Remote Sensing Research Scientist

Intent of the process

A pool of (fully or partially qualified) candidates may be established through this process to staff identical or similar positions within Natural Resources Canada with various tenures (determinate period or permanent), 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: 1

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter in 3,000 words (maximum) ""VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Applicants must clearly demonstrate IN THEIR COVER LETTER how they meet the education and experience factors listed in the ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS. Applicants must use the education/experience factors as a header and then write one or two paragraphs for each demonstrating how they meet each of them with concrete examples. Please note that it is not sufficient to only state that the qualification is met or to provide a listing of current or past responsibilities. Resumes will be used as a secondary source to validate the experience described in the cover letter. FAILURE TO CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE IN YOUR COVER LETTER HOW YOU MEET THE ESSENTIAL SCREENING CRITERIA (Education and Experience) WILL RESULT IN THE REJECTION OF YOUR APPLICATION. APPLICANTS WILL NOT BE SOLICITED FOR INCOMPLETE OR POSSIBLE MISSING INFORMATION. Your cover letter may be used to assess your ability to communicate effectively in writing.""

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 an acceptable doctoral degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in a field of the natural sciences related to the duties of the position such as forestry, geography.

Document research productivity or recognition. Productivity or recognition includes developmental work leading to the issue of patents, copyrights, or the creation of improved varieties, functions, or designs, and/or recognition by the professional community of the research environment. It also refers to recognized achievement in the form of authorship and editorship of published or unpublished reports, books, papers, or other communications resulting from work such as:
• Research, experimental development, or tasking associated with operational equipment and problems;
• Operational research and scientific analysis;
• Planning, analysis and evaluation of Canadian and foreign programs in research and development.

Degree equivalency

Experience in conducting scientific research in remote sensing applications to forestry or terrestrial ecosystems.
Experience in the development and design of computer programs or scripts to processes multi-source, multi-temporal, geospatial data sets for generating maps or datasets.
Experience in developing or contributing to research funding proposals.
Experience in the manipulation of large remotely sensed data sets (e.g., airborne lidar, optical image data) to characterize forest structure or to monitor change over time.
Significant experience (at least 4 manuscripts and first author of a minimum of two) in the publication of peer-reviewed articles in the field of remote sensing.
Experience with spatial data analysis.

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

English essential

Information on language requirements

Knowledge of the relationship between the various resolutions of remotely sensed data and how these inter-relationships impact processing decision and ultimate information content.
Knowledge of history to current state-of-the-art practices in land cover or land change mapping.
Knowledge of forest ecosystems dynamics, natural forest disturbances and the effects of (natural and anthropogenic) disturbances on Canadian forest ecosystems.
Knowledge of how remotely sensed data can inform on forest dynamics.
Knowledge of how to use samples/plots to model then map forest structure using remotely sensed data.
Knowledge of forest inventory practices in Canada and the use of remote sensing (data, methods, outcomes) for forest inventory purposes.
Knowledge of empirical experimental planning, design and statistical analysis techniques appropriate for characterizing the accuracy of products derived from remotely sensed data.

Ability to lead and supervise professional and/or technical staff.
Ability to communicate effectively orally including the delivery of oral presentations.
Ability to communicate effectively in writing.
Ability to problem solve.
Ability to plan field work.

Effective interpersonal relationships
Judgment
Thoroughness
Initiative

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

Experience in manipulating lidar data from its raw form and undertake subsequent analysis to characterize forest structure.
Experience in using remotely sensed data to inform on cross-sector (e.g., among forest, urban, agricultural) land use transitions and trends present in land use interface environments.
Experience analyzing how information derived from geospatial technologies relate to natural resource and forest management practices in Canada and/or globally.
Experience in using forestry growth and yield models.

Travel and some fieldwork may be required.
Valid driver’s license.
Medical clearance in accordance with Treasury Board Occupational Health Evaluation Standards for fieldwork.
Ability and willingness to travel, nationally and internationally

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance - Travel and some fieldwork may be required.
Valid driver’s license.
Medical clearance in accordance with Treasury Board Occupational Health Evaluation Standards for fieldwork.
Ability and willingness to travel, nationally and internationally

Other information

You must provide proof of your education credentials. 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/.

An interview may be conducted.

A written examination may be administered.

Reference checks may be requested.

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 must meet the essential qualifications to be appointed to a position.

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

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.

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

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

We thank all applicants for their interest in our position(s). For the purpose of this staffing process, only candidates selected for further assessment will be contacted.

The Government of Canada is committed to building a skilled workforce that is representative of Canada's diversity, which includes the recruitment of Canadian Veterans and releasing Canadian Armed Forces personnel.

We encourage applicants to identify any abilities, competencies, and/or experiences acquired through employment with the Canadian Armed Forces where applicable.

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.