to Pacific Island nationals.
ADDRESS
Applications should be addressed to the Director General, Secretariat of
the Pacific Community, P.O. Box D5, Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia, to arrive
by 15 November 2001. Applicants should provide full personal details,
describe their qualifications and experience, and explain how these suit
them for the specific requirements of the advertised position. Relevant
previous appointments, present position and salary, and the names and
addresses (including telephone, fax, e-mail contacts) of three referees
should also be provided. Testimonials may be provided with the
application, but are not necessary and will not be considered a substitute
for confidential referee's reports, which will be commissioned directly by
SPC.
Applications may alternatively, or additionally, be submitted by email to
spc@..., preferably in plain text or Rich Text Format (RTF).
More can be learned about SPC through the website .
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PLEASE NOTE:
ECO-CONSULT PACIFIC provides this vacancy announcement to those specialists
on our database who have provided us with an email address. The service is
provided free of charge. Unless otherwise indicated, ECO-CONSULT PACIFIC is
not and will not be involved in the selection process, nor in any of the
negotiations for the position, and will not claim any charges from the
specialists.
The vacancies are obtained from regional and international organisations,
magazines, newspapers and colleagues. Although we will do our best to relate
to you the details on the positions as they have been provided to us, it is
possible that some information may be incorrect. ECO-CONSULT PACIFIC
advises those interested in a vacancy to contact the advertising
organisation directly for specific details on the position. ECO-CONSULT
PACIFIC will not accept any liability for incorrect information.
Although we now have more than 850 email recipients for 'Pacific Vacancies',
your address will remain confidential.
If you do not want to receive the vacancy announcements, please follow the
instructions to unsubscribe from the mailing list in this message. Of
course, you can always join again later....
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Eco-Consult Pacific
PO Box 5406
Raiwaqa Post Office, SUVA
Fiji Islands
Tel./Fax.: (679) 322 607
ecoconsult@...
Eco-Consult Pacific
P.O. Box 5406
Raiwaqa Post Office, Suva
FIJI ISLANDS
Tel/Fax (679) - 322 607
