Scope of Work: Research Coordinator

Jahoo is seeking a Research Coordinator to support gibbon habituation, research, and conservation
objectives in Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS), Mondulkiri, Cambodia.

Background:

Jahoo is a community-owned ecotourism enterprise providing sustainable wildlife-friendly livelihoods,
motivating community-led conservation action and supporting sustainable social development with the
unique southern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon as its flagship species. Jahoo is an integral component to
a suite of solutions being implemented in Bunong communities within the protected area towards wildlife
conservation and social development goals. The project is supported by World Hope International (WHI)
and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).

Jahoo is located within the core protection zone of Keo Seima Wildlife Sanctuary (KSWS), the last
stronghold for this gibbon species protecting a critical population of approximately 1,200 gibbons, the
largest remaining population of this species. 2 families of gibbons, living within a community protected
forest, are being habituated to human presence for wildlife-based tourism and conservation research with
WCS and university partners such as Cornell University, providing a unique insight into gibbon life and
behavior as well as a unique wildlife experience for visitors.

More information on Jahoo can be found here: www.gibbon.life

Normally wild gibbons are very elusive, but the process of habituation allows wild gibbons to become
used to the presence of people without eliciting a fear response such as fleeing. This allows researchers
to gain unprecedented access and to better understand gibbon behavior and ecology to inform
conservation action. Habituation also allows tourists a unique opportunity to observe and photograph
wild gibbons engaging in natural behaviors in their natural habitat. In turn, tourism and research generate
revenue for community development and conservation action and provide wildlife-friendly jobs to local
people who might otherwise be hunting or logging, whilst also incentivizing improved community
attitudes and behaviors toward continued gibbon and forest conservation.

The habituation process must be implemented according to best practice guidelines, with sustained effort
to keep the gibbons habituated to human presence. In addition, the protocols, training and oversight of
the habituation process as well tourist visitation must be robust enough to avoid negative impacts on the
gibbon’s behavior and health.

Research Coordinator:

The Research Coordinator will be based in the field and be responsible for managing a habituation team
of 6 people hired from the local indigenous Bunong community. The team works every morning locating
and following 2 gibbon families. The assistant will be responsible for improving and maintaining
habituation success whilst improving current practices and local capacity, ensuring that the team are
following IUCN best-practice methodologies and protocols.

The Research Coordinator will also support the adoption of a mobile app-based data collection protocol
(using KoboToolBox), whilst providing trainings and on-the-job coaching to the habituation team to
improve their data collection capacity. In addition, the Research Coordinator will lead the search and
identification of an additional gibbon group suitable for habituation, as well as recruiting and training of
additional staff to expand the habituation team.

The Research Coordinator will coordinate field-level activities for an exciting research collaboration
between WHI, WCS and the Center for Conservation Bioacoustics (CCB) based at the Cornell University’s
Lab of Ornithology, a globally recognized leader in bioacoustics development and innovation. This project
will seek to pilot and scale-up the use of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) technology to monitor the
population status of endangered yellow-cheeked crested gibbons as well as other key wildlife throughout
KSWS. In addition, PAM will setup in the territories of habituated gibbons, allowing for an increase of focal
behavioral data collection to improve our understanding of vocalization variability, call rates, territory
size, and environmental impacts on gibbon vocalizations.

The Research Coordinator will have a unique opportunity to take leadership of research activities and
create a long-term dataset on gibbons. The Research Coordinator will oversee the development of the
new Jahoo Research Centre and increase the research portfolio by creating new partnerships and
collaborations with national and international research institutions. The Research Coordinator will also
support community-led conservation actions and provide technical input to Club Jahoo, an after-school
club teaching conservation education to primary school children and youth as well as engaging community
members in wildlife and conservation issues.

Lastly, the Research Coordinator will engage in ecotourism operations, inclusive of: interacting with
visitors including partners, donors and tourists; providing scientific information on gibbons and other
wildlife; and briefs on best-practice gibbon watching. The Research Coordinator will work with the
Ecotourism Coordinator to integrate tourists in data collection activities, such as processing camera trap
data and setting up camera traps in new locations. The Research Coordinator will continue to develop and
monitor local capacity through staff performance reviews, goal setting, coaching and tailored trainings in
data collection, protocols, wildlife knowledge etc.

How to Apply

Send a short and up-to-date CV along (including references) with a short (1/2 page) letter of
interest to the following email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More Information

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qo2fRd4hctDljCQPF_KxbpfDAl-KgjYq/view