Job Description

Competition # : 37147

Department: Environment and Climate Change

Location: HALIFAX

Type of Employment: Term

Union Status: NSGEU - NSPG

Closing Date: 11/18/2022 (Applications are accepted until 11:59 PM Atlantic Time)

About Us

Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change's role is to protect the environment, human health and animal health through regulatory excellence, conservation, partnership and promotion. To achieve this, we strive to develop legislation, regulations and policies, process notifications, applications, and approvals for regulated activities based on sound scientific knowledge and expertise.

Our goal is to educate, inspect and enforce to ensure compliance with legislation and regulations. We also proactively respond to environmental, conservation, animal, and human health risks and work to develop programs and deliver services to enhance protection in these areas.

About Our Opportunity

Reporting to the Manager, Protected Areas & Ecosystems, you will be responsible for leading the provinces' goal of achieving 20% Protected Areas in Nova Scotia. This will be a leading role in developing and implementing various priorities directed towards legally designating new areas. This includes: developing a plan to reach the 20% goal and then leading the work for final designation of identified areas. The Protected Area Planner works in a team environment with staff from this and other provincial departments. The Protected Area Planner may also interact with industry and non-government partners, community groups, conservation and recreation organizations, and others to advance land protection goals and protected area management.

The Protected Area Planner will be involved in: developing a long term plan for achieving 20%, designation of new areas, stakeholder and public partnerships and consultations, undertaking science based field assessments and evaluations, compiling public communication materials, preparing reports and planning documents. The employee may also be involved in GIS data management and cartographic production, policy development, process facilitation, and collaborative planning.

Qualifications and Experience

To be successful in this role, you will have a bachelor's degree in Planning or related area of concentration, such as Environmental Management, Ecology, Land Conservation or Natural Resources or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

You will have demonstrated competency and experience in land conservation or protected areas planning and have a practical understanding of current issues and best practice approaches in protected areas establishment and management. Familiarity with the Nova Scotia Protected Areas Program is essential.

You will be experienced in collaborative conservation planning, communicating with project partners and stakeholder groups, dealing with concerns and facilitating partnerships, and have superior written and verbal communication skills.

You will be self-directed, have excellent problem solving and organizational skills, sound judgement and critical thinking skills that are necessary to resolve complex and sensitive issues. You must also be highly proficient with computer word processing and spreadsheet software

This position will require advanced knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

You will have knowledge of provincial and federal legislation, regulations, policies, programs, and processes relevant to protected areas, private land conservation and land management in Nova Scotia.

Working familiarity with ecological inventory and prioritization, ecological connectivity analysis and mitigation, re-naturalization techniques, processes for screening potential protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and barriers and potential solutions to private land conservation would be assets.

Other assets include experience in public land-use planning, policy development, public consultation, Indigenous consultation and facilitation. Knowledge of protected areas establishment processes, management and environmental planning is also an asset, as is an understanding of global, regional, and local drivers of biodiversity loss.

Equivalency

An equivalent combination of training, education and experience will be considered. Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Benefits

Based on the employment status and union agreement, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as Health, Dental, Life Insurance, Pension, General Illness (Short and Long Term), Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs. Click to learn more about our various benefits offerings and eligibility criteria.

Working Conditions

You must be willing and able to travel throughout Nova Scotia and work irregular hours when deemed necessary.

Additional Information

Please note, this is expected to be a term status position covering a Maturity Leave with an end date of December 31 2023; however, the position status ("term", "temporary" or "casual") is dependent on the start date of the successful candidate.

Offer of employment is conditional upon the completion of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials, the results of which must be satisfactory to the employer.

What We Offer

• Career Development where you have access to career guidance, tools, resources, and ongoing training for every stage of your career.
• Engaging workplace. Our Employees feel valued, respected, connected, and tuned in. We have forward-thinking policies and strategies.
• Countless Career Paths.
• Department Specific Flexible working schedules.

Pay Grade: PR 08 - PR 14

Salary Range: $2,014.19 - $3,121.84 Bi-Weekly

Employment Equity Statement:

Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the citizens we serve. The Government of Nova Scotia has an Employment Equity Policy, and we welcome applications from Indigenous People, African Nova Scotians and Other Racially Visible Persons, Persons with Disabilities and Women in occupations or positions where they are under-represented. If you are a member of one of these equity groups, you are encouraged to self-identify on your electronic application.

This is a bargaining unit position initially restricted to current civil service employees represented by the Nova Scotia Government Employees Union (NSGEU). If applying from outside a government office, employees must apply correctly via this link:

Failure to apply correctly means that your application will not be given first consideration as a bargaining unit applicant, and will only be included if external applications are pursued.

External applicants and current casual employees will only be considered if there are no qualified civil service bargaining unit candidates. PLEASE NOTE: Candidates will not be considered for an interview if applications are incomplete or are missing information.

Offer of employment is conditional upon the completion of all applicable background checks and confirmation of credentials, the results of which must be satisfactory to the employer. We thank all applicants for the interest, however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. All questions and concerns may be directed to Competitions@novascotia.ca.