IUCN’s Science Team, within the Science & Data Centre, represents IUCN’s expertise on conservation science with an emphasis on standards and metrics to assess the status of and risk to biodiversity, and reduce and responses to reverse this risk. It generates new and insightful analysis that advances conservation perspectives and raises IUCN’s credibility and profile, while at the same time, provides the necessary support to other teams for the consistent integration of scientifically robust baselines and analysis across the IUCN programme portfolio. The Science Team is globally decentralised with staff in San Jose (Costa Rica), Cambridge (United Kingdom), Gland (Switzerland), and Washington DC (USA).

A particular focus of this position will be working with the Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STAR) metric, which was developed by IUCN and designed to support science-based target setting for species conservation (Mair et al. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2021). STAR quantifies the reduction in global species extinction risk that could be achieved in any given area of interest (AOI) through two approaches: threat abatement and habitat restoration . The STAR metric enables conservation actors to measure their contributions within frameworks that link threat abatement and habitat restoration activities (Targets 1-8 in the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework) to species conservation outcomes (Goal A of this framework). Estimated STAR scores provide useful information on the species and threats likely present within an area. However, to effectively sett and measure progress towards targets in an AOI, these estimates must be confirmed within the area. This validation process produces a calibrated STAR score against which conservation progress can be measured. Currently, methods are being developed to deploy remotely sensed data to improve this calibration process. These methods aim to confirm both species presence and threats occurrence, while also assessing threat intensity within specific AOI.

Major responsibilities

The Biodiversity Analyst will support the execution of the portfolio of projects through the Science Team. A key responsibility will be analyzing and applying biodiversity data that adheres to IUCN standards across all projects. The Analyst will collaborate closely with IUCN Commissions and partner organisations with peer conservation science-related institutions and networks, including IUCN Member institutions and external partners such as the Global Environment Facility and NASA. The role will also involve contributing to scientific publications into the peer reviewed literature, either into independent scientific journals or as IUCN publications, as well as presentations in scientific and policy-related conferences and other fora.

The Biodiversity Analyst position requires expertise in advanced spatial analysis of biodiversity data. The ideal candidate will have strong experience in data wrangling, spatial analyses and statistical modelling in R, including proficiency in integrating remotely sensed data with in situ species data on the ground. The Biodiversity Analyst will play a significant role in extending the STAR metric as well as deploying it through analyses and in collaboration with end-users (for example in Mesoamerican protected areas). The Biodiversity Analyst will serve a substantial role in supporting end-user (businesses, governments, civil society institutions, Indigenous groups) in calibrating site-specific STAR analyses through R-based spatial analysis working with the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (ibat-alliance.org), to develop tailored biodiversity assessments. Finally, the Biodiversity Analyst will support project design, management and reporting to Science Team project portfolio, including liaising with the finance team for budget management.

Specific duties

1. Design and execute complex spatial analyses of biodiversity data in R. For example:
a. Working with Area of Habitat and threat data to incorporate new taxonomic groups, eg. Trees into the STAR metric.
b. Drawing on remotely sensed data to update habitat cover and analyze trends across regions such as biodiversity hotspots
2. Undertake a substantial role in supporting end-users' efforts to calibrate STAR in order to guide conservation actions in their particular areas of interest through spatial analysis (eg in R), interactions with IUCN tools and systems, interactions with end-users and other stakeholders, and coordination with experts (eg. IUCN SSC Commission Members).
3. Fulfil project management responsibilities for day-to-day coordination, substantive tracking and reporting on relevant aspects of the Science Team project portfolio projects such as Earth Observations and Biodiversity Hotspots.
4. Serve as focal point for collaborations with remote sensing experts developing methods for assessing threats to species (drawing from the IUCN threats classification) that can be measured using remotely sensed data.
5. Support the implementation of other relevant Science Team projects, in particular through the development of the metrics and methods for science-based targets for biodiversity, including GIS analyses in R, coordination, meeting and event organization and preparation, publications, and liaising with the broader network of stakeholders and contributing to novel analysis.
6. Support the application of the data and knowledge products mobilised against IUCN standards (including but not limited to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and Red List of Ecosystems, the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas, and the World Database of Protected Areas, IUCN Green List, World Heritage) as appropriate in all projects, including, contributing to novel analyses (e.g., of agriculture as a driver of extinction risk).
7. Perform other duties as may be assigned from time to time.

The above job description contains the main duties and responsibilities for this position. However, in an organisation such as IUCN, staff members are expected to show flexibility in their approach to work and be willing to undertake other tasks that are reasonably allocated to them, but which are not part of their regular job description. Where any task becomes a regular part of an employee's responsibilities, the job description will be changed in consultation with the employee and the Human Resources Management Group.