SWCA Environmental Consultants is seeking a temporary Assistant Staff Wetland Scientist to be based out of our Baton Rouge, LA office. The selected candidate will support projects throughout the South.  The Assistant Staff Wetland Scientist position requires an educational and experienced background in biology, natural resource management, botany, water resources, or a related field. This position will be a mix of field and office work, depending on project type and season.

This position requires fieldwork where the climate, weather, and terrain can be demanding. It is anticipated that moderate travel, including overnight stays, may be required. Field work will be primarily in the South but may include travel to states in other ecoregions. Project reporting and other office tasks will require working on a computer for extended periods. For office tasks, we offer a hybrid approach and support a flexible schedule and working from home. 

This is a temporary, hourly position for the next 6 months. 

Application deadline: Our team will begin reviewing applications immediately, and interviews will be scheduled with qualified candidates on a rolling basis. The application process will remain open until we have received a robust pool of qualified candidates. Once we have identified suitable individuals, we may close the application process without prior notice. We appreciate the time and effort invested by all applicants and will carefully consider each applicant.

What you will accomplish

Conduct a variety of natural resources field studies including wetland delineations, wetland and water functional assessments, vegetation and habitat surveys, threatened/endangered species assessments, and avian/wildlife surveys. Conduct detailed fieldwork, organize, and save field data in digital formats, and write technical reports and permit applications for approvals under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and other resource planning/permitting, and/or natural resource disciplines.  

As an Assistant Staff Wetland Scientist, part of your job responsibilities will include supervising a small crew while conducting environmental fieldwork. This includes:

• Independently assigning and directing the activities of others on behalf of SWCA, often in remote areas without immediate guidance from senior managers, to ensure quality and on-time delivery.
• Ensuring that employees understand their responsibilities and delegated tasks, and are being held accountable if crew members under your supervision are not performing their activities correctly, productively, and safely.
• Serving as a conduit of communication between employees and senior managers, including communicating issues to relevant senior managers.
• Receiving and resolving complaints from employees in the field.
• Monitoring team productivity and offering timely performance guidance, including determining when correction action is needed and delivering appropriate feedback

Experience and qualifications for success

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, Ecology, Water Resources, Botany, Environmental Science, Fish and Wildlife Science, Natural Resource Management, related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Candidates will have at least one (1) year of natural resources experience in the public or private sector, including experience leading or conducting natural resources fieldwork focused on natural resources assessments; preferred experience in wetland delineations. 
• Ability to travel to a location, walk, and conduct fieldwork for long hours, sometimes in inclement weather, or rugged terrain, and ability to carry equipment and supplies weighing up to 40 pounds.
• Willingness to be in the field for multiple weeks at a time.
• Valid driver’s license and the ability to safely drive a 4WD vehicle on backcountry roads.

Preferred

• Desire to provide excellent client service in a fast-paced work environment.
• Knowledge of wetland and other aquatic botanical species taxonomy within Texas and ability to identify species in the field.
• Experience with aquatic resource delineations and their functions and values.  
• Experience with reporting and fieldwork for wetland delineations, aquatic resource functional assessments, environmental compliance, wildlife surveys, and/or avian surveys is strongly preferred.
• Experience conducting desktop research for preliminary wetlands evaluations and compiling field data into aquatic resource inventory reports is strongly preferred.
• Familiarity with GPS devices and digital data collection, and/or mapping software such as ArcGIS preferred.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal skills, and high attention to detail.
• Be a highly organized self-starter, with a strong entrepreneurial initiative.
• The ability and willingness to learn new survey and monitoring techniques and protocols.
• Willingness to work closely on a team

Why Work at SWCA:

SWCA Environmental Consultants is a growing employee-owned firm, providing a full-spectrum of environmental services.  Our Vision (the North Star) is to make SWCA the best workplace and industry leader in sustainability, bringing sound science and creative solutions to global environmental challenges while maintaining a dedication to employee-ownership. We live our core values: we collaborate as #OneSWCA; we are #AlwaysLearning, we #NeverSettle, and we #GiveBack.

We are 100% employee-owned, and we build our success together. With offices across the United States, SWCA is one of the largest environmental compliance firms and ranks among Engineering News-Record’s Top 200 Environmental Firms. We offer a supportive, team-oriented work environment and competitive wages and benefits, including an 100% employee stock ownership plan (retirement).

At SWCA, we support our team members in developing their careers to make them leaders in their industry. Our Career Landscape initiative is a process and guide designed to help develop chart rewarding career paths for employees at SWCA. We encourage professional conference attendance, internal and external professional development and training programs, education reimbursement, a Science and Leadership Program, and bonuses for publications meeting certain criteria. All regular status employees are eligible to participate in SWCA medical, dental, vision, employee assistance, wellness, life and disability plans, and are eligible to participate in the SWCA 401(k) Profit Sharing Plan and Trust.

An Assistant Staff Environmental Scientist in this Baton Rouge, LA based position can expect an hourly rate of $21.53 - $27.83/hr. Actual pay within this range may depend on experience, qualifications, geographic location, client requirements where applicable, and other factors permitted by law.