Job Description

Company DescriptionWe are WSP - Join us and make your career future ready!Think bigger scale. Think higher profile. Think ground-breaking. Join WSP, and youll be at the heart of a team of international experts all dedicated to growing and sharing their expertise, and working on projects that transform society for all of us.WSP is one of the most diverse consulting firms in Africa, and the largest environmental consulting firm globally. To further our strategic business execution plan, we are seeking leaders who share our guiding principles - we value our people and our reputation; we are locally dedicated with international scale; we are future-focused and challenge the status quo; we foster collaboration; we have an empowering culture and hold ourselves accountable.The wetland ecologist will join the Biodiversity team within the Earth and Environment business unit, working in close liaison with the Water Use License Application (WULA) team and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) teams, as well as the rehabilitation and closure team who are actively engaged in wetland rehabilitation engineering projects. The role will be based in our Johannesburg office, and will include opportunities to work on technically challenging projects - primarily in the Highveld region of South Africa, as well as other parts of South Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. The role will be ideally suited to a professional ecologist keen to grow their career whilst pursuing their passion for wetland assessment and rehabilitation.As a consulting ecologist, your role will focus on undertaking wetland baseline and monitoring surveys, subsequent data analysis and impact assessment reporting, and developing wetland offset strategies for a range of projects in the extractives, energy and transport sectors.The role will require periods of working away from home whilst on site, and will otherwise be office-based in Johannesburg, with opportunities to work from home.Key Responsibilities:

• Conduct baseline wetland studies to inform wetland impact assessments, monitoring programmes, offsetting strategies and rehabilitation plans.
• Conduct in-field wetland delineations using prescribed South African methodology.
• Compile and analyse field data for utilisation in baseline reports and impact assessments.
• Calculate of Present Ecological Status (PES), Ecological Importance and Sensitivity (EIS) scores, and determine ecosystem services importance, Recommended Ecological Category, and Scientific buffers.
• Developing wetland offset strategies where required in support of WULAs.
• Write accurate and concise baseline reports and impact assessments to a high standard, for submission in support of Environmental Authorisations and Water Use License Applications.
• Scoping, survey design and budgeting for wetland and biodiversity components of proposals.
• Develop strong working relationships with internal and external clients through project delivery.
• Coordination/management of specialist subcontractors.
• Project management and administration tasks.
• Contribute to a positive work environment.

Health and Safety:

• Display behaviour consistent with the companys health, safety, environmental and quality vision, and policies by influencing those around you.
• Contributing to the identification of SHEQ risks and driving processes to achieve Zero Harm
• Embracing, displaying, and promoting the company values and ensuring a safe working environment is always maintained.

Qualifications

• Relevant BSc (Hons) Degree required; MSc advantageous.
• Minimum three years experience in wetland assessment, in the environmental consulting field.
• Up to date membership of SACNASP required.
• Membership of South African Wetland Society advantageous.
• Demonstrable experience in wetland delineation and baseline assessment in the Highveld region.
• Demonstrable experience in wetland impact assessment reporting.
• High levels of flexibility and motivation.
• Full clean driving licence and passport essential.

Key Competencies and Generic Skills:

• Enthusiasm for wetland ecology and biodiversity in South Africa.
• Ability to work well in a team and use initiative to resolve issues arising in the field.
• Well-developed technical skills (most importantly wetland delineation).
• Takes direction from and supports senior staff to achieve project and business goals.
• Displays personal leadership in completion of work tasks.
• Contributes to projects with a major focus on data collection and processing, and analysis and interpretation.
• Excellent communication skills including strong technical report writing and presentation skills.
• Strong analytical, critical thinking and organisational skills.
• Attention to detail and the ability to deliver work on time.
• Complies with internal WSP management system procedures.
• Ability to manage personal time and productivity under pressure, understanding personal fiscal responsibility and productivity in a consulting environment.
• Demonstrable strength in the use of the Microsoft software suite.
• Other software literacy beneficial (e.g. ArcGIS, Google Earth).

Additional InformationWhat's in it for you?What if we can have work-life balance? What if we can be rewarded in ways that support our individual needs? What if we can be accepted for who we are? Here at WSP - we can!WSP recognizes that work is only one part of our lives and making time for the other things in our life is important - be that our families, our friends or ourselves. So, if working from home, working part-time or having flexible start and finish time will help with this let us know as part of your application.As well as rewarding you with competitive pay, WSP offers standard benefits including first class medical cover, generous days annual leave, and paid professional subscriptions.Be you, be happy - we strive to have a friendly and inclusive culture which respects and maximizes the contribution individuals can bring to WSP. We recognize the benefits that people with varying backgrounds and experiences can bring. Here at WSP we positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates regardless of sex, race, disability, age, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy or maternity/paternity. We will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria.

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