Senior Wildlife Biologist

Senior Wildlife Biologist

Location – Leduc, Calgary, or Grande Prairie, Alberta

Employment Type – Full Time

SWAT Consulting Inc. is a multi-disciplinary environmental consulting firm with offices located in Leduc, Calgary, and Grande Prairie, Alberta. While SWAT specializes in comprehensive spill response, emergency management, emergency preparedness and training, we have also grown a core team of staff focusing on environmental assessment, remediation, and reclamation to complement our emergency management services. SWAT is now focused on building a biophysical group to expand our services related to wildlife, aquatic, and wetland biology.

As a small company, SWAT provides a team focused environment, ample opportunity for on-the- job learning and accelerating career opportunities, and highly competitive compensation and benefits packages. We offer our employees the ability to gain experience across Canada, where opportunities arise.

Position Overview

SWAT Consulting Inc. is seeking a Senior Wildlife Biologist with a strong record of providing high quality wildlife assessments, mitigation planning, regulatory support, and environmental monitoring services in Alberta and across Western Canada. The appropriate candidate has developed strong technical and analytical skills, sound professional judgment, and the ability to foster those skills in others. They will bring experience leading wildlife baseline programs, pre-disturbance and pre-construction assessments, wildlife sweeps, species at risk surveys, habitat assessments, construction monitoring, and associated regulatory deliverables.

The appropriate candidate is familiar with applicable provincial and federal legislation, guidelines, and regulatory processes, and is comfortable interpreting requirements in a practical way for clients, field teams, and construction personnel. They will have experience obtaining applicable wildlife collection and handling permits and implementing those requirements in the field. They can provide senior technical review and strategic direction on wildlife-related scopes, while also supporting project delivery through proposal development, work planning, budgeting, and mentorship of junior and intermediate staff.

The appropriate candidate enjoys and thrives on a combination of fieldwork, technical reporting, problem-solving, and collaboration. They know what it takes to build the role and leverage experience, confidence, and communication skills to support their continued growth and the needs of a team of highly driven professionals. The position will include a mix of office and field responsibilities, with field requirements varying seasonally depending on project demands.

Responsibilities

Preparing wildlife-related assessments and regulatory deliverables, which includes:

• Completing wildlife baseline assessments, habitat assessments, pre-disturbance assessments, and pre-construction wildlife sweeps.
• Conducting or overseeing protocol-driven wildlife surveys for birds (including raptors), amphibians, mammals (including bats), and species at risk, as applicable to project requirements.
• Reviewing available databases, client files, mapping, aerial imagery, and applicable guidance documents to support field programs and reporting.
• Interpreting wildlife legislation, guidelines, and approval requirements to support project planning and execution.
• Obtaining or supporting applications for wildlife collection, handling, and relocation permits and ensuring permit conditions are understood and implemented.
• Preparing technical reports, mitigation recommendations, environmental protection measures, and regulatory submissions.
• Providing senior review and professional sign-off on client and regulatory deliverables within their area of practice.

Providing wildlife expertise for project planning, construction, and monitoring, which includes:

• Supporting environmental assessments, constraints analyses, mitigation planning, and monitoring programs.
• Providing wildlife expertise for construction and post-construction monitoring to ensure compliance with environmental and regulatory commitments.
• Supporting or overseeing wildlife components of environmental inspections, environmental monitoring, and field compliance programs.
• Conducting or overseeing wildlife capture, handling, and relocation activities in accordance with permit requirements, approved protocols, and professional standards.
• Supporting spill response and other emergency projects where wildlife assessment, mitigation, handling, or relocation may be required.
• Liaising with clients, contractors, regulators, and other project team members to support practical implementation of mitigation and monitoring requirements.
• Completing daily reporting and other documentation associated with field programs.
• Supporting project delivery and team development, which includes:
• Providing senior review, technical expertise, and leadership on wildlife-focused programs and deliverables.

Supporting project delivery and team development, which includes:

• Providing senior review, technical expertise, and leadership on wildlife-focused programs and deliverables.
• Mentoring and training junior and intermediate staff on field methods, reporting, data quality, and professional practice.
• Supporting project management activities, including proposal development, work planning, scheduling, and budget tracking.
• Identifying opportunities for process improvement, quality improvement, and efficiencies in reporting and data management techniques.

Additional responsibilities as assigned or as interested.

Qualifications

• Hold a B.Sc. or higher in wildlife biology, biology, ecology, environmental science, or a related discipline.
• Currently registered, or eligible for registration, as a professional with the Alberta Society of Professional Biologists and qualified to authenticate professional deliverables within their area of practice.
• Ten or more years of experience completing wildlife assessments, surveys, mitigation planning, monitoring, and associated reporting in environmental consulting or a related field.
• Strong understanding of applicable provincial and federal legislation, regulations, and guidance, including wildlife and species at risk requirements relevant to Western Canada.
• Demonstrated experience with wildlife survey protocols, pre-disturbance sweeps, habitat assessments, and field methodologies.
• Experience obtaining wildlife collection, handling, and relocation permits and implementing associated field requirements.
• Willingness and ability to train junior staff on field and office work.
• Have excellent technical writing, data entry, and communication skills.
• Function well independently, be self-motivated, able to stay on task, and have the drive to initiate process improvement.
• Highly conscientious, with fine attention to detail and genuine concern to produce high-quality products.
• Intermediate skills with Microsoft Office.
• Valid Class 5 driver’s licence.
• Must complete and pass pre-employment drug and alcohol testing.

Assets

• Experience with wildlife components of EIAs, constraints analysis, mitigation planning, monitoring programs, and regulatory reporting.
• Experience liaising with regulators, clients, Indigenous communities, and multidisciplinary project teams.
• Experience managing projects, preparing proposals, developing work plans, and tracking budgets.
• Ability to manage and mentor junior staff.
• Experience outside of wildlife, including wetlands, fisheries, reclamation, remediation, pre-disturbance assessments, and construction monitoring.
• Experience supporting spill response projects involving wildlife assessment, handling, mitigation, or relocation.
• Experience working around heavy equipment.
• Industry safety tickets (H2S, First Aid, Ground Disturbance, OHV).
• Experience with ArcGIS.

Why You Want to Work Here

SWAT has developed into a team of driven professionals that will do whatever it takes to execute tasks correctly, efficiently, and with integrity for our clients according to our professionally mandated and personal ethics. At SWAT, everyone is encouraged to take risks and to grow and develop into their areas of interest and ability. SWAT supports a diverse work environment, is managed and staffed by professionals, and supports its employee’s health and development through comprehensive health benefits, training opportunities, percentage of RRSP matching, and profit-sharing.

Apply to join the SWAT team by emailing your resume with the subject line “Senior Wildlife Biologist 2026” and your cover letter in the email body to ***email_hidden*** .

This position will remain open until a suitable candidate has been selected. We thank all applicants in advance for their applications; however, we will only contact individuals selected for interviews.