Coordinator, Conservation Biology

The Nature Conservancy of Canada•Hearst, ON

2d•CA$67,863 - CA$76,342•Hybrid

About The Position

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is seeking a Coordinator, Conservation Biology - Northern Ontario to join their team. This role is crucial for protecting important natural areas and the species they sustain. NCC is a leading private land conservation organization in Canada, dedicated to conserving and restoring natural areas. They emphasize a collaborative, evidence-based approach and work with Indigenous Peoples to advance Reconciliation through conservation. The Coordinator will play an integral role in conservation efforts across northeastern Ontario, working collaboratively with staff across Ontario. The position is based in northeastern Ontario (Timmins, Kapuskasing, Cochrane or Hearst) and involves some travel across Ontario. The role reports to the Manager, Natural Areas – Northern Ontario and is responsible for stewardship, land management, administration of NCC properties, strategic conservation planning, and relationship building. Stewardship activities include habitat restoration, protecting species at risk, removing invasive species, monitoring, and mitigating human impacts. The Coordinator will also manage contractors, agreement holders, volunteers, partners, government agencies, and other stakeholders to implement conservation work. A key aspect of the role involves collaborating with Indigenous partners on the stewardship of large conservation reserves in Northern Ontario, focusing on monitoring wildlife, restoring habitats, and supporting First Nation-led forest landscape stewardship.

Requirements

A degree or diploma in ecology, conservation biology, forest conservation, environmental science or related discipline with 3-5 years of directly related experience or equivalent.
Strong project management and reporting skills, including excellent problem solving, planning, and organization skills, financial budgeting, tracking and reporting, and the ability to manage numerous agreements and deliverable simultaneously while paying attention to detail and timelines.
Demonstrated experience conducting independent fieldwork, comfortable working in wilderness settings, experience operating an all-terrain vehicle and hauling a trailer and knowledge of field safety practices.
Experience and comfort engaging with members of the public.
Demonstrated interesting and ability to carry out physical labour and work outdoors in all types of weather and environmental conditions.
Comfortable working with and around herbicides.
Proficient with MS Office Suite, including strong Excel skills.
Demonstrated ability to supervise staff and/or volunteers, including at large volunteer events.
Entrepreneurial, with a strong ability to prepare and manage timelines, goals and expectations wisely.
Comfort working in a team setting and capable of easily communicating with a wide range of people from the public and private sectors orally and in writing.
Good botanical and wildlife inventory skills, experience using identification keys, working knowledge of Ontario’s Species at Risk, and an understanding of vegetation community classification.
Must have reliable transportation to rural areas and be comfortable driving on both highways and rough roads.
Must be prepared to travel throughout northern Ontario (including multi-day trips), work flexible hours at times, and work in remote areas.

Nice To Haves

French language skills
Experience with forestry and forest management

Responsibilities

Manage the field planning, field work and reporting required to develop and implement site-level management plans for NCC owned properties.
Coordinate the development, preparation, and implementation of baseline inventories, site-level management plans and other reports.
Work with local area partners and land stewards to implement recommended stewardship and responsible land management actions on NCC properties, with a focus on habitat restoration, invasive species removal, and visitor management.
Monitor and report on conservation easements, including managing ongoing landowner relations.
Monitor and maintain trails, buildings, fences, gates, signage, and other infrastructure and address liability issues on NCC properties such as unwanted motorized vehicle access, illegal plant/animal/fungi harvesting, and trespassing.
Coordinate the funding applications, deliverables, reports and implementation of priority stewardship activities.
Coordinate the monitoring and reporting on the status of conservation targets and threats on NCC properties transferred from NCC to conservation partners.
Assist in the development of strategic landscape-scale plans to guide securement and stewardship, and to measure conservation success.
Populate NCC’s Land Resource Management System and Field Maps with accurate and complete data and property information so that records are available for enterprise access.
Ensure all liability issues are dealt with promptly and accurate records are maintained for insurance related matters.
Foster and maintain positive relationships with Indigenous partners, landowners, agreement holders, volunteers, contractors, and local partners in the subregion through personal contact, program newsletters and other innovative approaches.
Become a known presence on the ground at NCC properties to help deter unwanted behaviour and promote positive visitor interactions and compliance.
Represent NCC on specific committees and at meetings or workshops related to land management and conservation as required.
Communicate regularly with NCC stewards and partners to develop and maintain good working relations.
Represent NCC in all appropriate external relations and communications functions relevant to NCC’s science and stewardship activities in the subregion (including public speaking, meetings, and media relations) to build awareness and support for the conservation programs of NCC and its partners.
Organize and implement visitor opportunities such as guided hikes and organized events that engage people in nature and NCC’s work.
Provide supervision and work planning for seasonal Conservation Technicians and junior staff and ensure safe completion of stewardship tasks.
Work with the Manager, Natural Areas – Northern Ontario and other staff as appropriate to coordinate and manage contractors, suppliers and volunteers working on science, stewardship and other initiatives in the subregion.
Manage and lead a variety of stewardship projects (often several at once) to deliver sound property management and meet annual stewardship deliverables.
Manage project-level finances, admin, deliverables and reporting for grant deliverables with a budget of several hundred thousand dollars under the direction of the Manager, Natural Areas – Northern Ontario.
Support development of annual work plans and budgets.
Assist the Development team to create and deliver proposals and related materials for use in soliciting individual, foundation, and corporate gifts.
Collaborate with Communications staff to develop and implement communication actions in support of program delivery.
Assist the NCC team with donor reports as required.