Habitat Conservation Planner

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?

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 Habitat Conservation Planner plays an important role supporting land-use planning, mapping, data management, and applied conservation for Birds Canada’s new “Growing Science Capacity for Conservation in the North” project. Reporting to the Manager, Science in the North, the Planner will support Northern Indigenous groups and Science in the North program staff in diverse habitat planning activities and with other tools, such as mapping services. The Planner will travel to Northern communities when in-person meetings and activities require habitat planning or data support. This position will contribute to exciting conservation approaches, such as Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), National Marine Conservation Areas (NMCAs), Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), and more.

EMPLOYMENT DETAILS

This full-time role reports to the Manager, Science in the North, and is flexible remote/hybrid remote/in-person. This position will require occasional travel for northern meetings (Labrador, Québec, Ontario) and project support. Anticipated start date for this role is late June/early July 2024.

TOTAL COMPENSATION

Birds Canada is proud to offer an exceptional Total Compensation Package, including a competitive starting salary and 5% RRSP matching after 12 months of service.  In addition, staff enjoy a primarily employer-paid extended benefits package including health and dental coverage, Basic Group Life Insurance, Group out-of-province travel insurance, Vision, ADD&D and short- and long-term disability coverage.  We offer all staff 4 weeks’ vacation per year to start along with 12 personal health days and additional paid vacation days between Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

STARTING SALARY: The salary for this role starts at $56,423 annually, commensurate with your previous experience.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Support Indigenous groups and Northern collaborators in habitat conservation by providing conservation planning support, including determining habitat conservation goals and priorities.
• Work with Indigenous Liaison Coordinator to gather feedback from Indigenous Nations and groups about their priorities and interests and provide support for those goals from Birds Canada tools.
• Provide training and capacity development support to Northern communities by helping to provide in-person and virtual training to Northern community members on topics ranging from bird identification to monitoring protocols to mapping techniques.
• Work with the Manager, Science in the North and Indigenous Liaison Coordinator to support specific requests from Northern groups.
• Support Birds Canada and Northern Indigenous groups with spatial and monitoring data, including managing geographic data generated from Science in the North project and creating maps for Indigenous Nations and groups for specific projects, such as IPCAs.
• Support all aspects of Science in the North project and other Birds Canada programs, including helping Birds Canada’s KBA team in area planning and data gathering; Motus, Citizen Science programs, and/or other program areas as needed.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

• Mapping software experience (e.g., GIS), data management experience
• Ability to produce visually appealing maps for meetings (print) or web content
• Familiarity with land-use or other habitat planning processes
• Demonstrated ability to simultaneously work on a variety of projects with shifting goals
• Able to work closely with team, mostly virtually, and manage multiple deadlines
• Knowledge of Northern Canada’s bird fauna, including relevant biology and conservation needs
• Passion for conservation and understanding of conservation priorities
• English essential, French or Indigenous language fluency are strong assets
• Prior experience working with Indigenous Peoples and in northern regions an asset

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE

• Experience (2 – 4 years) in the conservation field working with data, collaborating with partners, and use of applicable conservation tools.
• B.Sc. or M.Sc. with a focus on geographic information systems, wildlife biology, conservation, or related field; candidates with other advanced qualifications and/or parallel experience will also be considered.

TO APPLY:

Please submit your resume along with a covering letter outlining how your past experience makes you the perfect candidate for this role via the Birds Canada Online Job Portal by June 10, 2024, 12:00 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, membership, 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.