Academic Assistant

Position Description 

The Academic Assistant works closely with the faculty of the core courses at the SFS Chile Center to coordinate academic components of the courses and develop new lines of research. These activities include helping ensure that the classes run more smoothly, whether in the Center or in the field, by coordinating academic activities and managing classroom/research materials. This role also helps faculty academically engage and communicate with local NGO's, governments and sustainable entrepreneurs.

Center Focus:
Climate Studies - School for Field Studies 

SFS Center for Climate Studies is located in the bustling tourist hub Puerto Natales – the gateway to the famous Torres del Paine National Park. The Center’s location in the well-traveled port city stands in contrast to the locations where students will travel during the program, including some of the world’s most dramatic landscapes. This program’s primary focus is understanding how Chile will respond to local and global challenges while securing the functionality of its natural and human systems, with an emphasis on climate change. 

Currently the curriculum and research at SFS Center for Climate Studies focuses on answering the question: How can Chile respond to local and global challenges while securing the functionality of its natural and human systems? The rationale for this focus is the growing global concern about the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on Earth’s natural systems. Chilean Patagonia is hyper-susceptible to changes in climate, making it a destination where these changes can be observed and measured in palpable ways. SFS Center for Climate Studies research and courses help to identify and understand the prominent environmental characteristics of the Patagonian region in both Chile and Argentina, including i) the richness of life forms and shifts in the nature and timing of their interactions, ii) the climate and ecological relationships that shape landscapes, and iii) the role of nature in climate adaptation and mitigation.  

In addition to identifying ecological characteristics and climate mechanisms of the region, SFS Center for Climate Studies also aims to understand how power and knowledge is differentially distributed across the sociopolitical landscape, and how power structures impact regional conservation approaches. The sociopolitical dimension of this program delves into decision making processes: which places/things are conserved and by whom, what are the costs of conservation, and what are the structural variables that differentially distribute power across various players in the conservation movement? 

Duties and Responsibilities:
Under the oversight of the Center Director, the Academic Assistant, as an individual and as a member of program faculty/staff team, will:

Academic Support

• As directed by the Center Director, develop or update the academic schedule, regularly communicating these updates to students
• Work with professors to ensure that daily class needs are met, coordinating with other staff, as necessary.
• In the classroom, assist the professors, as required.
• In the field, provide technical assistance to the faculty for field lectures and activities. 
• Assist faculty with online forms and documents associated with project proposals, congresses/conferences, permits, etc. 
• Assist faculty in developing academic partnerships and regional partners
• Assist faculty with guest lecturer coordination, such as technical support, follow-ups, and payment details
• Take notes during faculty and staff meetings and present meeting minutes
• Acquire and organize academic materials for classes and field trips
• Organize and maintain course textbooks, field equipment, and stored samples
• Become familiarized with software - such as QGIS, Python, R, Atlas.ti - to help students during course activities and Directed Research
• As requested by the Center Director, assist with other academic activities, such as community engagement and the Directed Research public symposium
• Attend new program staff training prior to and during the program
• Provide end-of-semester reports on activities and accomplished goals

Student Affairs

• Act as a resource to students for their program-related academic needs, including access to online materials, printing and access to field equipment
• Facilitate communication within the student group and act as a liaison between faculty and students
• Keep the Center Director informed of potential academic problems
• Propose activities and content for the development of soft skills

Safety & Risk Management

• Adhere to, actively model, and enforce all school-wide and program rules and policies
• Coordinate with faculty and the Health and Wellness Manager to ensure that all academic outings have a Risk Management Plan
• Become familiarized with the program's emergency plans, including those for evacuation and fire safety
• Become familiarized with the medical emergency protocols for field trips and at the Center.

Community Outreach

• Assist program faculty and staff to develop and implement community outreach activities
• Coordinate academic content for social media and academic outreach

Daily Program Life

• Live on-site for the duration of each program period and engage with students during mealtimes
• On a rotating basis, take responsibility for program specific staff-of-the-day duties, including overnighting in the Center, emergency contact and curfew enforcement
• Take part in the program upkeep projects, social activities and field activities

SFS Position on Diversity and Inclusion:  

SFS was founded with the belief that stewardship of our planet is the responsibility of people all around the world. Addressing complex global issues requires the active inclusion of stakeholders with varying perspectives and identities. We recognize that to successfully address threats to our natural world, we must look beyond social constructs designed to divide us. Just as we value biodiversity in all its forms, we value and engage with a multitude of diverse perspectives and people in the countries where we work and the students and staff we serve. 

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must have work authorization in Chile at the time of application
• Bachelor's degree
• Fluency in Spanish and advanced fluency in English
• Experience living, working and/or studying in Chile (Patagonia area)
• Effective communication skills with non-academic audiences
• Experience working directly with professors
• Commitment to ensuring good institutional relations between SFS and the local community
• High emotional and cross-cultural intelligence
• Willingness to live and work on a residential campus, including use of shared facilities and participation in campus activities and community outreach
• Accustomed to working long hours in remote environments with limited resources
• Wilderness First Responder (WFR) certification
• Clean driving record

Preferred Qualifications:

• University degree in an environmental or social discipline
• Knowledge of GIS, statistics and/or computer programming
• Experience with group facilitation
• Experience working with groups in the field
• High knowledge in the development of soft skills
• Residence Life experience in higher education
• Ability to operate manual transmission vehicle