Geographic Information Systems Officer (GIS Officer 1-2)

About Us

At Service Nova Scotia, we impact every citizen, business, and municipality in Nova Scotia. Our mandate is to design and deliver programs and services to meet the needs of our clients and the public good through a culture of excellence. Service Nova Scotia’s vision is to be recognized as a leader in service and public protection that delivers trusted, accessible, modern programs, and contributes to Nova Scotia as a safe and desirable place to live, work and do business. To learn more about our department, please click here:  Department of Service Nova Scotia - Government of Nova Scotia

GeoNOVA is the provincial mapping program, providing geomatics solutions for departments and agencies across provincial government. GeoNOVA’s vision is to ensure geographic information supports the Government of Nova Scotia in achieving excellence in decision making and service delivery.

Find more about GeoNOVA here: GeoNOVA

About Our Opportunity

This client-focused role offers an exciting opportunity to grow your technical and analytical skills in a collaborative geomatics environment. As a GIS Officer (GIS 1-2), you will play a key role in supporting Nova Scotia’s land management systems by maintaining and enhancing the province’s parcel fabric and cadastral datasets. Working alongside a dedicated team of GIS professionals, you will help ensure the accuracy, integrity, and accessibility of spatial data that supports land administration, planning, and public services.

Reporting to the Geomatics Program Administrator on the Geomatics Partnerships and Policy team, you’ll be responsible for collecting, analyzing, and maintaining spatial data, supporting land-based initiatives, and documenting technical processes.

Primary Accountabilities

The GIS Officer is responsible for:

• Edit and maintain the Esri Parcel Fabric using ArcGIS Pro.
• Perform parcel splits, merges, and adjustments based on legal documents.
• Interpret survey plans, deeds, and legal descriptions to update parcel boundaries.
• Conduct quality assurance and control to ensure data accuracy and integrity.
• Integrate COGO data, CAD drawings, and control points into the parcel fabric.
• Collaborate with surveyors, planners, and assessors to support land administration workflows.
• Maintain metadata and documentation for parcel editing procedures.
• Document workflows and contribute to quality control initiatives.

Qualifications and Experience

To be considered for this opportunity, you have successfully graduated from an approved technical institution with a specialization in Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

In addition, the following are required skills/knowledge:

• Strong knowledge of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), spatial data, and geospatial principles
• Proficiency with ArcGIS Pro and familiarity with ArcGIS Online and Esri Enterprise/Portal
• Hands-on experience using GIS software
• A collaborative, team-oriented mindset with a commitment to continuous learning
• Solid understanding of cartographic design and spatial analysis tools
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
• Knowledge of geographic data standards and data management best practices
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to clearly document technical processes
• Strong attention to detail and effective time management skills

The following training and/or experience will be considered an asset:

• Experience with parcel editing tools, like ArcGIS Parcel Fabric
• Understanding of legal land records (e.g., deeds, plans, legal descriptions) and their application in parcel boundary editing
• Training in coordinate geometry (COGO) workflows and their application in parcel boundary adjustments
• Familiarity with integrating survey control networks and CAD-based datasets into Parcel Fabric environments

Equivalency

Applicants relying on education and experience equivalencies must demonstrate such equivalencies in their application.

Benefits

Based on the employment status and union agreement, the Government of Nova Scotia offers its employees a wide range of benefits such as a Defined Benefit Pension Plan, Health, Dental, Life Insurance, General illness, Short and Long Term Disability, Vacation and Employee and Family Assistance Programs. For information on all our Benefit program offerings, click here: Benefits for government employees.

What We Offer

• Career Development where you have access to career guidance, tools, resources, and ongoing training for every stage of your career.
• Engaging workplace. Our Employees feel valued, respected, connected, and tuned in. We have forward-thinking policies and strategies.
• Countless career paths.
• Department Specific Flexible working schedules.