The SFS program on Biodiversity Conservation and Development, located in the Amazon region of Peru seeks an enthusiastic, team-oriented individual to serve as part of a residential team of faculty and staff that delivers an interdisciplinary, hands-on learning experience to students spending a semester abroad. We are especially interested in candidates with experience teaching to a diverse student body, and demonstrated commitment to diversity, inclusion and cultural competence in a learning environment.
SFS Peru has a thematic focus on the complexity of this Andes-Amazon region with its dramatic elevational gradient and diverse cultural elements.
On a contract basis, deliver the Political Ecology of Development Landscapes course and teach one-third of the Directed Research course during the fall and spring semesters. Contribute to student learning in the areas of conservation planning, natural resource use, and rural development. Lead designated components of the programs research plan and, as part of this, oversee, mentor, and grade the student directed research projects.
Institutional Mission:
SFS creates transformative study abroad experiences through field-based learning and research. Our educational programs explore the human and ecological dimensions of the complex environmental problems faced by our local partners, contributing to sustainable solutions in the places where we live and work. The SFS community is part of a growing network of individuals and institutions committed to environmental stewardship.
Institutional 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 of 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.
Program Focus:
This program seeks to understand both the conflicts and synergies of conservation and development. Students will gain a sense of the richness of the Amazon region—biodiversity, social and cultural diversity, and ecosystem services—while exploring strategies for sustainable livelihoods in this highly productive and diverse region of South America. While based in and around Iquitos, excursions to other regions of Peru, including Lima, the Sacred Valley, or the Altiplano may occur.
Through interdisciplinary coursework, field exercises, and Directed Research, students will study people’s dependence on the environment, examine the threats to the environment and to social networks, and explore the tools and strategies for mitigating the threats and promoting well-being among rural communities. A strong component of the program will be examining the ecological patterns and processes that underpin the high diversity of the region.
Course Description: Political Ecology of Developing Landscapes: Peru
In this course we focus on human interactions with and impacts on local natural systems, and vice versa. The course considers these interactions through the interdisciplinary lens of political ecology, examining the political, economic and social factors of environmental issues and changes. The course provides a conceptual framework for understanding how nature-society interactions, such as agriculture, resource extraction, tourism, and rural development shape both the natural landscape and the social and economic conditions in both rural areas and urban areas. Because resource extraction, rural development, and conservation are simultaneously social, cultural, economic, and ecological phenomena, holistic critical thinking is essential to understand these systems to enable us to propose solutions that make sense. The course provides the conceptual and practical skills and tools to critically examine and assess the human-environment nexus in the field. We also consider the theories and ethics of sustainable and unsustainable development and the need to view these issues in ways that are inclusive and just. We will use the lens of political ecology to frame lines of inquiry and define research questions.
Course Description: Directed Research
The aim of this course is to provide students with the opportunity to apply ecological, biological, and/or social-scientific methods to a field research project that addresses a local issue related to the environment. We will also investigate the ways that various methods and theories distinguish (or don’t) fact from interpretation, cause from correlation, and advocacy from objectivity. The directed research topics are derived from the SFS Center’s research plan as defined by the Center staff and local stakeholders. Through the Directed Research project, students will contribute to a growing body of scientific research that informs local conservation and resource management decisions. SFS program lecturers lead a small group of students in this research component of the program.
Applicants are encouraged to review proposed course syllabi and programs descriptions on the SFS website: www.fieldstudies.org/peru
Duties and Responsibilities
Provide high quality, innovative and experiential teaching in critical environmental issues in an interdisciplinary curriculum and participate fully in the implementation of the program’s research plan that addresses these issues. The publication of research results is critical. Work closely with the other program lecturers to deliver an interdisciplinary program through education and research in a field setting. Each lecturer is expected to provide high quality, inquiry-based teaching and will lead students in Directed Research projects defined in the program’s research plan.
Teaching
- As part of an interdisciplinary teaching team, teach a significant portion of the academic program (minimum 50-60 lecture hours)
- Plan and effectively deliver a challenging, problem-based interdisciplinary curriculum to learners from diverse disciplinary and cultural backgrounds.
- Organize lectures and prepare course materials in a timely and professional manner
- Adhere to the daily academic schedule
- Prepare, administer, and grade assignments, quizzes, mid-term and final examinations
- Supervise and mentor a student research group in Directed Research projects
- Actively support and counsel students on academic issues
- Maintain an organized course portfolio
Research
- Help design the program’s research plan and conduct designated research according to it
- Identify appropriate components of the program’s research plan suitable for student DR projects that prioritize community needs and build on local knowledge networks
- Prepare research results for community stakeholders and broader scientific and non-scientific audiences using accessible communication methods
- Assist in the creation and implementation of program research policies, priorities, budgets as required
- Follow data management, record keeping, and reporting systems
- Present research findings at local and international conferences (budget dependent)
Administration
- Participate in planning activities prior to the program start and in review/analysis following students’ departure
- Participate in training activities for new program staff prior to and during the program, particularly interns
- Participate in and lead parts of the orientation and re-entry components of the program presented to students at the beginning and end of each program period
- In cooperation with other program staff, provide day-to-day coordination of interns as delegated by the program director
- Participate in resolving group management issues and student discipline problems
- Participate in preparation of the final reports, academic handbook revisions and other required reports
- As requested by the program director, assist with other logistical, group management, and administrative tasks
Health and Wellbeing
- Take responsibility, as an individual and as a member of the program faculty/staff team, for the safety of all program participants
- Comply with, actively model, and enforce all SFS and program policies and procedures including the creation of an inclusive living-learning environment for all Center community members
- Participate in the review and revision of program risk assessment and management plans
- Know the emergency procedures plan for the field station, including evacuation plan
- Participate in the safety portions of the on-site orientation and conduct safety briefings for students and/or staff
- Complete incident reports when appropriate and contribute to safety audits
- Comply with, actively model, and enforce all SFS and program policies and procedures
- Ensure that first-aid certifications are kept up to date
Daily Center Life
- Live on-site for the duration of each program period and take most meals with the students
- Actively model skills in competence, awareness, and knowledge necessary for meaningfully working with, living with and learning from others who may differ from oneself in identity and/or lived experience
- Contribute to the creation of a living-learning community that is inclusive of diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds, in which all learners have the opportunity to thrive
- On a rotating basis, take responsibility for “staff of the day” duties
- Take part in, and occasionally lead community outreach, site upkeep projects, social and field activities
- Drive standard transmission vehicles and boats as needed (driving license may be required)
- Adhere to, actively model and enforce all SFS and program policies and procedures
Minimum qualifications
- Ph.D. and university-level teaching experience in areas related to tropical ecology. Advanced students (ABD) may be considered
- Field research and/or project implementation in tropical areas
- Demonstrated ability to work as part of an interdisciplinary teaching and research team
- Demonstrated commitment to creating an inclusive learning environment in which all learners have the opportunity to thrive
- Demonstrated commitment to environmental issues
- Fluency in English, proficiency in Spanish
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working in Peru
- Experience teaching field courses
- Residential student group management and risk management experience highly desirable
- Fluency in Spanish
Other Expectations
- Willingness to obtain First Aid certification prior to first day of work (SFS reimbursable available)
- Willingness to work flexible hours and live on site at the field station with a small team of permanent staff, groups of US undergraduate students
- At all times, uphold the values of the SFS Position on Diversity and Inclusion.
- Participation in all program activities
- Represent SFS at local and international meetings and conferences
- At all times, work to ensure good relations between the SFS and the local community
Compensation/Benefits
This is an academic year contract position starting in early August 2023 and ending in mid-May 2024 with the likely continuance in the fall semester of 2024 depending on successful completion of duties and sufficient student enrollment. Salary is dependent on experience and qualifications. Comprehensive benefits package and on-site room and board included.
Expectations for Faculty Conduct
The School for Field Studies strives to create and maintain a work environment in which people are treated with dignity, decency and respect. The environment of the company should be characterized by mutual trust and the absence of intimidation, oppression and exploitation. The School for Field Studies will not tolerate unlawful discrimination or harassment, including sexual harassment, of any kind. Through enforcement of this policy and by education of employees, The School for Field Studies will seek to prevent, correct and discipline behavior that violates this policy.
All offers of employment at The School for Field Studies Peru are contingent upon clear results of a thorough background check. Background checks will be conducted on all final candidates and on all employees as deemed necessary.
Location: SFS Center for Amazon Studies, outside of Iquitos, Peru (with likely excursions to other areas including the Sacred Valley)
Reports to: Lead Faculty and the Office of Academic Affairs
Start Date: Early August 2023
Questions about the position may be directed to the SFS Dean, Dr. Katie Goodall, at kgoodall@fieldstudies.org but application must be submitted through the link above.
