Nature Conservation Council of NSWHiring for Project Ecologist – Hotspots Fire Project at North District Full Time

Advertiser:
Nature Conservation Council of NSW

Location:
Northern and central NSW

Salary etc:
$80,000 p.a. + super, (SCHADS Level 5). Contract, Full-time.

Full time (5 days per week)

Reporting to Healthy Ecosystems Program Director

Contract period 7 months (ends 30 June 2022)

SCHADS Level 5. Minimum $80,000 p.a (pro rata) plus superannuation, based on experience

The Nature Conservation Council of NSW is the state’s peak environment organisation, representing over 160 local, state and national environment organisations in NSW. Our Healthy Ecosystems team works in partnership and collaboration with Government agencies, consortiums and associations to provide high quality community engagement, education and training services to communities.

Position Purpose

The Hotspots Fire Project (Hotspots) is jointly delivered with the NSW Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) with guidance from eight other project partners. The Hotspots Ecologist works with regional facilitators and the central office staff to develop fire ecology resources and support Hotspots workshop delivery across NSW.

The Hotspots Ecologist provides ecological expertise during the scoping of workshops and communicates ecological principles, including fire ecology, to workshop attendees within a landscape context. The Hotspots Ecologist works with local fire management agencies and community groups to increase awareness of fire ecology and fire management principles and support communities to actively and collectively participate in fire management planning and implementation for risk mitigation and maintaining biodiversity conservation.

A talent pool may be created from this recruitment action for ongoing and temporary roles of the same standard that may become available for filling over the next twelve months

Role & Responsibility

Support delivery of Hotspots workshops across NSW

Develop regionally specific ecological resources that translate technical science into accessible and engaging information

Foster collaborations between NCC, NSW RFS and other fire management agencies and the community to facilitate awareness of fire ecology principles and support collaborative property fire management planning for bush fire risk mitigation and maintaining biodiversity

Work collaboratively as part of the NCC Healthy Ecosystems Program to achieve strategic goals

Support delivery of other Healthy Ecosystems Programs including Large Forest Owls Project and Bushfire Program

Manage expense and administrative duties

Key Selection Criteria

Essential

Commitment and passion for conservation and objectives of the Nature Conservation Council of NSW

Demonstrated knowledge of the terrestrial ecology of eastern NSW including the role of fire in maintaining landscape health and bushfire management

Demonstrated research skills and an ability to present (both written and orally) technical information in a way that is engaging and accessible to landholders

Strongly developed facilitation, networking and partnership skills

Demonstrated high level written and verbal communication skills

Demonstrated ability to project manage own work to tight deadlines within a small project team

Experience working with rural and First Nations communities

The position requires bushland site visits so a reasonable level of fitness is required

Current driver’s license

Desirable

Tertiary qualification in ecology studies or similar

Knowledge of the plant and animal species of northern and central NSW

Knowledge of the NSW Keith Classification Vegetation system and NSW Fire Interval Guidelines

Ability to undertake field work in remote locations

Knowledge or experience of Cultural Burning practices with First Nations communities

Fire-fighting training, qualification, or experience

Experience in using fire as a management tool

Experience or knowledge of NSW bush fire planning legislation and regulations

Experience in online platforms including Google Earth, Six Maps, ArcGIS and other mapping platforms, EventBrite, Survey Monkey, Vimeo, WordPress, MS Office programs e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint

Experience with use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers

Recent experience with ecological field survey techniques

Bush Restoration experience

Knowledge or experience with Passive Acoustic Monitoring techniques (PAM)

First Aid Certificate

This position requires occasional work after hours and/or weekends including travel to workshops throughout NSW.

Applicants must have a legal right to work in Australia. We will review applications and interview suitable candidates throughout the advertising period, so we encourage you to apply early.