Stream 1 - Field Technicians; Stream 2 - Office and Laboratory Technicians

Work environment

At Natural Resources Canada, a Federal government job means developing leadership skills, fostering teamwork, and supporting creativity and innovation. We know it takes people from diverse pools of talent to make this happen. That is why we are looking for people like you. As an employee at Natural Resources Canada you can enjoy diverse employment opportunities, a range of career development programs, and a learning culture that supports you to learn on an ongoing basis. We support balancing your work and private life by offering the benefits of flexible work arrangements.

Intent of the process

ANTICIPATORY STAFFING
A pool of (fully or partially qualified) candidates may be established through this process to staff identical or similar positions at the EG-02 and EG-03 group and level within Natural Resources Canada with various language requirements (English Essential, French Essential, English or French Essential, or Bilingual), linguistic requirements (imperative and/or non-imperative) and profile(s) (BBB/BBB, CBC/CBC, CCC/CCC, etc.), various security requirements (Reliability status or Secret clearance), various conditions of employment and for various locations.

Positions to be filled: 2

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter in 5,000 words (maximum) "Candidates must clearly demonstrate IN THEIR COVER LETTER how they meet the education and experience factors listed in the essential qualifications. Candidates must use the experience factors as a header and describe how they meet each experience required. Resumes may be used as a secondary source to validate the experience described in the cover letter."

You must meet all essential qualifications in order to be appointed to the position. Other qualifications may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed. Some essential and other qualifications will be assessed through your application. It is your responsibility to provide appropriate examples that illustrate how you meet each qualification. Failing to do so could result in your application being rejected.

In order to be considered, your application must clearly explain how you meet the following (essential qualifications)

Graduation with a technology diploma or degree from a recognized post-secondary institution with acceptable specialization in chemistry, forestry, geography, natural, biological, or environmental sciences relevant to the position.

Degree equivalency

The following qualifications are applicable to the stream identified:
Stream 1: Field Technicians
Experience* in conducting forestry-related field work, such as plot establishment, surveys, mensuration and sampling.
Experience* identifying common western boreal forest plants, insects and disease, and/or other forest damaging agents.
Experience* in organizing, processing and summarizing data, and assisting with the preparation of technical or scientific reports.
Experience* in operating and maintaining field measuring and sampling equipment.

Stream 2: Office and Laboratory Technicians
Candidates in this stream must have experience in at least one of the following (experience required will be based on the specific position being staffed):
Experience* preparing samples for, and conducting laboratory analysis of soil, plant and water matrices, and in operating and maintaining various laboratory instruments and equipment.
Experience* in preparing and conducting tree ring analysis on increment cores and disks, and summarizing results.
Experience* in the handling, curation and storage of boreal forest plants or insect and disease specimens, and using field guides, dichotomous keys or museum collections identifying boreal plants, insects or fungi by order, family or species.
Experience* with Geographical Information Systems and the analysis and summary of spatial data used in a forestry context.
* Experience between the EG-02 and EG-03 levels is defined as having a minimum of 4 months’ work experience for the EG-02 level, and at least 1 year of work experience for the EG-03 level.

The following will be applied / assessed at a later date (essential for the job)

English essential

Information on language requirements

The following qualifications are applicable to the stream identified:
Stream 1 (EG-02 and EG-03): Field Technicians
Basic knowledge of forest biology and western boreal forest ecosystem processes including plants, soils, hydrology, and disturbances such as insects and diseases, climate, fire, or industrial.
Knowledge of sampling, surveys and mensuration techniques for western boreal forest soil, plants or insects and diseases.

Stream 2 (EG-02 and EG-03): Office and Laboratory Technicians
Candidates must have knowledge in at least one of the following: (knowledge required will be based on the specific position being staffed):
Knowledge of chemical analysis and standard methodologies associated with soil, plant and water analysis including: Knowledge of quality assurance and quality control protocols in Laboratory operations, laboratory operation the maintenance of analytical instrumentation, and laboratory safety protocols and the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS).
Knowledge of wood anatomy and dendrochronology.
Knowledge of forest insect and disease taxonomy and curation
Knowledge of Geographical Information Systems used in a forestry context.

Stream 1 and 2 (EG-02 and EG-03):
Ability to communicate effectively in writing.
Ability to communicate effectively orally.

Stream 1 and 2 (EG-02 and EG-03):

Initiative
Judgment
Dependability
Team player
Thoroughness

The following may be applied / assessed at a later date (may be needed for the job)

Stream 1 and 2 (EG-02 and EG-03)

Post-secondary specialization in Chemistry.

Degree equivalency

Stream 1 and 2 (EG-02 and EG-03)

Experience in conducting inorganic and organic analyses utilizing ICP OES, ICP MS, HPLC and GCMS.
Experience in oil and gas reclamation.
Experience using ArcGIS software.
Experience reading and understand maps and coordinate systems such as Latitude and Longitude and UTM.
Experience using field guides, dichotomous keys or museum collections for the identification of boreal plants, insects or fungi.
Experience in assessing endangered species habitat management plans.
Experience in coordinating integrated projects.

Natural Resources Canada is committed to establishing and maintaining a representative workforce. This organizational need may be identified as part of the appointment decision. In such cases, qualified candidates who self-declare as members of a visible minority group, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities, or women (in non-traditional occupations) could be considered in priority.

The following operational requirements are applicable to the stream identified:
May be required to conduct field work for extended periods (5-10 days at a time) in remote forest regions under adverse conditions including weather, biting insects, and dense forest environments (Field Technician Stream only).
May be required to walk long distances on rough terrain and carry heavy equipment or research samples (Field Technician Stream only).
Must have a valid driver’s license (Field Technician Stream only).
May be required to take health and safety courses as required such as all-terrain vehicle, chainsaw, bear awareness, first aid, WHMIS, MSDS, and/or oil and gas (All streams).
May be required to undergo a medical evaluation (All streams).
May be required to undergo drug testing (All streams).
May be required to work overtime (All streams).

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

The following conditions of employment may apply to some positions:
May be required to conduct field work for extended periods (5-10 days at a time) in remote forest regions under adverse conditions including weather, biting insects, and dense forest environments (Field Technician Stream only).
May be required to walk long distances on rough terrain and carry heavy equipment or research samples (Field Technician Stream only).
Must have a valid driver’s license (Field Technician Stream only).
May be required to take health and safety courses as required such as all-terrain vehicle, chainsaw, bear awareness, first aid, WHMIS, MSDS, and/or oil and gas (All streams).
May be required to undergo a medical evaluation (All streams).
May be required to undergo drug testing (All streams).
May be required to work overtime (All streams).

Other information

Reference checks will be sought.

An interview will be conducted.

A written examination will be administered.

If you are selected for further consideration, please advise the person who will contact you of any accommodations you may require during the selection process.

Candidates invited to an interview will be required to bring proof of their education credentials, in the form of a diploma or official transcript (original documents only).

Candidates with foreign credentials must provide proof of Canadian equivalency. Consult the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials for further information at http://www.cicic.ca/.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice. Applicants are asked to indicate their preferred official language in their application.

The Assessment Committee reserves the right to contact references other than those provided by the candidates (within the Public Service only), if found necessary, in order to adequately assess the candidates.

Random selection and/or top-down selection may be used at any time during the process to identify which applicants will be further assessed.

Candidates from outside the public service may be required to pay for travel and relocation costs associated with this selection process.

For this selection process, it is our intention to communicate with candidates via email for assessment purposes. This will include invitations to written tests and interviews. To that end, candidates must include a valid email address in their application. It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure that this address is functional and that it accepts messages from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email). It is also the candidate's responsibility to ensure accurate information is provided and updated as required.

Candidates must meet the conditions of employment and continue to meet these same conditions during their employment.

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled, diverse workforce reflective of Canadian society. As a result, it promotes employment equity and encourages candidates to indicate voluntarily on their application if they are a woman, an Aboriginal person, a person with a disability or a member of a visible minority group.

The Public Service of Canada is also committed to developing inclusive, barrier-free selection processes and work environments. If contacted in relation to a job opportunity or testing, you should advise the Public Service Commission or the departmental official in a timely fashion of the accommodation measures which must be taken to enable you to be assessed in a fair and equitable manner. Information received relating to accommodation measures will be addressed confidentially.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order.

Information on the preference to veterans

We thank all those who apply. Only those selected for further consideration will be contacted.