Mandarin-Speaking Naturalist

Job description

**WHO WE ARE** Lindblad Expeditions is a true pioneer in Expedition Travel. From taking the first citizen explorers to Antarctica in 1966, opening the Galapagos and Easter Island to tourism in 1967, leading the first tourist expedition through the Northwest Passage in 1984, and launching our innovative partnership with National Geographic in 2004, we're now taking almost 30,000 guests a year to some of the world’s most remote and pristine locations on our fleet of 20 ships, and are committed to ensuring our guests experience the “Exhilaration of Discovery”. **SUMMARY** This position supports the expedition as the expert and specialist in natural history for particular regions around the world. Additionally, the naturalist will work with the rest of the field staff in the delivery of the itinerary on a daily basis. The naturalist should expect contract periods a minimum of 3-5 weeks at a time with varying hours each day, based on the itinerary. The naturalist is responsible for creating and presenting engaging presentations, recaps, and in-the-field interpretation. It is essential that this person have excellent social skills as they will be expected to dine with guests and work in a multi-national environment, while living in close quarters. -------------------------------------------- The Mandarin-Speaking Naturalist serves as the expedition’s expert in interpreting and sharing natural history in Mandarin for our voyages. We are seeking candidates with demonstrated expertise in both Mandarin-language communication and natural history interpretation. Due to the specialized requirements of this role, we can only consider applicants who meet the following qualifications. ### SPECIFIC SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE REQUIRED - Fluency in spoken and written Mandarin language. - Experience in polar regions in the expedition industry. - Creatively engages with guests and shares knowledge in ways that are personable, comfortable, and that inspire continued learning opportunities and discussion. ### DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS - In-depth natural history knowledge of destination. - Intuitive focus on customer service and enhancing the guest experience - Adaptable to diverse geographic regions. - Previous experience guiding or working in destination. - A team-player with excellent training skills and a proven educator. - Works well independently and is a self-starter. - Strong communicator with individuals and groups, even-tempered demeanor, and remains calm under pressure. - Must be able to handle multiple tasks at one time with keen attention to detail. - Bachelor’s degree or four years of work experience in related industry. ### ESSENTIAL DUTIES - Leading engaging walks and offering relevant field interpretation throughout the voyage. - Participating in evening recaps to highlight guests’ daily experiences. - Preparing several PowerPoint (or similar) presentations of 30-40 minutes in length, highlighting particular and relevant themes of the voyage. - Writing the Daily Expedition Report one or more times during the voyage, to encapsulate the guests’ daily experiences. - Responding to requests in a timely manner and being highly visible to guests throughout the voyage. - Accompanying guests ashore with local guides, and acting as the representative of National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions. - Possessing strong skills in public speaking. - Consistently representing Lindblad Expeditions with integrity and professionalism. - Eating meals with guests and making an effort to dine with a variety of people over the course of each voyage. ### OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES - **Promotion/Sales-** Should be familiar with the company philosophy and various programs offered by Lindblad Expeditions and be able to address and field questions from guests regarding the various programs offered. - **Conservation/Sustainability-** Should become familiar with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic’s conservation and sustainability programs and be able to discuss the particular efforts in any itinerary where scheduled. - **Zodiac Operations-** Should be prepared to assist with many aspects of Zodiac operations for shore excursions. Familiarity with Zodiacs and ability to drive a strong preference, but not a requirement. - **Safety-** Should be prepared to participate in on-board safety training, meetings and drills, including abandon ship and fire drills. Will also participate in shore-based training as required by the Company. Must be very familiar with the Field Staff Handbook.