Research Scientist – Forest Entomology

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

**Eligible veterans and CAF members may apply.** 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.

Duties

A Forest Entomologist is sought to join the Ecosystem Health Science Program at the Northern Forestry Centre of the Canadian Forest Service. Working within an interdisciplinary team environment, the successful candidate will develop their own research program and contribute to existing studies focused on forest health in a changing environment.

The initial focus of this position will be on developing research that informs the early detection and mitigation of the eastern spread of mountain pine beetle eastern through Alberta and beyond.

Longer-term, the candidate will be expected to expand their research program in forest entomology including both field and modeling-based studies addressing issues in both managed and unmanaged forests while accounting for natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes and the effects of a changing climate. This will all be accomplished through collaborative research broadly within NRCan and with other research and data providers in both the public and private sectors.

Intent of the process

A pool of (fully or partially qualified) candidates may be established through this process to staff identical or similar positions at the SE-RES 1 to 5 group and level 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 2,000 words (maximum) "NOTE: You MUST provide a cover letter. In this document, you must provide concrete and detailed examples to clearly demonstrate how you meet the education and experience requirements listed in the essential qualifications and other qualifications section. The screening board cannot make any assumptions about your experience. It is not sufficient to say that you have the required qualifications or to list your current duties. One effective approach would be to use the wording of each experience criterion as a heading and then write one or two paragraphs demonstrating that you have the required experience and ensure that clear and accurate details are provided. The curriculum vitae will be or may be used as a secondary source to confirm the experience described in the cover letter. APPLICATIONS THAT DO NOT CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE THAT THE CANDIDATE MEETS THE SCREENING CRITERIA WILL/ MAY NOT BE GIVEN FURTHER CONSIDERATION."

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 the field of forest entomology, forest pest management, or insect ecology relevant to the duties of the position.

Productivity/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:
• 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.

***Minimum number of refereed journal publications is six (6).
Please list all publications as evidence of productivity/recognition in your CV.***

Degree equivalency

Experience:
• Significant* experience following awarding of Ph.D., in developing and conducting research relevant to forest insect population dynamics or community ecology or integrated forest pest management;
• Experience in developing successful research proposals;
• Experience in leading or participating in partnerships/collaborations with forest sector stakeholders.
• Experience communicating verbally to a variety of audiences (e.g., scientists, managers, industrial or government partners, or the general public), including for the purpose of knowledge transfer and provision of advice about forest health issues and management options.

*Significant is defined as the depth of experience that would normally be acquired with a minimum of 2 years experience.

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

English essential

Information on language requirements

Knowledge:
• Knowledge of the identity, ecology, and population dynamics of important forest insects, particularly bark beetles;
• Knowledge of insect impacts at tree and stand levels and integrated pest management options to mitigate impacts, particularly for bark beetles;
• Knowledge of interactions between climate change and insects, and the implications of climate change for tree and forest health and pest management.

Abilities and Skills:
• Ability to design and conduct field work/research within an interdisciplinary team environment, including supervision of others;
• Ability to apply statistical methods for complex data analysis and inference;
• Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.;
• Ability to effectively engage and work collaboratively with stakeholders and clients (e.g., industry and government agencies) to identify their research needs and priorities.

Personal Suitability:
• Leadership
• Judgment
• Adaptability
• Reliability

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

Asset Qualifications:
• Experience in the use of advanced statistical packages such as R or SAS.
• Experience in planning and executing field sampling relevant to forest-ecology research, including the recruitment and supervision of students.

• Knowledge of techniques used for early detection and rapid response to bark-beetle outbreaks.
• Knowledge of factors involved in the eastern spread of MPB and the efficacy of various control techniques used to mitigate this spread.

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

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance

Conditions of employment:
Valid driver's license
Willing and able to travel locally, nationally and internationally
Willing and able to work in the field under a variety of weather conditions and risks, including occasionally travelling in rotary-winged and fix-winged aircraft.
Valid medical certificate as required by the Treasury Board Secretariat Occupational Health Evaluation Standard “Appendix A - Section XII Scientific Personnel – Field”.

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

All information obtained throughout the selection process, from the time of application to close of process, may be used to evaluate the candidates.

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/.

Candidates may be required to meet the other qualifications, depending on the requirements of the specific position being staffed.

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.

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.