Arctic Marine Research Scientist

Important messages

We are committed to providing an inclusive and barrier-free work environment, starting with the hiring process. If you need to be accommodated during any phase of the evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

Assessment accommodation

When submitting an application to this selection process, you will be prompted to answer screening questions concerning the essential education, and the essential and asset experience qualifications. You will be instructed to provide detailed descriptions of your experience in your application, in the form of responses to the screening questions. It is your responsibility to provide clear and concrete examples in your responses, including when (from/ to), where (occupational title, organization) and how you obtained your education and experience. Describe the situation/task, the action you took, what you accomplished and/or what you learned.

The content of your response must be supported by your resume, as your responses to these questions will be used as a primary source of information and your resume will only be used to validate this information. Lack of examples and details, or indicating "please refer to resume", will result in your application being rejected as the Assessment Board will have insufficient information to determine if the requirement is met.

The Assessment Board cannot make assumptions about your experience. It is insufficient to say that you have the required qualifications or to list your current or past duties. Rather, using the application tool, candidates must demonstrate how they meet the listed education and experience criteria by providing clear and concrete examples.

Clear and concrete examples are defined as illustrations in which you fully explain the actions, considerations and steps you completed in order to gain the experience you are describing. This detailed contextual information will be used by the board members to assess whether you have sufficient experience in a relevant field to complete your assigned tasks should you be considered for a position. You may wish to start your submissions with a sentence similar to: “A clear and concrete example of a situation where I did X is a situation which occurred on Y date and my role in this activity was to...”.

Also, when reading the experience criteria, please pay close attention to action words contained within and ensure the examples you chose to include speak to all of them. Similar attention should be given to punctuation and connector words such as “commas”, “and” and “or” as these have a different function when used to describe an experience criteria. Action words or activities separated with a “,” and connected with an “and” must all be demonstrated with concrete examples, as they are all deemed essential by the hiring manager. Conversely, when action words or activities are separated with a “,” and connected with an “or”, candidates may provide concrete examples for only one of the activities listed in the criterion as in this case, the hiring manager is looking for someone who has experience in at least one of the activities but not necessarily all of them.

Finally, if the examples you provide speak of experience that was acquired in a team setting, please be specific as to your exact role within this team as it is your experience the board will be looking to assess and not that of your team.

Duties

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Central and Arctic Region is planning to hire Research Scientists focused on aquatic ecosystems to support Departmental program needs. These research scientists would join an existing complement of DFO scientists engaged in aquatic science and would be expected to develop diverse research programs (e.g. experimental, observational, modelling) aligned with DFO’s mandate, including the protection of marine ecosystems and sustainable management of fisheries in Canada’s Arctic.

A primary role for these positions is to conduct research and provide science advice related to regulatory decision-making and policy development to support management programs (e.g. related to sustainable fisheries management, industrial development).

Each position includes the following key activities:
Providing expert scientific advice and recommendations within subject-matter area (e.g. advice on the impacts and ecological risks associated with development projects and climate change, advice on the state of stocks and ecosystems, advice on science-based tools for regulatory decision-making, advice related to oceanographic and/or climatic drivers of ecosystem variability and change).
Developing an active research program, including conducting field, laboratory, or theoretical research, related to aquatic science aligned with the Department’s mandate and program needs.
Developing modified or novel approaches, theories, concepts, ideas or solutions and applying them to the design, implementation and/or evaluation of scientific research projects.
Applying comprehensive or in-depth knowledge of concepts, theories and research methods appropriate to relevant scientific fields and subject matter areas.
Writing, reviewing and publishing scientific papers, reports, manuscripts, and authoritative reviews.
Leading, and/or participating in science advisory processes to transfer science advice to internal and external management clients.
Managing assigned human, financial and material resources.
Developing proposals for funding and cost recovery arrangements, negotiating collaborations, and acting as scientific authority for approved professional service contracts.

Intent of the process

Through this hiring process the Department of Fisheries and Oceans will be staffing positions located in Winnipeg, MB under 4 specialized streams:

Stream 1 – Stock Assessment
Stream 2 – Genomics and Genetics
Stream 3 – Marine Ecosystem Science
Stream 4 – Arctic Oceanography

You will be asked to indicate which streams you are interested in applying to. You must select at least ONE stream. You may apply to multiple streams, but this is not mandatory.

The intent is to staff four (4) positions in Winnipeg (MB).

A pool of qualified or partially qualified candidates will be created and may be used to staff similar positions in Winnipeg, MB, with various tenures and security requirements.

Positions to be filled: 4

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

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.

Degree equivalency

Experience in planning and conducting scientific research relevant to the stream(s) for which you are applying. (Stream 1 – Stock Assessment, Stream 2 – Genomics and Genetics, Stream 3 – Marine Ecosystem Science, Stream 4 – Arctic Oceanography).

Experience in conducting quantitative analyses and interpreting data using statistical analytical techniques.

Experience in authoring scientific publications in international peer reviewed journals with at least two papers in the last 5 years, at least one of which is a first author publication.

Experience in presenting research findings at scientific workshops, conferences or meetings.

If you possess any of the following, your application must also clearly explain how you meet it (other qualifications)

Depending on the position to be staffed, any of the following qualifications may also be deemed as an essential qualification and only candidates and persons with a priority entitlement who possess those qualifications will be considered for that specific vacancy.

ALL STREAMS:
Experience developing and providing science-based advice to scientists, managers, or stakeholders.
Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary professionals including academics, non-governmental organizations or stakeholder groups on scientific research projects.
Experience leading the planning and delivery of field and/or laboratory research programs.
Experience working with Indigenous groups or Northern community members.
Experience conducting field work in remote environments. For example: in field camps or research vessels in coastal or offshore marine environments.
Experience leading scientific teams, including obtaining funding, project management and the supervision of support personnel or students.

STREAM 1: Stock Assessment
Experience conducting ecosystem research on Arctic or sub-Arctic fishes, marine invertebrates, or marine mammals.
Experience developing and applying models for: stock or population assessments, ecosystem structure and function, or species range extensions.
Experience designing, planning and implementing stock assessment surveys.
Experience with advanced remote or electronic data collection and analysis technologies (e.g., data storage tags, remote sensors).
Experience in conducting laboratory-based experiments.

STREAM 2: Genomics and Genetics
Experience conducting scientific research pertaining to: population genetics/genomics, phylogenetics/phylogenomics, Next Generation sequencing or eDNA.
Experience conducting scientific research on fish or marine mammals.
Experience in applying bioinformatics approaches for the analysis of genomic datasets.

STREAM 3: Ecosystem Science
Experience conducting scientific research on the productivity, structure, function, or biodiversity of Arctic marine ecosystems.
Experience conducting research and monitoring related to the impacts of climate change or industrial development on Arctic marine ecosystems.
Experience with ecosystem modelling, including the assessment of energy, carbon, or elemental fluxes in marine food webs.
Experience measuring environmental or ecological parameters in Arctic field or laboratory settings.
Experience conducting scientific research on sea-ice ecology.

STREAM 4: Arctic Oceanography
Experience conducting research related to (1 or more of):
Mixing process of water masses;
Oceanographic variability and change;
Oceanographic drivers of ecosystem variability and change; or
Sea-ice dynamics and the relationship to marine ecosystems.
Experience in the measurement of marine physico-chemical parameters.
Experience in designing, deploying, and recovering oceanographic moorings.
Experience in ocean dynamics, coupled ice-ocean-atmosphere, or biophysical modelling.
Experience processing, validating and managing large oceanographic data sets.

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

English essential

Information on language requirements

Ability to communicate effectively orally to technical and non-technical audiences;
Ability to communicate effectively in writing to technical and non-technical audiences;
Ability to provide science-based advice to management.

Leadership
Demonstrating integrity and respect
Thinking things through
Working effectively with others
Showing initiative and being action-oriented

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

Selection may be limited to members of the following Employment Equity groups: Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, visible minorities, women

Information on employment equity

(vary with position)
Travel as required.
Work hours to fit the program schedule or requirements.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

(vary with position)

Valid Health Canada Medical (as required by the position).
Work overtime as required.
Work for extended periods of time outdoors in remote Arctic locations and travel in helicopters, small planes, and boats.
Work for extended periods of time aboard research vessels and platforms of different sizes, or in field camps.
Work with firearms and obtain certification for a Possession and Acquisition Licence.
Valid Drivers Licence.

Other information

The Public Service of Canada is committed to building a skilled and diverse workforce that reflects the Canadians we serve. We promote employment equity and encourage you to indicate if you belong to one of the designated groups when you apply.

Information on employment equity

A variety of assessment tools may be used in the assessment of candidates, such as: written test, oral interview, presentation of a research seminar, work samples, and reference checks. Some assessment tools may be administered electronically, others, in-person.

You must provide proof of your education credentials.

APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED ON LINE ONLY. The manager will not accept or respond to resumes sent via e-mail.

Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice.

Persons with disabilities preventing them from applying on-line are asked to contact 1-800-645-5605.

PLEASE NOTE: For this selection process, our intention is to communicate with applicants by e-mail and PSRS. Applicants who apply to this selection process must ensure their email address is functional at all times and accepts messages from unknown users.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans and to Canadian citizens, in that order, with the exception of a job located in Nunavut, where Nunavut Inuit will be appointed first.

Information on the preference to veterans

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