Watershed Planner (Planner 1(A)-(B)-2)

About Us

Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change's role is to protect the environment and human health partnership and promotion. To achieve this, we strive to develop legislation, regulations and policies, process notifications, applications, and approvals for regulated activities based on sound scientific knowledge and expertise.  

Our goal is to educate, inspect and enforce to ensure compliance with legislation and regulations. We proactively respond to environmental, and human health risks and work to develop programs and deliver services to enhance protection in these areas.  

To know more, please visit our website https://www.novascotia.ca/nse/ 

About Our Opportunity

This is an ideal opportunity to contribute to the development of regulatory and educational programs that support the protection of Nova Scotia’s water resources.

Reporting to the Manager of Environmental Health and Food Safety, the Watershed Planner will work in a team to apply the principles of science, resource protection and public policy analysis to support source water protection, watershed planning and drinking water management for the Department. The position requires extensive contact with municipalities and water utilities across the province.

Primary Accountabilities

As a Watershed Planner you will work within the Sustainability and Applied Science Division as part of a team to: 

• Develop standards, guidelines, guidance and best management practices for various watershed management activities to assist municipal water utilities in managing risks to watersheds for water quality protection. 
• Administer the Protected Water Area designations and regulation process, and provide guidance on their implementation, support change initiatives and make recommendations for program improvements. 
• Lead, facilitate and coordinate the development and implementation of multi-stakeholder, consensus-based watershed management plans throughout the province. 
• Work with community groups to empower their work to protect Nova Scotia’s lakes and rivers. 
• Provide professional and technical assistance to municipalities and watershed groups in developing source water protection plans for both surface and groundwater. 
• Work with tools such as GIS to identify risks to drinking and ambient water quality and priority areas for watershed management strategies. 

Qualifications and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Planning or related area of concentration (environmental planning, water resource management, natural sciences). 
• Demonstrated experience in watershed protection and management would be considered an asset 
• Good working knowledge of computer applications (e.g. Microsoft Office suite, Word Perfect);  
• Superior written and verbal communication, project management and partnership building skills given the extensive contact with varied internal and external stakeholders. 
• Strong leadership, facilitation and communication skills are essential to ensure successful collaboration with municipalities and other stakeholders. 
• Knowledge of provincial and federal legislation, regulations policies and programs relevant to water management in Nova Scotia is an asset. 
• Knowledge and experience with GIS and data spatial analysis is an asset. 

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.

Working Conditions

• Frequent travel is required to consult with stakeholders and, therefore a valid driver’s license is required. 
• Normal work week is 35 hours/week, 7 hours/day 
• May be required to work overtime on occasion 

Additional Information

This is a TERM employment opportunity with an anticipated end date of May 31, 2026. However, the position status (“term”, “temporary” or “casual”) is dependent on the start date of the successful candidate.

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