Student - Natural Heritage Information Technician

Are you a student looking for an opportunity to build your career over the summer? Are you passionate about making a difference?

The Summer Employment Opportunities program provides students with opportunities to obtain valuable work experience, gain transferable skills, and build professional networks.

• LEARN: Jump start your career, whether you want to learn business skills, use your French language skills, help out in a lab, or work outdoors. Put the knowledge you’ve acquired at school into action.


• GROW: Enhance your skills and expand your network by working on projects, leading initiatives and sharing your ideas. Transfer the skills you learn to your future school and work experiences.


• CONTRIBUTE: In addition to advancing your professional and personal skills, you will also give back to your community. Spend your summer working to support the interests of Ontarians!

Information to assist you with the application process, including the Application Guide is available at Summer Employment Opportunities. Within your application, you will have the opportunity to identify the skills, work preferences and qualifications you have that make you a suitable candidate for this position.

This job posting represents multiple positions within different ministries and at various locations across Ontario. Certain cities may be located in distant or remote areas in Ontario and may not be accessible by public transit. Carefully review locations through Google Maps and select ONLY those cities that you are able to travel to and work in.

Notes:

• Relocation expenses and/or accommodations are not covered by ministries.


• The number of positions to be filled is approximate and subject to change.


• You must use your legal name when applying to the job ad.

About the job

Work Description:

As a Natural Heritage Information Technician, you may have the opportunity to work on some or all of the following activities:

• Work to help make Ontario's natural heritage information accessible to those involved in conservation.


• Assist Natural Heritage Information Conservation staff with life science fieldwork.


• Compile and enter natural heritage data into MNR databases.


• Assist with documentation and preparation of plant and insect specimens.


• Assist staff with data collection, trend analysis, and map preparation using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.


• Create queries using SQL, and perform database tasks using Microsoft Access, and programming using VBScript, JAVA, and HTML.

What you bring to the team

Mandatory requirements

You must meet all eligibility criteria on the first day of employment to be eligible for these positions.

1. Student Status: All summer jobs require a “student” status. A student is defined as someone enrolled in a secondary or post-secondary institution (currently or for the fall semester) or has graduated within the past six months. If you graduated in January, you could apply for and start a summer student position in the Ontario Public Service up until June of that year.


2. Age: You must be a minimum of 15 years of age. Due to program eligibility requirements, certain opportunities require students to be up to 24 years of age (or up to 29 years of age for a person with a disability). Certain positions require you to be a minimum of 18 years of age. Age parameters will be provided on the job advertisements and you must meet all age requirements by May 1st.


3. Residency: You must be a resident of Ontario during the term of employment.


4. Work Status – Ability to Work in Canada: You must be legally entitled to work in Canada. You are also required to have a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN) upon being hired.

Communication and Interpersonal Skills

• You apply your customer service skills to assist clients by email and phone, assist in responding to complaints, and deal with public inquiries.


• You apply your written communication skills to document findings and prepare a variety of documents (e.g. reports, data records, etc.).


• You apply your interpersonal skills to work collaboratively within a team environment.

Technical Skills and Knowledge

• You have knowledge of and an interest in Ontario's natural heritage.


• You apply your knowledge of and experience with working in a database environment (e.g. Microsoft Access, SQL) to create queries.


• You have knowledge and experience in programming using Visual Basic (VBScript), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Python, or JAVA.


• You apply your knowledge of and experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), such as ESRI ArcGIS suite, to conduct data and trend analysis (including spatial trend analysis), prepare simple maps, and track, compile, and evaluate information.


• You apply your experience using Microsoft Office applications, such as Word (word processing), Excel (spreadsheets), and PowerPoint (presentations), as well as databases, email, and the internet to conduct research and prepare a variety of documents.

Analytical and Organizational Skills

• You apply your planning and organizational skills to collect, organize, review and verify information/data through review of files, reports, and other means.


• You work independently or as part of a team; you plan, organize and prioritize your work to meet competing deadlines.

Additional information:

Note:

• All positions on this job ad are represented by the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) and successful candidates will be required to pay monthly union dues, which are automatically deducted from your pay.

  
  
• You will receive a confirmation splash page verifying receipt of your application when your application has been successfully received. If you do not receive a confirmation splash page, it is likely that your application was not successfully received and it is recommended that you resubmit your application. If that still does not result in a confirmation, please contact SEO@ontario.ca during the posting period. We cannot provide assistance with submitting your application after the job ad deadline date.

Language requirements and assessment:
All external Ontario Public Service (OPS) job ads are posted in English and French. Check the "position(s) language" section at the top of each job ad for the language requirements. For all roles, candidates are assessed in English, the business language of the OPS. If the position is bilingual (English/French), you'll also need to pass a French-language proficiency test.

Exigences en matière de langue et évaluation:
Toutes les offres d'emploi externes de la fonction publique de l'Ontario (FPO) sont affichées en français et en anglais. Consultez la section « Langue du ou des postes » en haut de chaque offre d'emploi pour connaître les exigences linguistiques. Pour tous les postes, les candidats sont évalués en anglais, la langue d'affaires de la FPO. Si le poste est bilingue (anglais/français), vous devrez également passer un test de compétences linguistiques en français.