Program Coordinator - Save Our Shearwaters

The Kauai Humane Society (KHS), through its Save Our Shearwaters (SOS) program, seeks a Program Coordinator to directly oversee its seabird response and recovery efforts.   SOS, is a 40-year old program, formerly operated by the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife.  KHS now operates the program under a contract between the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) and KHS. The focus avian species of this project are Newell’s Shearwater, Hawaiian Petrel, and Band-rumped Storm-Petrel, all state and federally listed endangered species.  These species are regularly downed due to light attraction during the fledging season, which runs primarily between September and the beginning of December each year. 

The SOS Program primary mission is to triage downed seabirds, release them promptly, provide rehabilitative care, or when necessary, euthanize birds which are too compromised to be viable in the wild as per established protocol.  Birds turned into the SOS program are predominately grounded fledgling seabirds (initially rescued by concerned citizens). The mission is to band and release the recovered birds successfully to the sea in the best possible weight and condition.  The program also responds to downed adult seabirds outside of the primary fallout season. The program has expanded over the years to include a year-round rehabilitation effort for all native Hawaiian birds including waterfowl and the Hawaiian Short-eared Owl.

The position being advertised first and foremost is to manage staff and operations as a department of KHS but also includes database maintenance, contract & permitting reporting, and seasonal hiring, and overseeing seasonal fall-out preparation

The duties of the SOS coordinator include the following:

• Hands-on management of SOS staff and active participation in rehabilitation portion of SOS, assisting in the operation and maintenance of a seabird triage clinic and developing a volunteer base for operations
• Front and coordinate KIUC’s seabird outreach campaign
• Hire and train seasonal SOS technicians
• Maintain a master bander permit and a salvage for educational use permit held by the program (both federal)
• Maintain the specialized database and using it along with Access, Excel and GIS for reporting to SOS stakeholders and federal MBTA enforcement.  
• Manage the field operations year round but especially from September 15th through December 15th
• Maintain KIUC contract and communications in addition to outside contracts and MOAs
• Perform public outreach and education activities
• Prepare the SOS Annual Report for KIUC following the fledgling season
• Coordinate with the KHS Executive Director to plan and implement the SOS budget
• Update the SOS Manual and protocols yearly
• Coordinate and facilitate agency/stakeholder meetings twice a year
• Pursue funding and/or opportunities for other native avifauna

A typical workweek will consist of 40+ hours.  Flexibility with the workweek and days off is a must.  On-call duties and evening/weekend shifts are a reality in this position during the off-season when necessary, in which case field vehicles will be provided for work use and wildlife response.  The Coordinator must be comfortable working with a wide range of programs and personnel housed by the Humane Society.  The Coordinator will be responsible for transportation to Kauai, in addition to finding appropriate housing. 

Required qualifications: 

• A Masters degree in Wildlife or related field or equivalent work experience.
• Management experience in a wildlife related program
• Familiarity with handling birds (seabird-specific preferred)
• Banding experience (seabird-specific a strong consideration)
• Clinic experience (at minimum, a familiarity with safety and sanitation protocols)
• Experience with agency reporting guidelines, legal documentation
• Knowledge of Hawaii wildlife and natural history 

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience in hands-on rehabilitation and knowledge of husbandry and standards of care regarding wildlife undergoing rehabilitation
• Ability to be the “responsible individual” for Federal and State Rehabilitation Permits
• Sufficient bird banding experience to manage a station banding permit
• Prior experience working with listed species
• Proficiency with specialized database programs and managing/querying a database.
• Familiarity with MS Access and ArcGIS

SOS will seek applicants with an ability to work independently, in a group of three (overseeing the Rehabilitation Manager, who runs the rehabilitation effort and the Rehabilitation Technician) as well as with a staff of up to 4 seasonal technicians.  The coordinator must also have the ability to trouble-shoot when concerns arise.  The individual will need to consult professionally with the many different stakeholders overseeing and cooperating with SOS.  SOS also hopes to find an applicant who have specifically worked with either state or federally listed species.