Aquatic Science Biologist II **Amended closing date

Update: **AMENDMENT TO THE CLOSING DATE

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

Duties

Duties include:

• Organizing and undertaking assigned scientific field projects in fish ecology.
• Providing scientific information, advice and recommendations on issues respecting the conduct, methodologies, and the findings of scientific projects and investigations.
• Participating in the development of new methods, and quality control/assurance procedures and protocols for the collection and analysis of scientific data.
• Supervising the work of support staff and the utilization of allocated financial and material resources.
• Participating in, and occasionally leading, projects such as multidisciplinary field studies.
• Participating and representing the department at official meetings.
• Maintaining custody and safekeeping of biological samples, sample archives, scientific equipment and instrumentation, and data and information in various formats.
• Writing and/or contributing to the preparation of scientific papers and reports, and as a team member in peer review of scientific manuscripts.
• Reviewing and evaluating new knowledge and advances in aquatic science for relevance as improvements to current practices respecting the collection, management, statistical analysis, and interpretation of data.
• Taking all reasonable and necessary precautions to ensure the safety and health of oneself and co-workers within the work environment.
• Other duties as assigned.


Specific Duties may include:
• Working with biologists and leading technicians to collect, compile and report field project data, ensuring data and sample collection, compilation and analysis is accurate and complete.
• Leading and undertaking fishery monitoring field projects.
• Leading the installation, operation and removal of nets, barrier fences and/or rotary screw traps (“smolt wheels”).
• Leading electrofishing, snorkeling or sonar survey projects.
• Leading various wintertime fisheries monitoring projects involving tasks in frozen rivers and lakes.
• Developing, using and maintaining databases to record and store diadromous fish population assessment information.
• Training, leading and working with various partner field crews to carry out sampling of diadromous populations.

Intent of the process

A pool of candidates will be established and may be used to staff permanent, temporary, or seasonal vacancies within the Salmon and Diadromous Fish Section of the Science Branch.

This process may be used to staff positions of various tenures within the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada – positions in Campbellton NB, Restigouche County NB and / or South Esk (Miramichi) NB.

Positions to be filled: Number to be determined

Information you must provide

Your résumé.

A covering letter in 500 words (maximum)

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

EDUCATION
• Graduation with a degree from a recognized post-secondary institution in natural, physical or applied science with specialization in a field relevant to the duties of the position.

The courses for the specialization must be acceptable and must have been taken at a recognized post-secondary institution, but not necessarily within a degree program in the required specialization.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
• Experience in conducting (planning and implementation) fieldwork for the collection of scientific data and samples related to ecological studies or wildlife population studies in remote terrestrial areas, and in entering, analyzing, interpreting and/or managing the data or samples using software applications.
• Experience writing, editing or contributing to the writing of technical documents, scientific articles or scientific reports, and communicating scientific, technical, or regulatory information to non-experts orally or in writing.
• Experience working collaboratively in field teams, multidisciplinary projects, committees, consultations involving various partners (for example but not limited to: government, Non-governmental organization, industry, indigenous groups etc.)
• Experience organizing work and managing priorities to meet deadlines.
• Experience in analyzing various information sources and then providing science-based advice on issues related to the conservation and management of wildlife or ecosystems to scientists, managers, or stakeholders.

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

ASSET EDUCATION
A technical diploma or post-graduate degree from a recognized institution in aquatic, biological, or physical and applied sciences with a specialization in a field relevant to the position.

Degree equivalency

EXPERIENCE
• Experience working with diadromous fish species found in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• Experience undertaking analyses related to fish (or other taxa) population assessment.
• Experience conducting fieldwork related to the assessment of fish populations (using dissection, nets, barrier fences, sonar, electrofishing and/or snorkeling).
• Experience, as a project lead or as a supervisor, in designing, organizing and conducting field surveys and managing scientific field projects and field teams.
• Experience ensuring data quality and integrity.
• Experience with statistical software (e.g. R) for the analysis and plotting of data sets.
• Experience using Geographic Information System (GIS) software for the management and analysis of data sets.
• Experience in passive acoustic data analysis.
• Experience in the management, use or design of databases.
• Experience in query programming for the storage, analysis and access to scientific data.
• Experience with electronic tagging or with automatic data collection technologies (e.g. archival tags, sensors).
• Experience providing technical support for scientific field projects.
• Experience installing, operating and maintaining field equipment.
• Experience operating boats and off-road vehicles.
• Experience negotiating and managing contracts or funding agreements.

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

Various language requirements
Immediate need is to staff a Bilingual Imperative CBC/CBC position.

Information on language requirements

COMPETENCIES
• Initiative
• Reliability
• Integrity
• Judgment

ABILITIES
• Ability to communicate effectively orally
• Ability to communicate effectively in writing
• Ability to work effectively as part of a team
• Ability to solve problems

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

ASSET CERTIFICATIONS
• Electrofishing
• Swift Water Rescue training
• Wilderness and Remote First Aid
• Completion of Canadian Boating Safety Training Course and possession of Pleasure Craft Operator Card and / or Small Vessel Operator Proficiency certification
• WHMIS and/or other Occupational Health and Safety certifications

ASSET KNOWLEDGE:
• Knowledge of the life history and biology of Atlantic salmon, Striped Bass, Gaspereau (i.e. blueback herring, shad, alewife), silverside, tomcod, eels and/or rainbow smelt.
• Knowledge of the methods, techniques and equipment used to assess diadromous fish populations in rivers.

OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Candidates who will be recruited through this process must be willing and able to:

• Travel overnight for periods of time up to and including week-long trips.
• Work flexible hours and overtime on short notice.
• Work weekends, overtime and variable hours for continuous durations up to 8 weeks, including shift schedules, as required to meet operational needs.
• Work in harsh natural environments and / or in remote terrestrial field settings.
• Operate small boats and off road vehicles (including snowmobiles).
• Operate 4x4 trucks in a variety of on and off road conditions, including towing trailers of a variety of sizes and configurations.
• Participate in periods of strenuous physical work* associated with field activities and equipment installation and maintenance.
• Attain and maintain occupational health and safety certifications to meet Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Canada Labour Code occupational health and safety standards.
• Successfully complete Swift Water Rescue Training and work in swiftwater environments.
• Successfully complete Small Vessel Training.
• Successfully complete Wilderness and Remote First Aid Certification.

*Strenuous physical work is considered to be occasionally pushing or pulling objects up to 50kg and regularly carrying, lifting, pushing, or pulling weights up to 25kg.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

Valid Class 5 driver's license
Health Canada Medical Clearance*
Willingness to accept working as a shift worker

Condition(s) of Employment must be met and maintained throughout the duration of appointment.

*For candidates who do not currently possess the required clearance, Fisheries and Oceans Canada will initiate the clearance screening process in advance of appointment. Appointment is conditional on successfully meeting all identified security and medical clearance requirements.

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

PLEASE APPLY ONLINE: Please submit your application online. We request that you DO NOT email, fax or mail in hard copy documents. Persons with disabilities preventing them from applying on-line, are asked to contact (902) 426-4698 or toll free at 1-800-645-5605.

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.

Reference checks may be sought.
An interview may be administered.
A written examination may be administered.
A practical test may be administered.
A situational exercise may be administered.

Please ensure that your Personal Record Identifier (PRI) is included in your application if you have been previously employed by the government of Canada.

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

Candidates must meet all of the essential qualifications to be appointed to a position. A candidate may be appointed to a position even though he/she does not meet any or all of the asset qualifications or operational requirements. However, meeting these criteria is desirable and may be a deciding factor in choosing the person to be appointed.

Depending on the requirements of the position(s) being staffed from this process, for current or future vacancies, any or all of the asset qualifications, operational requirements, and organizational needs may be applied at the time of staffing. Candidates may be contacted and assessed against these criteria at any time during this process.

Please note that any information (including your application) gathered throughout the process may be considered in the assessment of any of the essential or asset qualifications, including the ability to communicate effectively in writing.

Please note that candidates can be eliminated by the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS) based on PSRS screening questions. Candidates may request to informally discuss their elimination at any point during the process. To do so, please contact the department at the coordinate(s) indicated on this poster.

It is your responsibility to ensure that your email and contact information are in your application AND via your PSRS account, it is your responsibility to ensure that you check for messages regularly and to ensure that your email address accepts messages from unknown users (some email systems block these types of email or filter them to a junk mail folder). Failure to respond to key messages may result in your being eliminated from this process.

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.