Announcements for Internships and Employment: Internships
Interns are asked to apply during one of three time periods listed below. Internships are normally for 1-2 months.
01 December – 31 March (summer, high season)
01 April – 31 July
01 August – 30 November
Applications should be submitted well in advance, according to the schedule listed below:
Before 15 July
for session 1 (01 December – 31 March)
Before 15 November
for session 2 (01 April – 31 July)
Before 15 March
for session 3 (01 August – 30 November)
We offer free food and lodging for interns. Everyone needs to sign a liability waiver and bring their own health, accident and diving insurance.
Decisions regarding these applications will be made within 2 weeks of the submission date (by the end of the month) and applicants will receive notification thereafter.
Please send us your complete application form, which you can either send directly from the pdf file or use the email link below.
Application Assistance Volunteer (pdf available as online form)
Paid Positions
Job Announcement for the Huinay Scientific Field Station
Please apply with your CV, cover letter and completed application form to
with CC to
Applications missing forms will not be considered. Couples welcome.
Position Title: Technical-Scientific Assistant
Employer: San Ignacio del Huinay Foundation
Location: Huinay Scientific Field Station, Comau Fjord, Northern Patagonia, Chile (the closest major center is Puerto Montt)
Position Type: Contract (1 year minimum)
Closing Date: November 15, 2008
Start Date: February 15, 2009 (Please note Visa requirements will have to be fulfilled before arrival)
Salary:
Starting wage of 400,000 Chilean Pesos per month with a set raise to 450,000CLP per month at 6 months (approximately 775USD and 870USD respectively) minus local taxes and health insurance of approximately 17% total. Based on a 40 hour work week. Days off are flexible.
Free Room and Board while at the station. Two of your meals are prepared for you.
Free boat transfers to and from the station.
Free laundry service.
Rubber Boots.
Steel-toed Boots.
Eligibility to participate in the yearly expedition.
There are no living expenses while at the station.
Job requirements:
You should have / be:
An open, communicative, friendly and nature-loving person with no problem living in an isolated and often rainy place. You must be able to entertain yourself.
A team player. Have experience with widely varied team dynamics.
Able to adapt and be flexible to any/new situation and be able to improvise. Latin American experience is an advantage.
Self motivated and self confident. Able to take initiative. Good ability to see and solve problems.
Excellent Spanish and English communication abilities.
A technical understanding and basic skills to take care of laboratory (microscope, binoculars, aquaria, etc.) and diving equipment (compressor, tanks, regulators, etc.).
Knowledge of or interest in invertebrates, as well as their sampling and preservation.
An organized person (it is necessary to keep track of many different tasks, specimens, a small library etc.)
Profound diving skills. At least 200 dives, experience with cold-water (dry suit) diving, diving under difficult conditions and an insurance coverage for dive accidents (such as DAN). PADI Dive Master, CMAS Gold/*** or a higher dive rating is of advantage.
Your own diving equipment (excluding weights and tanks). Some other equipment is available at the station but personal gear is preferred.
A general scientific, biological (taxonomic) and ecological interest. Understanding of how to explain projects towards non-scientific visitors and local institutions. Understanding of the needs of researchers.
Workable computer skills (WinXP, MSOffice, Internet, etc.). More advanced computer skills are an advantage.
Experience in driving power boats (e.g. Zodiacs). A boat license is necessary but could be completed in Chile.
This position is one of vast potential where you will learn a lot and be challenged frequently. Duties are ever changing as they are essentially what are needed for the scientific side of the daily operation at the scientific station. These duties include but are not limited to:
Assisting the scientific directors in miscellaneous tasks.
Assisting and accompanying scientists during their projects in Huinay - supervising dives and sampling practices.
Being a contact person for Scientific Visitors and Volunteers – pre-visit contact, explaining rules and conduct, answering questions, logistics, distributing and collecting required forms, checking daily life is going smoothly.
Maintenance of laboratory and diving equipment - general maintenance, minor repairs, operating and maintaining the SCUBA compressor.
Presenting and Representing Huinay – tours to visitors, scientific conferences.
Supervision and motivation of volunteers and students.
Purchasing – researching products, receiving quotations, ordering and tracking, receiving, organizing repairs, issuing complaints if needed.
Supervision and approval of projects and repairs carried out by external companies.
Please Note – This is not a researcher position. All research carried out will be under the direction of the Scientific Directors.
Please apply with your CV, cover letter and completed application form to v.haussermann@gmail.comwith CC tohuinayresearch@gmail.com
Applications missing forms will not be considered. Couples welcome.
Please see our website www.huinay.cl for information on HSFS.
About Huinay:
The San Ignacio del Huinay Foundation is a private entity operating a biological field station in Chilean Patagonia. The Huinay Scientific Field Station (HSFS) was inaugurated in 2001 and is situated 100 km south of Puerto Montt, Chile, in the Comau fjord; it is the only biological station in any Chilean fjord. The surroundings are characterized by steep mountains and volcanoes. The almost 6000 mm of annual precipitation gives rise to an extra-tropical rain forest with extremely lush vegetation. The small village of Huinay with its approximate 30 inhabitants can only be accessed by a 1 hour boat-trip (speed boat) from Hornopiren. Most infrastructure - except some small shops and a rural hospital in Hornopiren - is located in Puerto Montt, a 3 to 4 h drive or bus trip from Hornopiren.
Although the fjords of Chile maintain ecosystems with a very high biodiversity and biomass, beautiful examples of deep water emergence, and a long list of new species, knowledge on organisms and ecological functioning is very poor. The goal of the station is to carry out both our own projects and attract national and international projects to help fill these existing gaps. To accomplish this, the station has a dry and a wet laboratory, diving infrastructure and lodging facilities. We have telephone and internet access through satellite and power supplied by hydroelectric plant. In charge of the scientific operation are the Scientific Director, Verena Haussermann and Scientific Manager, Gunter Forsterra, who are at the station half of the time. Permanent station staff consists of two scientific-technical assistants (this position), an administrator, his wife (and assistant), a boat captain, a yard worker/carpenter and at least one person in charge of cooking and cleaning. Scientists are visiting throughout the year but most come between December and April.
Projects involve all kinds of terrestrial and marine basic research. Currently our main focus is with the marine environment, especially inventory and ecosystem studies of the fjords. As of January 2009 we will be distributing our newly completed Chile Marine Benthic Field Guide and already a second edition is in the works. Another immediate goal is to establish a local marine protected area, of which there are minimal in Chile and non in the fjords. The summer season of 2007-2008 marked our busiest season to date and growth is not expected to stop.
About the Technical-Scientific Research Positions:
This position may be one of the best entry level biology positions out there in that it gives perfect perspective on the unwritten requirements needed to succeed as a field biologist. The successful candidates will understand that flexibility is among the highest attributes for a field station, especially located in such a remote setting and operating in a Latin culture. The recorded hours of work are not always the true reflection of the day but other benefits may outweigh any extra efforts.
A remote four season paradise comes with trade offs and trials. Busy times pass very quickly but slow times balance the equation and make personal initiative and self motivation priceless. In every small community the smooth and reliable operation of the team is the only option for success but stress and confined space are bound to bring up conflicts. Resolution of problems and patience with others will promote longevity.
The technical-scientific assistant is the “go-to” person for the station regarding science on a daily level and is responsible for the maintenance and well being of all scientific activities. In this position you are both the boss and the employee, who needs to be able to follow instructions exactly while leading and motivate others at the same time. Harder moments of the job include: being assertive and diplomatic in the face of cultural, language, age, education and political differences; managing many tasks and people at one time; self organising to remain busy during the “off season” (don’t mistake this for there ever being a lack of work); adapting to delays and surprises in projects; and all the time keeping personal health and well being in high priority. Days off may be accumulated when necessary due to the science schedule which allows for longer trips from the station. Around the station there are many things to occupy free time as well, such as: camping, hiking, fishing, bird watching, kayaking, mountaineering and use of our tiny gym.
The scientific team in Huinay is operating well, therefore the selections for these positions will weigh heavily on personality as well as ability. Our team needs people with a desire to be here and will to perceiver. This is a “stepping-stone” job not an intermediate position en route to better things. What we offer in return is a learning experience and participation in important baseline studies which add to and change the view of fjord regions throughout the world, all the while in possibly the most beautiful setting you’ll ever see. And most importantly a lot of good clean fun!
