Statistical Ecologist

Updated: over 2 years ago
Deadline: 10 $67,057 - $92,809 per year; Nov 30, 2021

This competition is open to all applicants however internal candidates and applicants who were former employees of the University of Alberta in the past 18 months will be given priority consideration before external candidates. Please indicate your internal status using the "Advertisement" drop down menu when applying.

This position is for 1 year with the possibility of being renewed and offers a comprehensive benefits package which can be viewed at: Faculty & Staff Benefits .

ABMI is dedicated to tracking changes in biodiversity across the entirety of Alberta for the next 100  years, and this resultant information provides Albertans' the ability to make informed decisions about the state of their environment in ways never before possible.  

The Statistical Ecologist works in ABMI’s Science Centre and is primarily responsible for analyzing data  to support environmental management throughout Alberta. This position will also contribute to the advancement of analytical and study design approaches, dissemination of information through multiple streams, and participation in collaborative projects.  

Duties

The Statistical Ecologist is responsible for leading and executing a range of activities from statistical design and  modelling through to publication and reporting. These activities will focus on the creation of high-quality science by working independently and in collaboration with researchers and ABMI partners. The Statistical Eclologist will  be required support the ABMI’s Mission and Operating Principles and reinforce its institutional brand. 

The Statistical Ecologist will play a key role in the development and execution of science based activities as described below.  

1. Design and Publication of Analysis: 30% 

  • Develops, tests, and implements biodiversity metrics and models for species, habitat  structures, land cover/land use and landscape structures based on data collected
  • Provides leadership in the identification, assessment and implementation of novel  approaches to biodiversity analytics 
  • Evaluates and suggests revisions to data collection and analytical methods to increase the  effectiveness of biodiversity metrics  
  • Participate in the development of new approaches to processing digital data (photos,  acoustic recordings) 
  • Contributes to the development of research objectives for developing and using  simulations to evaluate alternative analytical methods 
  • Evaluates multiple options for solving analytical challenges and makes recommendations  on the approaches to use within the Science Centre and ABMI more broadly 
  • Participates and leads in the writing of research papers and the preparation of  presentation and reports; collaboration with academics and other members of the science  community is expected 

2. Modeling and Quality Assurance: 30% 

  • Integrates ABMI data with data from other sources, such as government and industry  monitoring, to complete the above tasks 
  • Conducts quality analysis and quality assurance on procedures for ABMI data, analyses  and modeling 
  • Collaborate with other programs modelling biodiversity at larger spatial extents (Canada)
  • Conducts statistical power and model reliability analysis for biodiversity metrics across the  variety of species, habitats, and landscape structures 
  • Incorporates relevant analyses developed outside of the organization into ABMI's  biodiversity metrics 

3. Partnerships and Grant Writing: 20% 

Contributes to the development of strategic plans for research activities; designs  experiments, data collection protocols, and standards to continuously improve ABMI  biodiversity metrics and analyses as part of the ABMI research team 

  • Assists in the preparation of research grant applications and contract proposals
  • Provides guidance and coaching of students and research assistants under the direction of  the Science Centre Directors 
  • Liaises with off-campus partners and supports the dissemination of ABMI  knowledge to resource managers and policy makers 

4. Communication and Reporting: 20% 

  • Presents results and recommendations based on analyses to other ABMI staff, collaborators, and the broader scientific community 
  • Presents results in meetings, seminars, scientific conferences and/or related settings
  • Supports the creation and dissemination of reports and other information products led by  the ABMI Information Centre 

Qualifications

  • Bachelor's degree in statistics, ecology or a related natural resource management field, MSc preferred.
  • Greater than 3 years working with R and also working with very large data sets through parallel computing. 
  • Greater than 3 years in the field of ecological statistics with a background in resource management. 
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, experience working with research teams, and strong analytical ability.  

Preference given to those with: 

  • thorough understanding of statistical theory and application 
  • a proven record of developing and testing models to analyze complex sample designs and multivariate ecological data 
  • experience in developing research and monitoring study design 
  • programming experience to create simulations that allow testing of various sampling designs and statistical models 
  • experience with managing complex data flows and working with advanced data management systems as part of an integrated team 
  • basic GIS ability 
  • experience modeling species relationships to habitats and response to land change 
  • experience with Alberta ecosystems 
  • experience with a broad diversity of taxa 
  • research experience in ecology or associated discipline 
  • experience working on multidisciplinary teams

COVID-19 Vaccination: Proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 in compliance with the University’s COVID-19 Vaccination Directive. Fully Vaccinated means a status an individual achieves 14 days after having received the recommended number of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by Health Canada or the World Health Organization, and requires the individual to maintain the recommended number and type of vaccine doses as updated and required by Health Canada thereafter.


Note: Online applications are accepted until midnight Mountain Standard Time of the closing date.

We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those individuals selected for an interview will be contacted.



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