Job DescriptionJob Description:Salary: $45,500-$50,000 Position Title: Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Indigenous Outreach Assistant Position Type: Full-time, Term Program: National- Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Position Location: Remote in Canada Date Written/Revised: Friday, May 31, 2024 Reports To: Lucy Poley, KBA Ecosystem Criteria Coordinator, and Peter Soroye, KBA Assessment and Outreach Coordinator Term: 12 months Salary: $45,500-$50,000 annually based on experience Supervises (Direct supervision only): None Start date: July 2, 2024 Benefits: 4 weeks' vacation, Paid sick and Personal emergency leave, Self-care days, Health and Dental care, Life insurance, RRSP Program, DEIJA Team, Weekly Wellness sessions, Mentorship program. Position Contact: Lucy Poley, KBA Ecosystem Criteria Coordinator, and Peter Soroye, KBA Assessment and Outreach Coordinator Application Closing date: June 5, 2024 at 6pm EST. Position Summary Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Canada's Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) program is seeking a KBA Indigenous Outreach Assistant with excellent interpersonal, communication, and organizational skills and a strong interest in supporting Indigenous-led conservation. The KBA program is a national effort to identify places in Canada that contribute significantly to the persistence of biodiversity, overseen by a coalition of partners including NGOs, academic scientists, governments, and Indigenous communities. KBAs represent sites that are globally and nationally important to the persistence of plants, animals, and ecosystems. These include places with globally and nationally recognized rare or threatened animal and plant species and ecosystems, places where animals gather in larger numbers for breeding, migration or other reasons, places where species and ecosystems exist that cannot be found anywhere else in the world, and places containing intact, undisturbed landscapes. WCS Canada and the KBA initiative are committed to supporting Indigenous values and stewardship efforts, respecting Indigenous knowledge, and enabling informed participation of Indigenous Peoples throughout the KBA identification initiative. The KBA Indigenous Outreach Assistant will join the KBA Canada team to provide outreach and coordination support to the Ecosystem Criteria and Assessment and Outreach Coordinators. They will support the continued work of identifying and developing pathways for Indigenous Peoples to participate in and collaborate with the KBA program that are supportive of Indigenous values and conservation priorities. The candidate will contribute to two main components of the KBA Canada initiative, with some possibility of other related tasks arising. The first aspect will center around KBA Criterion C, which has the goal of identifying the world's remaining areas of outstanding ecological integrity in regions where Indigenous communities hold the most knowledge about these healthy ecosystems and are best placed to understand how to measure ecological and cultural integrity. The goal of this aspect of the KBA Canada Initiative is to support Indigenous youth to tell their own stories about the land and their culture by providing equipment, training, and financial support for video production. The outreach assistant will help support this project during its pilot phase in 2024 and assist with developing it further for additional communities in the future. Starting in fall-winter 2024, the candidate will focus more on another aspect of the KBA program, supporting Indigenous outreach, engagement, and involvement in the overall KBA process. The candidate will work with the KBA Assessment and Outreach Coordinator to research, identify, and reach out to First Nation, Métis, and Inuit communities around KBAs being identified in Canada, to make communities and organizations aware of this work and invite questions, participation, and collaboration as part of the KBA process. Where there is interest, engagement may include the review or co-development of individual KBAs with Indigenous experts and organizations, and discussion around how specific KBAs are relevant to communities in terms of the range of values found there. Position Objectives This position will support the WCS Canada KBA program through the following primary objectives, splitting their time between two main projects:· Support the Ecosystem Criteria Coordinator in developing a project that provides young Indigenous participants with a grant and equipment to create short documentary-style videos around the concepts of ecological and cultural integrity. Support the Assessment and Outreach Coordinator with outreach to First Nation, Métis, and Inuit groups and communities around the identification of KBAs and supporting engagement and collaborations that may arise from outreach. Gain experience and develop skills that will support the development of a long-term career in conservation. Principal Responsibilities Support the Ecosystem Criteria Coordinator in developing an Indigenous youth-led, video-based storytelling project: Help with the video project pilot running in summer-fall 2024 by recording training sessions, occasionally assisting with participant support, and transcribing shared knowledge when appropriate. Research and coordinate with communities in highly intact regions of Canada to assess their interest in collaboration on, and potential participants for, future iterations of the video project. Refine and share training materials and other resources for future project participants based on the initial pilot project work and results. Research funding options to expand the project into additional communities. Help the Ecosystem Criteria Coordinator develop documents and protocols to support project expansion into additional communities. Support the Assessment and Outreach Coordinator: Identify and contact appropriate representatives of Indigenous communities and groups around candidate KBA sites and organize meetings to discuss engagement and collaboration. Liaise with KBA Secretariat members and regional coordinators around Indigenous outreach at sites. Organize and keep track of outreach and communications with Indigenous communities and groups around KBAs, as well as information and outreach needs. Liaise with Indigenous communities and groups around engagement and collaboration with KBA Canada program. Ensure Nations are aware of KBA program and potential sites in their territories. Facilitate sharing of data and information from KBA program to communities. Facilitate co-development of KBA proposals and/or participation in review of KBA materials with Nations. Ensure input into site delineations, KBA information, place, and species names and more. Facilitate discussions on how KBA information may be relevant in supporting community goals and decisions and informing lands management or conservation decision-making. Begin discussions around long-term community-led monitoring/surveying and stewardship of KBAs.Planning and logistics for meetings and workshops (including those in virtual settings). Provide input on how to improve Indigenous participation and involvement in the KBA process. Regular meetings with Ecosystem Criteria and Assessment and Outreach Coordinators (and other team members as needed) for progress updates and information sharing. Support WCS Canada's goal of transforming WCS Canada's conservation practice through reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Contribute to creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace that promotes engagement and belonging. Required Qualifications/Skills/ExperienceWhile all eligible candidates will be considered, preference will be given to Indigenous Canadian candidates.Post-secondary degree in environmental science, biodiversity conservation or other related field. Familiarity with Indigenous-led conservation practices and priorities in different regions of Canada. Familiarity with reconciliation needs and ethical, non-exploitative approaches for working with Indigenous partners and shared knowledge on conservation projects. Excellent communication skills, both oral and written. Experience engaging with people from a wide variety of backgrounds, including Indigenous Peoples. Strong problem-solving skills, detail oriented, and resourceful. Proven ability to work both independently and within a team on multiple projects concurrently. Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail, including record keeping, note taking, and data organization. Experience supporting project coordination (could include designing projects, identifying funding opportunities, writing documentation, and/or training project staff/participants). A passion for the conservation of nature and wildlife. Preferred Qualifications/Skills/Experience Previous experience working directly with Indigenous communities or community members on conservation-related projects is an asset. Familiarity with the Key Biodiversity Areas program in Canada and/or globally. Experience or training in project management/administration in a professional setting. Some familiarity with aspects of video production (filming, interviews, editing, etc.) is an asset. Familiarity with GIS tools and methods for basic geospatial data manipulation and analysis (ArcGIS Pro an asset). Applicants must also meet the eligibility requirements from Career Launcher's Clean Tech Program:Must be between 15 and 30 years old at the start of the internship; Must be legally entitled to work in Canada; must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or have been granted refugee status; Must be legally allowed to work according to the relevant provincial and Canadian legislation and regulationsMust be available to work for at least six months (26 weeks)Cannot be a previous participant of a Scient Horizon Internship. How to apply Please submit your CV and a cover letter explaining your interest in this position and relevant skills and experience. For questions regarding the position, please contact Lucy Poley at [email protected] or Peter Soroye at [email protected]. For questions regarding the application process, please contact Okechukwu Ezibe at [email protected]. Application Closing date: June 5, 2024 at 6pm EST. About WCS Canada WCS Canada (www.wcscanada.org) was established as a Canadian conservation organization in July 2004. We are committed to championing accessibility, diversity, and equal opportunity. Our mission is to save wildlife and wild places by improving our understanding of and seeking solutions to critical problems that threaten key species and large wild ecosystems throughout Canada. We implement and support comprehensive field studies that gather information on wildlife needs and then seek to resolve key conservation problems by working with a broad array of actors. WCS Canada has a track record of our science being recognized as relevant, credible and legitimate by researchers, NGOs and agencies. WCS Canada is independently registered and managed, while retaining a strong collaborative working relationship with sister Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) programs in more than 60 countries. Diversity and inclusion are core WCS Canada values. We value the diversity of the people we employ and work with and we strive to provide an inclusive and equitable workplace in which we recognize the unique characteristics, skills and experiences of all employees. We are committed to engaging our employees in our diversity, equity and inclusion work and together we aim to create a workplace where all staff feel they belong and can grow. WCS Canada's programs occur on the homelands of Indigenous Peoples whose relationships various governments are described in historic Treaties, modern land claim agreements, and negotiations around unceded lands. We recognize and support Indigenous Peoples in Indigenous-led conservation initiatives as well as the international ecological and social commitments and responsibilities to Indigenous Peoples that Canada has signed, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Our commitment to collaboration with Indigenous Peoples ranges from provision of scientific advice to co-creation of research and conservation priorities. We respect Indigenous knowledge systems and include Indigenous ways of knowing in research and conservation programs. We engage in land use planning and impact assessment processes that affect Indigenous Peoples, seeking ways to advance conservation as well as opportunities to sustain the livelihoods and cultures of Indigenous communities. We seek to motivate positive conservation outcomes by supporting effective governance and decision-making processes by Indigenous communities, particularly by supporting Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas. WCS Canada is committed to contributing to the field of conservation science and the professional development of its employees. Employees are encouraged to participate in professional societies and present their research at conferences and meetings, as well as participate in relevant workshops and training opportunities. Employees are likewise encouraged to mentor graduate students, participate in relevant graduate student committees, and pursue adjunct status with universities as appropriate.remote work