Job Description

Company Overview
Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation (UIC) is the village corporation of Barrow, Alaska and is recognized as one of Alaska's top 10 companies with approximately 4,000 employees nationwide and revenues above $700M annually. UIC is projected to grow substantially in the coming years to become a top 3 company in Alaska by 2030.

As a proud Alaska Native Corporation, our success brings growth and benefits to our Inupiat shareholders. The size and diversity of our operations means we have a broad variety of career opportunities. We recruit only qualified people looking to join a workforce characterized by strong leadership, competent and hard-working staff, and a superior work environment with a focus on career development, great wages and benefits.

The Community Observer will sail aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter, Healy (), departing from Dutch Harbor, AK on June 29 and disembarking in Kugluktuk, Canada on August 1. This position requires one-week of training prior to departure. This work is to support research funded by the National Science Foundation. The Community Observer will send daily emails to communicate with North Slope Indigenous subsistence hunters and other local communities on research activities in their respective areas. The Community Observer will also liaise with Battelle ARO management staff of UIC Science to ensure they respond to village concerns about the Research Vessel and advise vessel crew on Indigenous subsistence culture sensitivity and awareness.

Duties will also include serving as a liaison between the vessel and subsistence hunters while offshore, informing North Slope residents and organizations of vessel activities. The Community Observer will watch for arctic marine mammals and record mammal sightings if required, like the Marine Mammal observer duties and responsibilities.

The Community Observer will be expected to work outside of normal business hours; typical work schedule is 10 hours per day. The ship is a moving platform and exposure to seasickness is possible. A United States passport is required. 

Essential Functions

The Community Observer will support a research project funded by the National Science Foundation in Alaska waters. Communication responsibilities will include subsistence hunters in proximity to the scheduled research areas, Principal Investigators, Battelle Arctic Research Operations, and vessel crew members.

Specific duties and responsibilities are as follows:

The overall objective is to scan the horizon and maintain communication between the ship, subsistence hunters and land-based stations to ensure to the best of their ability that all

• conflicts between animals, subsistence hunters, and the ship are avoided to minimize a potential negative impact. Some Specific requirements are as follows:

• CO is required to provide daily updates of vessel activities to a list of community and agency stakeholders
• CO is required to keep a logbook  

• Vessel logistics can be extremely fluid (e.g., weather, ice conditions, schedule changes, etc.) and Community Observers must be flexible.
• Duties will generally be performed on the bridge of the Sikuliaq.
• It is expected that the Community Observer gain an understanding of shipboard operations and safety, as well as science activities, the tools used for data collection, ultimate data products and its availability to t he public as well as the overall goal of the mission. The vessel Chief Scientist will initiate vessel crew introductions and explain mission goal.
• At the end of the cruise, the Community Observer will provide a cruise report
• Maintain appropriate records and report on activities as assigned under their oversight responsibility. Participate in daily planning meetings if requested.
• Pre-cruise training and orientation with UIC Science will occur one week prior to vessel departure.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Knowledge and Critical Skills/Expertise:

• • Knowledge and understanding of Inupiaq culture and priorities related to research
  • Experience in subsistence hunting, including whaling and other marine hunting activities.
  • Strong oral and written skills to communicate and outreach to Tribal communities, Tribal leadership, agencies, Native Corporations, and other stakeholders regarding the research vessel’s activities.
  • Functional knowledge to effectively perform e-mail management and reporting
  • Knowledge of Microsoft Word, Office, and Adobe programs
• Team player to develop strong relationships with villages, staff, and researchers

Required Experience:

• Ability to travel on a Research Vessel and perform office work
• Ability to test for and pass a non-DOT pre-employment drug screening and must follow all Non-DOT Drug and Alcohol testing program requirements.
• Have personal ID, in the form of a valid driver’s license or passport.
• Able to communicate in English verbally and in writing.
• Ability to work effectively with people from a variety of backgrounds
• Ability to speak and/or understand Inupiaq language is strongly preferred.

Physical Demands:

• Repetitive and prolonged postures involving standing, sitting, twisting, squatting, kneeling, stooping, and reaching to full range from above the head to the deck.
• Employee must always have good balance and coordination to safely walk over catwalks, enter/ exit hatches, and over uneven and/or slippery surfaces.
• Different docks have various combinations of barge drafts and river stages which make it necessary to step across, up, down, or over an obstacle to gain access to the dock from the barge or from the barge to the boat or from the boat to the dock.

• Employee must have ability to sit and/or stand for at least 6-hour shifts, walk for prolonged periods, handle (lift, carry, push and pull) various materials and tools, climb ladders, stairwells while working in inclement weather.
• Must be able to work in cold/hot weather while wearing required PPE (e.g., life preserver, respirators, goggles, etc.).
  • Must be able to lift at least 50 pounds.
• Prior ship experience of at least one thirty-day cruise aboard a large ship, including a science party of 25 individuals is highly desirable. 
• Speak and understand the Inupiaq Language.
• Prior Community Observer position experience.
• Resident of Northern coastal Alaska Indigenous Community.
• Have or receive a current cold water offshore survival training certification.

Drug and Alcohol Testing Programs

All employees must pass Non-DOT pre-employment drug screening and follow all UIC Non-DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Program guidelines and requirements.

If working on a DOT project, employees must pass a DOT pre-employment drug screening and follow all DOT Drug and Alcohol Testing Program requirements.

Important Notice

Candidates must pass a background check in order to fill this position.

UIC is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), persons unable to complete an online application should contact UIC HR for assistance.

UIC considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, physical or mental disability, family responsibility, marital status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, veteran's status or any other legal protected status. Pursuant to The Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1601 et seq., and federal contractual requirements, Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation, may legally grant certain preference in employment opportunities to UIC Shareholders and their Descendants. EOE/AA/M/F/D/V

#LI-WW1

Job Tags

Similar Jobs