Statistical Ecologist

Competition No: 2732
Department: Faculty of Science - University of Alberta
Position Type: Full Time - Grant Funded
Salary Range: $73,110 to $101,187
Grade: 10
Hours: 40

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 Ecologist will 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. 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
   

4. 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
   

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 and resource management
• experience with a broad diversity of taxa
• research experience in ecology or associated discipline
• experience working on multidisciplinary teams