Senior Ecologist - Team Lead - (1762)

Western EcoSystems Technology (WEST), founded in 1990, has grown to be one of the premier environmental and statistical consulting firms in the United States and Canada. With over 200 scientific publications, WEST provides a unique blend of scientific inquiry with environmental consulting and has published on a variety of environmental topics. In North America, WEST is well known for its work in the renewable energy industry, having worked on thousands of projects since 1990 as well as writing and developing industrial protocols, procedures, and analyses that have since become industry standards. 

In 2017, WEST expanded into Canada by opening an office in Calgary, Alberta, and has since expanded into Saskatchewan, Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick. WEST and WEST staff have worked on over 200 renewable energy projects in Canada, including projects in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Currently, these projects involve constraints analyses, pre- and post-construction surveys, environmental assessment, monitoring, mitigation, expert testimony, and research for wind, solar, battery, and power line clients.

In our continued drive to provide outstanding professional consulting services and original solutions to a wide range of natural resource problems, we are looking for an experienced Senior Ecologist – Team Lead.

Number of positions available:  1

Location: Calgary, AB

Job Type: Permanent, Full Time

Tentative Start Date: April 1, 2025

Job Closing: Open Until Filled

Base Pay: $90,000 - $100,000+ (CAD)

Benefits: WEST Benefits

Job Summary:
The successful candidate will have experience in consulting and be passionate in helping WEST to succeed. The ideal candidate will have strong interpersonal and communication skills and have previous experience supervising and managing teams. Primary responsibilities include managing an ecological team, including developing and managing our wetland and aquatics scientists, providing technical oversight to wetland work, and helping coordinate and manage natural science studies throughout Canada, in a variety of sectors and disciplines.

Our scientists work individually, as well as with a team of natural resource specialists, scientists and biometricians to:

• Design and propose biological field and desktop studies to meet scientific objectives.
• Conduct/assist with day-to-day administration of projects.
• Train field technicians.
• Setup field studies.
• Prepare reports.
• Prepare proposals.
• Provide quality assurance of data.
• Supervise, direct, and coordinate field studies.
• Market WEST’s capabilities.
• Foster current business relationships and promote new business development efforts.

Responsibilities include:

• Complete and direct various tasks related to ecological work, including: wildlife, aquatics, soils, vegetation, and wetlands.
• Completion of Wetland Assessment and Impact Reports (WAIR).
• Completion of Wetland Assessment and Impact Forms (WAIF).
• Perform fieldwork using the ABWRET-A Tool and desktop assessments for ABWRET‑D.
• Be responsible for managing, leading, and evaluating a team of employees.
• Assist Senior Managers in managing scientists that are fulfilling WEST’s collective workload consisting of contracts for services and deliverables.
• Assist Senior Managers in delegating workloads as needed.
• Provide assistance to Senior Managers in the communication and implementation of company goals, objectives, and strategies.
• Work with the Senior Manager(s) and other WEST personnel as appropriate to develop proposals and respond to RFPs appropriate for WEST.
• Contribute to work products and services through assistance with and management of active WEST projects.
• Assist their team in meeting billable targets and budgets, maintaining billability, managing workloads, load leveling, and communicating among teams about workloads.
• Evaluate work needs; facilitating and forecasting hiring needs; delegating work, as needed.
• Communicating within the team and company; passing on information from management to team and vice versa; active participation in regular team leader/management meetings that facilitate communication amongst the group.
• Promote a positive team atmosphere and develop a collaborative environment.
• Identify performance issues and the need for corrective action.
• Evaluate team members’ performance.
• Design and implement scientific consulting solutions for clients.
• Write reports, applying scientific expertise to present and interpret the results of field and desktop studies in their scientific and regulatory context.
• Communicate with clients regarding their needs.
• Collaborate and communicate with government agencies, as needed.
• Conduct day to day administration of projects.
• Work with field staff in the execution of field studies and field coordination.
• Prepare proposals for project work.
• Provide quality assurance of data.

This is a general description of the functions for this position and is not inclusive of all the duties that may be associated with this position.

Job Requirements:

• Legally allowed to work in Canada
• Completed bachelor’s degree or higher in the biological sciences, environmental sciences, or a related discipline and at least 10 years of relevant experience.
• Experience with renewable projects, including wind, solar, or battery storage.
• Possession of a valid driver’s licence with no restrictions.
• Ability to rent a vehicle from a rental agency (e.g., Enterprise).
• Competent in Microsoft Office (advanced knowledge of Word and Excel) and ArcGIS/QGIS.
• Excellent time management and organizational skills.
• Ability to work well under time constraints and meet deliverable targets and deadlines, with high personal accountability, and minimal supervision.
• Experience in wildlife surveys, statistical analysis, wetland delineations, plant identification, or other areas of ecology.
• At least two years of Project Management experience, including budgeting, and proposal writing experience, professional scientific experience, and a track record of maintaining positive relationships with coworkers, clients or stakeholders.
• Must have excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and relationship building aptitude.

Other Desired Skills:

• Experience with projects in other provinces.
• Previous experience consulting with the Saskatchewan Ministry of the Environment.
• Ability and experience leading wildlife surveys in accordance with the Saskatchewan Species Detection Survey Protocols.
• Experience with construction or environmental monitoring.
• Environmental consulting experience in mining, linear development (e.g., pipelines, power lines), oil and gas, and governmental projects.

Successful candidates must be able to provide a driver’s abstract that meets WEST’s minimum criteria to operate a motor vehicle on behalf of the company.  Successful candidates must also be able to pass a drug and alcohol test that meets the minimum criteria of WEST and our clients. Candidates must be capable of adhering to all health and safety requirements outlined by WEST and our clients, for the duration of their employment.

WEST provides equal employment opportunities to all individuals regardless of their race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, mental or physical disability, marital status, family status or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, or local law.

Deltek Talent Management - Senior Ecologist - Team Lead - (1762)