Research Scientist

**Position Details**:
**Current Rate of Pay**: Min = $45.99/hr, Max = $53.33/hr
**Employment type**: Permanent, full-time
**Hours of work**: 35 hrs/week
**Work location**: Head office
**Division**: Development & Engineering Services
**Business unit**: Watershed Planning & Ecosystem Science
**Travel**: 10%
**Remote Work**: Hybrid
**About TRCA**:
With more than 60 years of experience, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is one of 36 Conservation Authorities in Ontario, created to safeguard and enhance the health and well-being of watershed communities through the protection and restoration of the natural environment and the ecological services the environment provides.
TRCA is considered the provincial leader in conserving, restoring, and managing natural resources to advance safe and sustainable development.
**How you will contribute as part of the TRCA team**:
The Research Scientist provides routine research work, undertaking quantitative and spatial analysis, providing course instruction and knowledge sharing, participating in and coordinating field investigations; providing technical advice on green infrastructure topics to inform and promote environmental management best practices.
**Major Responsibilities**:

- Works with teams to create, format and prepare reports (case studies, discussion papers, technical strategies, planning documents, technical reports, and proposals) for review and circulation to internal/external stakeholders and external experts for various purposes
- Reviews and provides written input or feedback on draft reports or interim analysis completed by other project team members; ensures the final report is complete, accurate and incorporates or addresses comments
- Designs and carries out detailed technical analyses or assessments in association with other staff, including but not limited to statistical or trend analysis, modelling, risk or scenario analysis, spatial analysis, literature review or other qualitative assessment approaches
- Collects data according to standardized protocols and ensures that data are scientifically defensible to guarantee the provision of high-quality information to TRCA and its partners
- Organizes, manages databases, and conducts quality control checks on monitoring or assessment data, ensuring quality control and assurance measures are always followed during data collection and analysis processes. Updates and maintains corporate databases using SQL and GIS ArcMap
- Attends and presents at conferences, scientific roundtable gatherings, or public events to broadly enable knowledge transfer or exchange, and build/strengthen networks
- Participates on internal or external technical committees to share lessons learned, and generally increase the collaborative or partnership capacity within TRCA and its partners
- Contributes to the development and implementation of industry best practices, more efficient processes and procedures and the innovative use of new technology
- Obtains approvals for the project scope and then ensures that project staff and resources are able to/can deliver the project addressing any training or resource gap; and develops a project plan timeline
- Monitors budget and timeline and develops strategies to mitigate any variances to the project plan
- Within authority level and project scope, approves expenditures, purchases and contracts. Where required, negotiates contracts/services with support of others to ensure satisfactory terms for TRCA

**What will you need to succeed**:
Education (degree/diploma/certifications/licenses)
- University degree in Biology, Geography, Environmental Sciences, Climate Change, Forestry, Geomatics or a related field.
- Valid Ontario Class G2 driver's license.

Experience
- 4+ years of experience related to the major responsibilities of the role
- Experience with the full research lifecycle, including identifying research knowledge gaps, seeking funding, designing and conducting experiments, undertaking spatial and temporal analysis using statistical software to analyze data, and publishing research findings
- Experience managing data and implementing quality assurance quality control processes
- Experience evaluating scientific results and communicating science-based advice, findings and recommendations to scientists, managers, or non-technical stakeholders
- Experience working with municipal, provincial, and federal environmental policies

Knowledge/Skill/Ability - Competencies
- Sound working knowledge of science, policy and best practices surrounding land use, climate change adaptation and/or mitigation, green infrastructure, as they pertain to ecosystem management and/or watershed planning and management
- Able to comprehend documentation that is technical or scientific in nature, skilled in writing technical reports or manuals
- Ability to map natural cover features using satellite images and/or orthophotography, including developing and/or implementing quality assurance and quality c