Senior GIS Specialist - 100% Remote

My client is a growing Canadian environmental consulting firm who is seeking a GIS Specialist who can deliver high-quality technical work today and help shape a broader GIS practice over time. The immediate mandate is to strengthen senior-level capability, provide depth and continuity within a small GIS team, and support environmental, regulatory, reclamation and closure, and water-related projects. The longer-term opportunity is to identify new GIS services, build client relationships, win work, and develop GIS into a more independent and commercially successful practice area.

This role will suit a practical, entrepreneurial GIS professional who enjoys doing the work, guiding others, speaking directly with clients, and translating technical capability into services that solve real project needs. The scope can grow with the person. A strong performer may progress from senior technical contributor to GIS practice leader, with increasing responsibility for strategy, people, clients, and business performance.

Remote / WFH / Hybrid: 100% Remote (anywhere in Canada)

Travel: 10%

Salary: $110,000 - $130,500 DOE, plus health benefits, RRSP matching, annual performance bonuses (The final salary will reflect the qualifications, relevant experience, expertise, and professional designations that each candidate brings to the role. Individuals who offer additional strengths or bring exceptional value to the team will be considered for compensation beyond the stated range, as our client recognizes and rewards unique contributions.)

What success will look like:

Within the first 3 months:

• Build a clear understanding of active projects, internal clients, GIS workflows, current team capacity, and the most important technical and operational gaps.
• Begin delivering dependable map production, spatial analysis, geospatial modelling, and data support within agreed project budgets and timelines.
• Assess existing data-management, data-security, quality-control, file-management, and cartographic standards, then identify practical priorities for improvement.
• Establish trusted working relationships with the GIS team, project managers, technical specialists, and senior leaders.

Within 6 months:

• Provide senior technical oversight and reliable backup across priority GIS work, reducing single-person dependency and improving the team’s capacity to respond to project needs.
• Strengthen the use of ArcGIS Online and field data-collection tools, including effective support for field programs and project teams.
• Implement or improve practical QA/QC processes, templates, workflows, and data-governance practices that protect data integrity and improve consistency.
• Contribute GIS scope, methodology, resourcing, schedules, and budgets to proposals and project plans.
• Represent GIS confidently in client and project discussions, helping define solutions rather than waiting for mapping requests.

Within 12 months and beyond:

• Develop a credible plan to grow GIS beyond a primarily internal support function, including priority markets, services, target clients, and measurable business-development actions.
• Generate and advance stand-alone GIS opportunities while continuing to support multidisciplinary environmental and regulatory projects.
• Evaluate adjacent service opportunities such as drone-enabled surveys, LiDAR, enhanced field-data integration, advanced visualization, and other commercially viable geospatial offerings.
• Provide effective technical direction, workload planning, mentorship, and development support to GIS staff.
• Demonstrate the judgment and commercial results required to assume broader leadership of the GIS practice, potentially operating as a peer to other practice leaders.

Core responsibilities:

• Deliver and oversee map production, cartography, spatial analysis, geospatial modelling, and data visualization for complex environmental and land-use projects.
• Create, edit, integrate, and maintain shapefiles, file geodatabases, raster surfaces, composite datasets, and related spatial and non-spatial information.
• Plan and execute advanced spatial analyses supporting reclamation and closure, cumulative-effects assessment, regulatory and permitting work, water stewardship, and Indigenous community end-land-use planning.
• Lead or support visual quality assessments and other technically specialized GIS assignments.
• Manage GIS delivery across multiple projects, including scope, priorities, team resourcing, schedules, budgets, and quality.
• Develop and maintain appropriate standards for data governance, security, QA/QC, templates, mapping consistency, and file management.
• Use ArcGIS Online and related tools to support mobile data collection, field teams, project collaboration, and client-facing information products.
• Perform spatial data processing and analysis using scripts and geoprocessing tools where appropriate.
• Work directly with clients and internal project leaders to clarify needs, recommend solutions, prepare proposals, develop fees, and deliver fit-for-purpose results.
• Identify, pursue, and help secure new GIS and mapping work, including stand-alone assignments and integrated opportunities with other technical practices.
• Mentor GIS staff and contribute to a collaborative, accountable, and continuously improving team culture.
• Must live in Canada.

Requirements:

• A degree or diploma in geomatics, geography, earth sciences, computer science, or a related discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 10+ years progressive GIS experience in environmental consulting, mining, engineering, transportation, construction, natural resources, or a related project-based setting.
• Advanced hands-on experience with Esri technology, including ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online, plus strong capability in spatial data gathering, processing, management, analysis, and cartography.
• Experience with geospatial modelling, scripting, automation, field-data workflows, LiDAR, drone-derived data, or related technologies is valuable.
• Experience coordinating projects, workloads, or teams and providing technical review, direction, or mentorship.
• Demonstrated ability to work within scope, schedule, and budget while maintaining strong technical and visual quality.
• Client-facing experience and the confidence to uncover needs, shape solutions, contribute to proposals, and build lasting professional relationships.
• Commercial curiosity and the initiative to identify and develop new services or revenue opportunities. Existing industry relationships are an asset.
• Clear written and verbal communication, sound judgment, strong organization, and consistent attention to detail.