Wolverine Research Associate

Position Title: Wolverine Research Assistant

Program: Ontario’s Northern Boreal Wolverine Program

Position Type:  Full-time

Salary: $65,000 annually

Position Location: Thunder Bay, ON

Start Date: July 1, 2023

Reports to: Dr. Matthew Scrafford

Supervises: N/A

Deadline for application: June 6, 2023

Position Summary

We invite applications for a Wolverine Research Assistant position, within Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada’s Wolverine Program, that will focus on analyzing the spatial and temporal patterns of wolverine (Gulo gulo) licensed or incidental harvest in Manitoba and Ontario.

The Research Assistant will work closely with Dr. Matthew Scrafford (WCS Canada) and in cooperation with provincial wildlife experts from the Manitoba and Ontario governments. This position will be based from WCS Canada’s office in Thunder Bay, Ontario, with the potential to be located remotely. The scope of this position might expand as appropriate to other research topics.

The aim of the Wolverine Program is to conduct research to support the conservation of wolverines in Ontario and elsewhere through development of policy and best-management practices. Using incidental harvest data from Ontario, the Research Assistant will analyze the spatial patterns of incidental harvest through time, identify areas of wolverine refugia, model variables associated with the magnitude of incidental harvest, and develop best-management practices with model outputs. The Research Assistant will conduct similar analyses with Manitoba licensed harvest records since the 1990’s; these data also include harvest of other furbearers. Deliverables include peer-reviewed publications and a report. The research assistant might be asked to provide analysis support to other projects within the Wolverine Program.

Position Objectives:

Identify the characteristics of wolverine refugia from licensed/incidental harvest in Manitoba and Ontario.
Develop best-management practices for forestry, mining, and the trapping industry based on model outputs.
Primary Responsibilities:

Describe spatial and temporal patterns of wolverine harvest.
Identify areas of refugia from harvest.
Identify social and environmental variables associated with refugia.
Develop best-management practices with model outputs.
Develop manuscripts from analyses.
Provide support to other research projects in the wolverine program.
Contribute to WCS Canadas’s external and internal communications in collaboration with the WCS Canada Communications Team, including sharing program specific media content, developing communication plans for upcoming publications, etc.
Serve as a spokesperson for WCS Canada’s messaging and work, actively seeking and delivering on opportunities to represent WCS to external audiences in media, conferences, events, etc.;
Promote the conservation of the wildlife and wild lands in Canada within the conservation community, donors, governmental agencies and other non-governmental organizations through meetings, active involvement in professional societies, speaking engagements, media interviews, writing, and general communications.
Contribute to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that promotes engagement and belonging.

Required Qualifications/Skills/Experience

Education: master’s or higher in a relevant discipline (e.g., ecology, forestry, environmental science, landscape ecology, geographic information systems, computer science).
Demonstrated ability to perform spatial and statistical analyses in R (e.g., FRAGSTATS)
Demonstrated ability to create models and perform spatial analysis in ArcGIS Pro.
Experience with database creation and management.
Experience publishing scientific literature.
Knowledge of wildlife ecology, population management and conservation.

Preferred Qualifications/Skills/Experience

Ability to work both independently and within a team.
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
Strong problem-solving skills, detail oriented, and resourceful.
A passion for the conservation of nature and wildlife.

How to apply:

Please submit your CV with cover letter explaining your interest in this position and relevant skills and experience.

For questions regarding the position, please contact Dr. Matthew Scrafford at mscrafford@wcs.org

For questions regarding the application process, please contact Okechukwu Ezibe at oezibe@wcs.org.

WCS Canada is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We are committed to providing barrier-free and accessible employment practices. Applicants with a disability or any special needs may make a request for accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process, and we will work with you to meet your needs. Such requests should be communicated to Okechukwu Ezibe (oezibe@wcs.org) or by phone 437-770-2776.

Office Safety Plan Compliance:

WCS Canada is committed to providing and maintaining a safe environment for our employees, contractors, and partners. As part of this unwavering commitment to safety, it is a condition of employment that Office-based WCS Canada employees be compliant with the respective Office Safety Plan, which includes being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 with a COVID-19 vaccine series approved by Health Canada or the World Health Organization. This condition is subject to the requirements of applicable human rights legislation.

About WCS Canada

WCS Canada (www.wcscanada.org) was established as a Canadian conservation organization in July 2004. We are committed to championing accessibility, diversity, and equal opportunity. Our mission is to save wildlife and wild places by improving our understanding of and seeking solutions to critical problems that threaten key species and large wild ecosystems throughout Canada. We implement and support comprehensive field studies that gather information on wildlife needs and then seek to resolve key conservation problems by working with a broad array of actors. WCS Canada has a track record of our science being recognized as relevant, credible and legitimate by researchers, NGOs and agencies. WCS Canada is independently registered and managed, while retaining a strong collaborative working relationship with sister Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) programs in more than 60 countries.

Diversity and inclusion are core WCS Canada values. We value the diversity of the people we employ and work with and we strive to provide an inclusive and equitable workplace in which we recognize the unique characteristics, skills and experiences of all employees. We are committed to engaging our employees in our diversity, equity and inclusion work and together we aim to create a workplace where all staff feel they belong and can grow.

WCS Canada’s programs occur on the homelands of Indigenous Peoples whose relationships various governments are described in historic (numbered) Treaties, modern land claim agreements, and negotiations around unceded lands. We recognize and support the international ecological and social commitments and responsibilities to Indigenous Peoples that Canada has signed, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Our commitment to engagement with Indigenous Peoples ranges from notification of research to the provision of scientific advice, to co-creation of research. We respect Indigenous knowledge systems and include this knowledge in our research and conservation programs where possible. We engage in land use planning and impact assessment processes that affect Indigenous Peoples, seeking ways to advance conservation as well as opportunities to sustain the livelihoods and cultures of Indigenous communities. We seek to motivate positive conservation outcomes by supporting effective governance and decision-making processes by Indigenous communities, particularly by supporting Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas.

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