Job Specification

Job Summary :

To lead, supervise, plan and advise on the production of engineering and legal surveys, maps, plans, reports and documents required for the planning, design and construction of transportation facilities in support of the Transportation Infrastructure Management Program and the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act (PTHIA).

To direct and certify the production of legal survey plans and documents for the acquisition and disposal of real property, and the assumption, designation, transfer, closing and removal of highway status as required under provincial and federal legislation.

To lead, direct and advise on survey-related projects including developing Terms of Reference (TOR), estimating, scheduling, researching information and compiling survey data.

To act as the legal survey expert on Land Titles/Registry title issues, cadastral and MTO highway surveys and boundaries, and to provide professional survey advice and expertise to ministry staff, clients and private sector surveyors.

Responsibilities :

1. Leads, plans and provides guidance in the creation, examination and acceptance of legal survey plans and documents and signs legal survey plans and documents for deposit and registration.
2. Provides professional legal surveying expertise, advice and opinions on boundaries, boundary law and MTO land ownership to project surveyors and other Geomatics staff, consultants, contractors, students, ministry staff, municipalities, agencies, and other governments/jurisdictions.
3. Oversees and schedules consultant assignments and participates as the survey expert by preparing Terms of Reference and consultant acquisition documents, preparing, and evaluating Expressions of Interest (EOIs), Requests for Quotation (RFQs), Request for Proposals (RFPs), Quality Control (QC) plans. Leads start-up meetings with service providers to discusses assignments, health and safety requirements and compliance with OHSA, completion dates, costs, and deliverables. Reviews survey requests for accuracy and completeness; ensures the deliverables for compliance with ministry standards, prepares consultant appraisals and approves payment of consultant invoices.
4. Examines and certifies legal survey plans and documents, and the subsequent deposit and registration in the Land Registry Office (LRO) or online registration (Teraview).
5. Leads the resolution of highly complex survey issues by performing extensive investigations and researching all available evidence including internal and external information which often conflicts with previous survey plans, deeds, or descriptions. Compiles and evaluates data necessary for legal survey projects and formulate and share survey opinions by interpreting ambiguous descriptions, reviewing common law and the impacts of federal and provincial legislation to determine a course of action in order to protect the ministry and public interest.
6. Estimates time and resources required to perform survey projects; researches information to compile data necessary for survey projects; and co-ordinates the activities of staff to ensure productivity and efficiency.
7. Prepares various ministerial documents such as orders-in-council (OICs), required for the acquisition, transfer, designation and closing of highways.
8. Takes affidavits from property owners in matters pertaining to evidence or occupation in accordance with the Surveys Act; attends as an expert witness at hearings under the Boundaries Act, Certification of Titles Act and Land Titles Act, often working with legal counsel and ministry staff.
9. Prepares responses to ministerial correspondence, briefing notes and presentations on issues pertaining to the practice of professional land surveying.

Qualifications/Licenses :

Licensed Ontario Land Surveyor by Association of Ontario Land Surveyors

Valid Ontario Class “G” driver's license

Knowledge :

Knowledge of applicable Ministry policies, procedures, standards, case law, federal and provincial statutes and regulations to plan, supervise and direct the production of engineering and legal survey plans, to provide expert interpretation and guidance on highly complex surveying issues such as making defensible legal boundary and extent of title decisions.
Knowledge and professional expertise in theoretical components, complex principles and practices of legal and engineering surveying and techniques, methods and tools used in the survey industry including geodetic control surveys, global navigation satellite surveying, photogrammetric surveys, Geographic Information Systems, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS). Translates this knowledge into the development and implementation of survey guidelines, standards, regulations, and/or processes.
Computer survey application software such as computer aided drafting (CAD), geographic information systems (GIS), specialized ground modelling, mathematical calculations, trigonometry, co-ordinate geometry, three-dimensional (3D) co-ordinate reference systems and datums, map projections, the theory of least squares adjustment, horizontal and vertical project control. Utilizes the extent of this knowledge to conduct specialized survey work and establish land boundaries.
Project management methodologies, techniques, processes, and tools to procure and manage in-house and consultant professional land surveying services, of large and complex projects, on behalf of a broad client base to deliver the capital program on time and within budget.
Knowledge of all applicable legal plans used by the ministry and/or program area, to ensure the responsible management of the highway system under the framework of the Public Transportation and Highway Improvement Act (PTHIA).
Knowledge of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) as it applies to ministry and consultant survey crews to ensure ministry staff and consultant work is performed in compliance with the Act, its regulations, and the safety policies and procedures of the ministry.
Land Registry Office deposit and registration procedures to prepare survey reports and plans.

Communication/Interpersonal Skills :

Written and verbal communication skills to coordinate and/or share multifaceted and/or sensitive information with all levels of government, private sector surveyors, lawyers, consultants, land registry office staff, Ministry of Government and Consumer Services (MGCS) Assistant Examiner of Surveys, municipalities and officials to discuss cadastral and other highly complex surveying issues/topics, make presentations to technical and professional surveying communities, prepare professional reports, take affidavits and render survey opinions.
Prepares Terms of Reference (ToR) and service provider acquisition documents.
Prepares ministerial briefing notes and information notes for jurisdictional activities such as Orders-in-Council (OICs) related to designations, closings and transfers of a highway.
Negotiates and discusses project scope(s) and costs with internal clients and external service providers to reach equitable agreements and solutions, especially in contentious situations where differing viewpoints and interpretations of contractual information or work may occur.
Communicates with external stakeholders, the public and clients including engineers, technicians, consultants, utility, and transportation agencies, to provide professional legal surveying advice and/or to solve complex title and boundary issues.

Problem Resolution and Analysis :

Accurately assesses, interprets, and reviews legal survey information, plans, historical information, evidence, and associated documents used by the ministry in the acquisition, expropriation, and disposal of lands, and for the assumption, transfer and closing of highways.
Professionally resolves contentious issues and/or disagreements between the Land Registry Office's definition of the extent of ministry's ownership and the ministry's definition of its extent of ownership.
Reviews and interprets survey evidence, statute, and case law to provide professional assessments on boundaries and the extent of the ministry's ownership and related legal issues. Interpreting and resolving technical issues arising from detailed analysis, typically vary in complexity and can consist of multiple considerations in terms of case law analysis and considering survey evidence, where information may not always be sufficient or cumulative.
Examines engineering survey information and plans extensively used in the planning, design and construction of transportation facilities ensuring accuracy, completeness, and acceptance. Resolves issues in accordance with general procedures and regulations. Work sometimes involves abstract reasoning to adapt or modify existing processes/alternatives to improve process effectiveness or to develop new solutions to complex issues.
Evaluates proposed methodologies and equipment and accurately estimates time and resources required to perform survey projects.
Evaluates and recommends quotations for consultant fees and evaluates EOIs, RFPs, RFQs in accordance with departmental guidelines and regulations. Incorrect opinions, decisions or advice may result in exposure to costly litigation, significant financial loss to government or industry, loss of trust, delays in implementing the delivery of the capital program and impacting the safe management of the highway network.

Leadership/Guidance :

Responsible for leading end-to-end aspects of medium and large-scale survey projects; including assembling team and resources, developing terms of reference, estimating, scheduling, researching information, compiling data, reviewing, and accepting deliverables, making independent decisions on methods and procedures within project parameters, signing plans and closing out projects.
Supervises the production of in-house legal survey plans. Responsible for providing leadership, expertise, and guidance of a highly technical nature to ministry staff, external stakeholders and consultants regarding survey plans, land surveying regulations and providing in-depth and highly specialized training on mapping and related technologies.
Leads, supervises, and trains Project Surveyors, Geomatics Plan Technicians, Senior Party Chiefs and Senior Technicians of Surveys in all aspects of survey work.
Responsible for providing professional survey guidance and advice on boundary and related legal issues based on review and interpretation of survey evidence, statute, and case law.
Responsible for the overall accuracy, completeness, integrity and acceptance of engineering/legal survey plans and deliverables used in the planning, design and construction of transportation facilities and/or the acquisition, expropriation and disposal of lands, and for the assumption, transfer and closing of highways.
Participates as a senior technical expert on interview panels for job competitions by guiding detailed discussions on the various aspects of work for land surveyors.

Independence of Action :

Project deliverables are accepted as technically accurate and reviewed for quality, accuracy, consistency, and achievement of objectives. Contentious issues, outside of policy/regulations or subject to interpretations, such as but not limited to boundary opinions and service provider commitments are reviewed with a manager to ensure project objectives are achieved.
Accountable for independently providing professional advice and/or guidance on survey work, such as boundary and title related matters to other functional sections and/or ministries in support of legal surveying and jurisdictional impacts that bind the Crown, where contributions are accepted as authoritative.
Exercises judgement and has considerable latitude in assessing/making decisions or recommendations regarding survey evidence shown on previous survey plans, deeds, and descriptions to provide professional survey opinions on boundary, title, and related legal issues.
Exercises judgement and independence in interpreting federal and provincial legislation and case law to make defensible decisions regarding property issues to support highway construction, operation and maintenance.
Exercises judgement and independence in recommending and determining the extent of work required for surveys and methods to optimize efficiencies and minimize costs.
Exercises judgement and independence in preparing and certifying plans, documents and orders-in-council used in the acquisition, disposal and designation of land.
Exercises judgement in evaluating EOI, RFP, RFQ documents for retainer assignments submitted by external consultants and producing fair and defensible consultant appraisals.

Physical Effort :

Work requires heavy physical exertion usually characterized by activities such as; driving for extended periods to conduct field site visits, climbing, reaching and/or twisting or maintaining awkward body positions up to two hours per day while searching for evidence, traversing field terrain, digging to locate and determine survey monuments identification and existing survey monuments.

Mental and Sensory Effort :

Work requires concentrated mental/sensory effort to manage, prepare and review technical materials, research and compile survey information, resolve complex survey boundary, plan and title issues, review and approve survey requests, assess the quality of legal and engineering survey plans and deliverables and to prepare orders-in-council (OICs) required for the acquisition, transfer, designation and closing of highways.

Working Conditions :

Work is typically performed in an environment with regular exposure to disagreeable working conditions or hazards such as; proximity to moving vehicles, noise, insects, animal encounters, noxious plants and the potential for verbal and/or physical abuse in isolated or crowded situations when discussing contentious issues with the public. Site visits include field work at remote locations and in adverse weather conditions.