Wildlife Recovery Biologist

Five 2-year Temporary Salaried Positions located in Grande Prairie (1), Peace River (2), and Fort McMurray (2).

https://jobpostings.alberta.ca/job-invite/42074/  (Open until suitable candidates are found)

Role
As a Wildlife Recovery Biologist, you will be responsible for the planning and delivery of both field-based operations, desk-based evaluation and reporting activities to support assessment of woodland caribou and wood bison population size, recruitment, mortality, movements and pathogens, as well as to address threats to at-risk wildlife caused by land-use, predation and disease.  This position plays a key role in providing strong professional and operational support, advice and direction to various provincial level tasks, strategies, policies and processes.

Job responsibilities include:

Ensuring scientifically credible and relevant population data are available to support woodland caribou and wood bison status reporting and recovery.
Evaluating and reporting woodland caribou and wood bison population data to ensure scientifically credible evidence is available to inform decisions made by government, rights-holders and stakeholders.
Leading and supporting recovery actions for woodland caribou and wood bison to ensure threats are mitigated and population declines are slowed or reversed.
Supporting continued leadership by Alberta in woodland caribou and wood bison assessment and recovery.
You will join a team of biologists that share responsibility for wildlife program delivery in northern Alberta.  In this role, you must be equally comfortable collaborating with other biologists and exercising a high degree of independence.

Your solid leadership, interpersonal, communication, problem solving and negotiating skills will serve you well in dealing with other professionals, Indigenous communities, stakeholders, industry and the public.

Qualifications
Requirements:

University degree in biology, environmental science, natural resource management or a related field.
Four years of directly related wildlife and land use integration experience.
A valid Class 5 driver’s license or equivalent.
Willingness to fly in a small aircraft.
Demonstrated ability in the use of GIS software, data management, modelling and spatial analysis.

Equivalencies:

Equivalencies will be considered on the basis of additional education considered in lieu of experience on a one-for-one basis. For example, one year of additional education above the minimum requirements may be considered as one year of experience.
Candidates with less than 4 years of experience may be considered at a lower classification.

Assets:

A postgraduate degree in wildlife science is preferred.
Experience working with woodland caribou or wood bison ecology and management.
Experience with wildlife data collection, including aerial surveys, remote cameras, radio-telemetry and biological sampling.
Awareness of wildlife-human conflict mitigation, wildlife diseases (particularly bison) and animal handling/husbandry techniques.
Knowledge of current Alberta policy and regulations as they pertain to woodland caribou and wood bison conservation and management (e.g., Wildlife Act, Master Schedule of Standards and Conditions, Alberta sub-regional planning).
Knowledge of Federal Species at Risk legislation, recovery strategies, policies and conservation agreements.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills including the ability to develop and present both plain language documents and scientific reports.
Strong leadership and teamwork skills.
Knowledge of habitat restoration techniques.
Understanding of the forestry and energy sectors in Alberta.

Salary
$2,854.12 to $3,686.30 bi-weekly ($74,492 – $96,212/year).

Hours of Work: Monday to Friday, 36.25 hours per week.

Please Note: There are 5 temporary positions that are 2 years in length. Two positions are located in Fort McMurray, 2 in Peace River and 1 in Grande Prairie. This competition may be used to fill future vacancies across the Government of Alberta at equal or lower classification.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can provide the required documents/checks obtained from the province they currently reside in.

Working and Living in Fort McMurray:

Attraction Bonus: The attraction bonus is a one-time payment that is equivalent to 25% of base pay (bi-weekly pay X 26.1 X 25%) upon commencement, less all lawful deductions. The attraction bonus is paid on a quarterly basis over the first year of employment. This bonus is only available for the Fort McMurray positions.
Fort McMurray Allowance: The Fort McMurray Allowance provides eligible employees with $478.17 for each bi-weekly pay period served in addition to their regular earnings. The allowance is non-pensionable compensation. This allowance is only available to the Fort McMurray position.
For more information, please visit: https://www.alberta.ca/premium-pay-directive.aspx#jumplinks-3

Working and Living in Peace River and Grande Prairie: 

55th to 57th parallels retention allowance: This is an annual retention bonus of $6,000.00, less all lawful deductions, the payment will be made in 2 installments per year and shall be pro-rated based on the employee’s commencement date.  This allowance is only available to the Peace River and Grande Prairie positions.
For more detailed information on this perk check out this link: https://www.alberta.ca/premium-pay-directive.aspx.