Aquatic 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

On October 6, 2021, the Government of Canada announced details of its plans to require vaccination across the federal public service.

As per the new Policy on COVID-19 Vaccination for the Core Public Administration Including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, federal public servants in the Core Public Administration and members of the RCMP must attest to their vaccination status. The requirement for employees to be fully vaccinated applies whether they are teleworking, working remotely or working on-site. This is a condition of employment and it applies to indeterminate (permanent), determinate (term), casual, and student hiring. Should you reach the point in the selection process where it is necessary to verify terms and conditions of employment then the hiring manager or a human resources representative will contact you in order to complete an attestation.

Duties

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) scientists are engaged in a variety of science disciplines (including Freshwater Habitat, Fisheries Science, Aquatic Ecosystems, Aquaculture, Oceanography, Aquatic Invasive Species and Aquatic Animal Health) and are expected to develop diverse research programs (e.g. experimental, observational, modelling) aligned with departmental mandate (Mandate and role (dfo-mpo.gc.ca)).

A critical role for these positions is to develop, plan, and conduct research in order to provide science advice to inform regulatory decision-making and policy development.

Each position to be staffed would include the following key activities:
-Providing expert scientific advice and recommendations within subject-matter expertise.
-Leadership and development of an active research program aligned with the Department’s mandate, regional priorities, and program needs related to the position.
-Developing 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 expertise.

-Writing, reviewing and publishing scientific papers, reports, manuscripts, and authoritative reviews.
-Leading and participating in science advisory processes, working groups, steering committees or other meetings to communicate science advice to internal and external management clients,
-Communicating science outputs in area of specialty to various stakeholder groups, program clients, non-governmental organizations, academia and the general public through various fora, including the media.
-Developing proposals for funding and cost recovery arrangements, negotiating collaborations, and acting as scientific authority for approved professional service contracts.
-Managing assigned human, financial and material resources (some positions).

* Note: Throughout this document, the term 'aquatic animal' refers to any animal, whether invertebrate or vertebrate, that lives in water for most or all of its lifetime. Examples include includes fish, mollusks, crustaceans, marine mammals and marine turtles.

Intent of the process

The intent of this process is to staff positions within the Science Branch of DFO Gulf Region, Moncton (NB).

A pool of qualified and partially qualified candidates may be established and may be used to staff similar positions with various tenures as well as various linguistic requirements.

Flexible work arrangements could be considered depending on the position to be staffed.

Positions to be filled: 6

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
- Experience in planning and conducting research in aquatic ecosystems.
- Experience in authoring scientific publications as a first author in peer reviewed journals.
- Experience in presenting research findings at scientific workshops, conferences or meetings.
- Experience in the application of experimental design.
- Experience in using statistical or mathematical techniques to analyze data.

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

Any of the following qualifications may be deemed as an essential qualification depending on the position to be staffed.

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. If you have acquired experience related to any criteria listed below, please provide a description for only those that are relevant to you.

- Experience developing and providing science-based advice to program clients, managers, or stakeholders.
- Experience leading scientific teams, including project management and the supervision of support personnel.
- Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary professionals including academics, non-governmental organizations, indigenous groups or industry on scientific research projects.
- Experience leading the planning and delivery of field or laboratory research programs including obtaining funding and managing resources.
- Experience in fluvial hydrology and geomorphology sciences in relation to freshwater habitat for fish species.
- Experience in developing hydrological models in coastal estuarine, freshwater or ocean environments.
- Experience in restoration ecology focusing on aquatic environments.
- Experience in the analysis of spatial data.
- Experience with advanced remote or electronic data collection and analysis technologies (e.g. telemetry, data storage tags, remote sensors).
- Experience in advanced quantitative methodologies (e.g. multivariate statistics, meta-analysis, Bayesian statistics, ecological or population modelling) relevant to aquatic animal populations, aquatic ecosystems or biotic and abiotic habitat.
- Experience using contemporary programming language(s) (e.g. R, Python), version-control software tools (e.g. git), collaborative platforms (e.g. GitHub, GitLab), and knowledge of best-practices for analytical reproducibility and data sharing.
- Experience in the use of hydro acoustics to assess the abundance and distribution of marine species.
- Experience in fisheries related research.
- Experience studying how human activities and environmental stressors affect: the function of habitat; the health and survival of aquatic animal species and populations; or the productivity of aquatic animal communities and aquatic ecosystems.
- Experience in studying the interaction of the environment and aquatic animals or other organisms (including marine plants or plankton communities) in relation to bivalve aquaculture or aquatic invasive species.
- Experience in the design of monitoring programs or development of indicators to understand change in aquatic ecosystems.
- Experience conducting scientific risk assessments with ecological or environmental protection objectives
- Experience in the application of genetic/genomic, isotope, or metabolic tools.
- Experience conducting research related to infectious disease agents of aquatic animals.

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

Various language requirements
English or French essential, BBB/BBB, CBC/CBC.

Information on language requirements

ABILITY
- 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 synthesize scientific information to formulate an advice or recommendation for decision making.

PERSONAL SUITABILITY
- Leadership
- 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)
- Willingness to travel.
- Willingness to modify work hours to fit the program schedule or requirements.
- Willingness to work outdoors in all weather conditions and in isolated terrain.
- Valid Drivers License or mobility to the extent of the possession of a valid driver's license may be required for certain positions.
- Willingness to work for extended periods of time at remote locations and travel in helicopters, small planes and/or boats.
- Willingness to work for extended periods of time aboard research vessels and platforms of different sizes.

Conditions of employment

Reliability Status security clearance - Medical certificate (depending on position to be staffed).

All employees of the core public administration are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and attest to their vaccination status unless accommodated based on a medical contraindication, religion, or another prohibited ground for discrimination as defined under the Canadian Human Rights Act.

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 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 application or evaluation process, please use the Contact information below to request specialized accommodation. All information received in relation to accommodation will be kept confidential.

You can contact the Public Service Commission of Canada's support centre by selecting the "Contact Us" link below, in the left corner of this window, or by calling 1-888-780-4444.
Persons are entitled to participate in the appointment process in the official language of their choice.

Candidates must meet 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 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.

All information obtained throughout the selection process, from the time of application to the conclusion of the process, may be considered in the assessment of any essential or asset qualifications, including the ability to communicate in writing and orally.

Acknowledgment of receipt of applications will not be sent.

For this appointment process, our intention is to communicate with candidates by email for assessment purposes (including sending invitations for written tests and interviews). Candidates who apply to this selection process must include, in their application, a valid e-mail address and make sure that this address is always functional and accepts messages from unknown users (some e-mail systems block these types of e-mail). If you do not wish to receive your results by e-mail, it is your responsibility to inform us.

Please note that candidates can be eliminated by the Public Service Resourcing System (PSRS) based on PSRS screening questions.

Preference

Preference will be given to veterans first and then to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, 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.