Job and Person Specification
Position Details
Position Title:
No.: EH1907
Ecologist - Fire and Threatened Mallee Birds
Position
Remuneration Level: PO - 2
Type of Appointment: 1-5 year contract
Contract End Date: 30/06/09 Hours per Week: 37.5
J&P Specification Created: 6/08/04
Last Updated: 11/01/2010
Directorate: Regional Conservation Delivery
Branch: Murraylands
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Specification Approval
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Date: …/…/…
Chief Executive or Delegate
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Position Incumbent’s Acknowledgment
I confirm that I am aware of the duties of the position as identified in this Job
and Person Specification.
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Incumbent Name
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Incumbent Signature
Date: …/…/…
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Job Specification
Position Context
The position is located in the Murraylands Region, Conservation Programs Unit
of the Regional Conservation Delivery Directorate. Our team is facing the
following key challenges over the next 12 months:
 Provision of regional ecological leadership to the districts, other agencies and
the community of the Murraylands region.
 Maintaining and managing the regional biodiversity conservation projects
within the Region, funded principally through the South Australian Murray
Darling Basin (SA MDB) NRM Investment Strategies;
 Planning and commencing implementation of the River Murray component of
NatureLinks – an initiative to increase habitat connectivity across the
landscape;
 Improving management for biodiversity conservation outcomes in the
protected area system of Murraylands Region;
 Improving the capacity of the Nature Conservation Program within DEH to
identify and deliver Regional priorities in biodiversity conservation in line
with the DEH corporate plan;
 Increasing engagement with the NRM planning framework and processes for
the Region to optimise alignment with DEH priorities and No Species Loss (A
Nature Conservation Strategy for SA) targets and investment in biodiversity
conservation
The incumbent of this position reports to:
 Manager, Conservation Programs
The incumbent of this position maintains working relationships with:
 DEH Rangers and Team Managers;
 Fire Ecologist in the Fire Management Branch and Adelaide Region of DEH
 Fire Ecology Group
 All staff within the region
 Other Regional Conservation Delivery Staff and key staff within DEH;
 Representatives and members of key stakeholder groups such as CFS
Country Fire Service, Friends of Parks, Landcare and Catchment Groups,
Threatened species recovery groups and environmental NGO's;
 Key staff in other State Government agencies such as SAMDB NRM Board,
DWLBC, PIRSA, Rural Solutions; inter-state agencies such as Parks Victoria,
Dept. of Sustainability and Environment (Vic), Dept. of Conservation (NSW),
Australian Wildlife Conservancy; Australian Government; local government
and research institutions.
Position Summary
The high level objectives to be met by the incumbent of this position are:
 Evaluate the risks that fires and inappropriate fire regimes pose to
threatened mallee birds in the SAMDB NRM Region and develop strategies
with neighbouring landowners and District Bushfire Prevention Committees
to minimise these risks;
 Develop and implement regional recovery programs for the conservation and
management of threatened bird species and restoration of their habitat both
on and off-park within the SA MDB.
 Provide ecological information to the community and set performance
standards to measure and monitor the success of recovery programs for
threatened species that occur within the SAMDB.
 Implement the Landscape Fire Management Plans and manage fire regimes
around threatened mallee bird populations to reduce the risk of catastrophic
loss and improve habitat extent and condition;
 Create community awareness of the fire management challenges facing land
managers in light of climate change.
The incumbent of the position will meet these objectives by achieving the
following key outcomes and/or undertaking the following activities:
 Evaluating the threat that fire poses to threatened mallee birds within and
surrounding the Bookmark, Ngarkat and Billiatt districts.
 Developing collaborative and innovative strategies with neighbouring
landowners and District bushfire Prevention Committee’s to ameliorate risks
and minimise hazards;
 Implementing a recovery program for threatened Mallee birds in the SAMDB
based on the National and Regional Recovery Plans.
 Contributing to National, State and Regional Recovery Teams as appropriate
 Developing and implementing monitoring and research programs aimed at
increasing knowledge of the ecology of threatened fauna and key
threatening processes.
 Facilitating the implementation of post-graduate research projects on key
aspects of the ecology of the threatened Mallee birds.
 Advising the Department, other government agencies, regional landholders,
regional biodiversity/natural resource management groups and the public on
threatened species and habitat management issues, including developing
regional alliances with relevant stakeholders to achieve threatened species
recovery outcomes, research, methods for monitoring and assessing
effectiveness.
 Contributing to the development and revision of biodiversity conservation
and management planning, including Natural Resource Management Plans
and investment strategies within the Murraylands Region.
 Increasing understanding of threatened species with the SA MDB by
developing educational information and displays including fact sheets,
brochures, posters and attending community events.
Person Specification
Essential Requirements
The following skills/abilities/knowledge/experience/qualifications are essential
to meeting the required performance standards of this position.
Professional and Technical Capabilities
To undertake the professional and technical components of this position the
incumbent is required to meet the following minimum criteria:
 Experience in developing and implementing fauna and habitat survey and
research projects, and analysing and interpreting results.
 Experience in field identification of avifauna, including threatened avifauna.
 Knowledge of avifauna ecology and experience with field methods for
undertaking survey and research projects on avifauna.
 Experience in data analysis and interpretation
 Knowledge of fire management principles and practices with relation to
threatened species management and biodiversity conservation
Personal Capabilities
To successfully perform in this role the incumbent must have the following
personal skills/abilities/aptitudes:
 Demonstrated ability to work alone and be self reliant.
 Demonstrated ability to work as a member of a team.
 Demonstrated ability to undertake research and prepare well written
scientific reports.
 Demonstrated ability to communicate verbally and in writing, to a broad
range of stakeholders, including Government Departments, land holders and
volunteers.
 Knowledge of fire management principles and practices to assist with
implementation of Landscape Fire Management Plans.
 Demonstrated ability to maintain and develop relationships with key
stakeholders including landholders, CFS and SA MDB NRM staff.
Leadership and Management Capabilities
(Leave blank if the position does not require the incumbent to demonstrate
leadership skills or manage other employees)
 Ability to effectively manage risk, procurement and financial and physical
resources, potentially across multiple funding and administrative sources.
Qualifications
Include only those listed in Commissioner’s Standard 2 (Attachment C) as an
essential qualification for the specified classification group.
 Degree in the field of Biological Science, Ecology, Natural Resource
Management or equivalent
Desirable Capabilities
While not essential, it will be considered favourable if the incumbent has some
or all of the following skills/abilities/knowledge/experience/qualifications:
 Knowledge of the key threatened birds in the Murray Mallee and threats to
these species.
 Experience with vegetation survey and plant identification
 Knowledge of the Federal Governments requirements and processes for
Threatened Species Recovery Planning.
 Experience in preparing recovery plans and/or working on recovery
programs.
 Basic knowledge of public sector requirements for policies and procedures
including Occupational Health, Safety & Welfare, Equal Opportunity and
Performance Management.
 Experience in fire management principles and practice, including prescribed
burn planning and implementation.
Department for Environment and Heritage
Working Environment
Employees may be required to undertake intra or inter state travel.
Employees may be required to work outside of the normal hours of work.
Employees may be assigned to another position at the same remuneration
level if required by the Chief Executive.
Employees are required to maintain the ethical and behavioural standards
outlined in the Code of Conduct for South Australian Public Sector Employees.
Employees are required to actively participate in the Department’s
Performance Management program.
Employees are required to comply with, and contribute to meeting, workplace
legislative and policy requirements, including occupational health, safety and
welfare and records management.
Our workplace is smoke free.
Our Department is committed to identifying and managing the impacts on the
environment associated with delivering its programs and requires all staff to be
responsible for minimising negative impacts on the environment in the course
of performing their duties.
Special Conditions
The following special conditions apply to this position:

current drivers licence and willingness to drive Departmental motor
vehicles;

The incumbent of this position will be required to undertake emergency
operations including bush fire suppression activities, commensurate with
their fitness and training levels. This may require at times, some out of
hours work including participation in an 'on call' roster;

The position is located in Berri.