Technician, Anthropology and Archaeology

Position Overview

The Department of Anthropology and Archaeology in the Faculty of Arts is currently seeking a Full-time Temporary Relief Technician for approximately 1 year.

Reporting to the Pod Manager and working in collaboration with the Archaeology Lab Technician and Department Head,  the Technician will support the day-to-day operations of the Anthropology & Archaeology department. This position supports undergraduate and graduate teaching and research activities in the following ways: (1) curation and management of the department's biological anthropology labs and collections; (2) providing support to faculty and students in such areas as data management and statistical analysis, database construction and maintenance; (3) maintenance of tools and instruments associated with the biological anthropology program (teaching and research); (4) operation and management of the department's digital story-telling lab; (5) assistance with logistical planning for biological anthropology field research projects and field schools; (6) assisting with the day to day operations of the department. The Technician acts as a primary point of contact for biological anthropology faculty and sessional instructors teaching courses with a laboratory component and provides support through the management of teaching and reference collections.

This position works 35 hours per week. Overtime may be required during peak periods, such as the beginning and end of terms. The incumbent is expected to work on campus.

Position Description

Summary of Key Responsibilities (job functions include but are not limited to):

Collections Curator and Teaching Support 

• Manages collections and scientific instruments used in the biological anthropology program. This includes creating and managing a database of current teaching collections and assisting instructors with the set up and take down of labs.
• Ensures that lab equipment is being properly maintained and in working order, conducts minor routine maintenance, and facilitates the repair of equipment and the replacement of teaching objects such as fossil casts when necessary.
• Trains and supports faculty and graduate students in the use of departmental field and laboratory equipment.
• Trains and supports undergraduate and graduate students in data analysis and statistics relating to course requirements.
• Participates in the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
• Maintains an up-to-date knowledge on current methods in biological anthropology, including techniques, tools, instruments, and equipment relating to the biological anthropology program in the areas of teaching and research.

Data Management and Analysis 

• Assists in the design and management of relational databases for faculty and graduate students.
• Data manipulation requiring SQL language (e.g., querying, conversions and migrations, mapping indexing, and metadata management).
• Supports faculty and graduate students with field logistics .
• Assists faculty and graduate students with statistical analysis of research data. This may include (but not be limited to) individual mentoring of students and the organization of workshops on statistics, coding, and programming.
• Support for scholarly publication and presentations.
• Data management and curation.

Lab Supervision and Management  

• Daily management of biological anthropology research laboratories, including managing laboratory inventory.
• Manages and maintains lab equipment, including portable kits. Tracks sign out and return of items from the lab by faculty and students.
• Manages Microsoft Surface Hub for use by faculty in teaching.
• Assists faculty and graduate students with digital storytelling projects.

Qualifications / Requirements:

Required

• Bachelor's level post-graduate education and a strong science background.
• Demonstrated leadership, organizational and interpersonal skills.
• Demonstrated expertise in relational database creation and management across multiple platforms.
• Demonstrated expertise in R (the R Project for Statistical Computing).
• Demonstrated proficiency in statistical analysis tools and techniques from across the field of biological anthropology, i.e., Python, NVivo.
• Experience in hominin/primate evolution and behavioral ecology research, including an in-depth knowledge of technical procedures and tools for biological data collection, management and analysis.
• Knowledge of primate anatomy, ecology, and behavior.
• Knowledge of hominin fossils and evolution.
• Demonstrated expertise in statistical analysis including proficiency with R (the R Project for Statistical Computing) and other statistical software.
• Resourceful and creative problem-solving abilities and the technical expertise gained from conducting independent research  in biological anthropology.

Assets

• Graduate degree is an asset.
• Familiarity with tools that can support scholarly publication and presentations (e.g., Illustrator, Photoshop, and other graphics design programs).
• Experience programming for biological sciences (e.g., Python, Perl, MATLAB, etc.).
• Expertise in other technical areas is desired. These could include geospatial analysis, morphometrics, and other techniques/skills commonly used in biological anthropology research.
• Experience programming for biological sciences (e.g., Python, Perl, MATLAB, etc.).
• Familiarity with digital media in terms of video/audio editing, podcast creation.

Application Deadline:  April 6, 2023

We would like to thank all applicants in advance for submitting their resumes. Please note, only those candidates chosen to continue on through the selection process will be contacted.

Additional Information

This position is part of the AUPE bargaining unit, and falls under the Technical Job Family, Phase 2.

To find out more about management and staff opportunities at the University of Calgary and all we have to offer, view our Management and Staff Careers website. For more information about the Faculty of Arts, visit Careers in the Faculty of Arts.

The University strongly recommends all faculty and staff are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

About the University of Calgary

The University of Calgary is Canada’s leading next-generation university – a living, growing and youthful institution that embraces change and opportunity with a can-do attitude. Located in the nation’s most enterprising city, the university is making tremendous progress on its Eyes High journey to be recognized as one of Canada’s top five research universities, grounded in innovative learning and teaching and fully integrated with the community it both serves and leads. The University of Calgary inspires and supports discovery, creativity and innovation across all disciplines. For more information, visit ucalgary.ca.

The University of Calgary has launched an institution-wide Indigenous Strategy in line with the foundational goals of Eyes High, committing to creating a rich, vibrant, and culturally competent campus that welcomes and supports Indigenous Peoples, encourages Indigenous community partnerships, is inclusive of Indigenous perspectives in all that we do.

As an equitable and inclusive employer, the University of Calgary recognizes that a diverse staff/faculty benefits and enriches the work, learning and research experiences of the entire campus and greater community. We are committed to removing barriers that have been historically encountered by some people in our society. We strive to recruit individuals who will further enhance our diversity and will support their academic and professional success while they are here. In particular, we encourage members of the designated groups (women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, members of visible/racialized minorities, and diverse sexual orientation and gender identities) to apply. To ensure a fair and equitable assessment, we offer accommodation at any stage during the recruitment process to applicants with disabilities. Questions regarding [diversity] EDI at UCalgary can be sent to the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion ([email protected]) and requests for accommodations can be sent to Human Resources ([email protected]).

We encourage all qualified applicants to apply, however preference will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.