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Digital Skills Internship
Are you looking to channel your skills into meaningful, energizing work that will directly contribute to protecting our natural world? Do you want to work with an exceptional group of passionate and caring colleagues, while gaining valuable hands-on work experience? If so, this position may be for you!
Birds Canada is the country’s premier national organization dedicated to bird conservation. Every day, our thousands of caring donors, 80+ dedicated staff, and 70,000+ outstanding volunteers are taking action to help us better understand, appreciate, and conserve birds and their habitats. Together, we are Canada’s Voice for Birds – will you join us?
POSITION OVERVIEW
The candidate’s principal role will be to support the NatureCounts Data Science and Technology team at Birds Canada with a project that will enable the broad scale assessment of climate and land use change on bird population dynamics. Specifically, the candidate will develop workflows and programming solutions (e.g., R packages) that allow for the compilation of key climate and land use covariates that can help explain patterns and processes driving trends in the abundance, distribution, and phenology of birds (and other taxonomic groups) at national and regional scales. The candidate will gain exposure and training in database management, advanced data wrangling, statistical analysis, data visualization, webpage development, programming in R, and version control in GitHub. The position can be held remotely from anywhere in Canada that has a reliable high-speed internet connection.
EMPLOYMENT DETAILS
This full-time, fixed term role is anticipated to start on July 3rd and end by December 31st (6 months). The Digital Skills Intern reports to Dr. Danielle Ethier, Population Scientist, Birds Canada.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- In consultation with partners (e.g., Environment and Climate Change Canada, Partners in Flight), data users (e.g., consultants, researchers), and Birds Canada staff, the Candidate will identify key environmental covariates (i.e., climate and land use) that are nationally or regionally available for integration into biodiversity monitoring analyses. Preference will be given to those that are accessible through existing APIs into the R programming interface (e.g., WeatherCan, RNCEP).
- The Candidate will use the R programming language to write an autonomous workflow or packages that will enable the incorporation of key environmental covariates into routine biodiversity assessments (e.g., population trends, distributional changes, migration phenology, nesting phenology).
- An online R user guide will be developed by the Candidate which details the key environmental covariates, including documentation on data import, geoprocessing, visualization, and sample scripts of correlative assessments with avian data stored in NatureCounts.
- Online educational content used for undergraduate, and graduate-level teaching will be updated/ expanded by the Candidate to include content on the key environmental covariates.
- The Candidate will assist with the development of project specific content for an online tutorial using Birds Canada’s Learning Management System platform.
REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS
- Proficient in Microsoft Office software.
- Intermediate programming skills in R and practical experience with GIS.
- Experience using Github for version control and webpage development.
- Excellent time management and prioritization skills.
- The ability to troubleshoot problems independently.
- Well-developed communication skills (written and verbal).
- The ability to work autonomously, as well as in a team environment.
REQUIRED APPLICANT PROFILE
The Candidate must meet the Eco Canada Digital Skill for Youth Program requirements, as outlined below:
- This program is open to participants between the age of 15-30.
- This program is designed for digital skill development.
- Eligible candidates must be a post-secondary graduate or high school graduate (territories only).
- This program is open to individuals who hold Canadian citizenship, Canadian permanent residency status, or Canadian refugee status
EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE
Candidates should be in the process of completing, or have already completed, a BSc or MSc in the natural sciences, data sciences, GIS, or an equivalent related program.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
The salary for this role is $24 per hour for an approximately 40-hour work week, plus statutory and discretionary benefits including pro-rated Vacation and Personal Health Days.
TO APPLY
Please submit your resume along with a covering letter (maximum 5 pages total) outlining how your past experience makes you the perfect candidate for this role via the Birds Canada Online Job Application Portal by May 27 @ 5PM ET. Birds Canada will provide accommodation throughout the recruitment, selection, and/or assessment process to applicants with disabilities.
Birds Canada is committed to improving levels of diversity among its volunteers, supporters, staff, and board that reflects the diversity of communities across the country. In an effort to do so, we are actively seeking to improve our ability to reach all candidates with our job postings. Applicants belonging to racialized groups, who identify as Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, or who have differing abilities are therefore welcome to self-identify in their cover letter, if they feel comfortable, although this is not a requirement.
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