Senior Director, Wildlife Tracking Systems

Birds Canada is the country’s leading national organization dedicated to bird conservation.

Our team of 100+ staff works alongside thousands of committed volunteers and supporters to uncover the science needed to understand birds, unite people and communities around conservation, and act to protect birds and their habitats.

Birds Canada is a leader in conservation technology through its data platforms and Motus Wildlife Tracking System. Motus is a collaborative, global research network that uses miniaturized tags and a shared receiver infrastructure to track the movement and behaviour of birds, bats, and insects, providing vital data to the conservation of hundreds of species.

In just 10 years, Motus has grown into an international community of more than 3,000 collaborators in 34 countries, including over 100 academic institutions and 20 government agencies. The network has produced more than 250 publications and is now generating impactful research every week.

Reporting to the Vice President, Science, the Senior Director, Wildlife Tracking Systems directs and grows a team currently numbering ~10 staff and liaises and negotiates with Motus-compatible technology companies and innovators, to ensure that bird conservation priorities are best served by current and emerging technologies. Working closely with the Senior Director, Data Science and Technology, who has responsibility for data standards and governance, to ensure decisionmakers have high quality information to inform conservation actions.

Knowledge:

• Leadership in collaborative, coalition-based approaches in international, multi-cultural settings spanning non-profit, academia, government and industry/business sectors simultaneously. Strategic development and management of conservation outcome-based partnerships, large-scale projects and campaigns, initiatives spanning large geographies.
• Effective remote team management: successful team coordination, management and integration across multiple departments within an organization in partnership with contributing staff in other organizations.
• Major fundraising strategies; demonstrated success with attracting major investors, e.g., through building cases for support, donor stewardship, or cultivating high-level relationships with government, foundation, private or corporate donors.
• Pathways by which science is integrated into decision-making by a broad spectrum of rights holders and stakeholders.
• Additional assets:
  • Movement and population ecology and conservation technology: niche for technology types in tracking small flying animals; conservation application of acoustic monitoring; implications of technology choices for data flows, storage, and processing
  • Indigenous priorities: understanding of Indigenous community needs and priorities that conservation technology can inform
  • Business acumen and diplomacy

Skills:

• Leadership: strong leadership capabilities including coalitions, team management, mentorship, partnership building, cross-departmental collaboration, and senior staff oversight.
• Spanish and French language are assets.
• Problem solving: advanced critical thinking and problem-solving skills, with a proactive approach to addressing challenges that straddle business, non-profit and regulatory sectors.
• Business acumen and diplomacy in the realm of optimizing the application of multiple competing technologies to a shared conservation goal; ability to make difficult decisions that place the needs of birds and the collaborating community first.
• Relationship Management: Ability to cultivate and maintain strategic partnerships, internally and externally.
• Time Management: Ability to manage multiple high-priority projects and deadlines in dynamic, evolving environments.
• Sufficient technical understanding to effectively guide the development and maintenance of technology infrastructure.

Experience:

• Conservation business leadership: 10 years in a senior role intersecting the environmental field with direct experience in strategic development, business planning and multi-stakeholder conservation partnerships.
• Influence: evidence of working with and influencing large groups of practitioners and stakeholders.
• Fundraising: Demonstrated success in attracting major funding or investment partnerships.
• Team leadership: Proven ability to form, nurture, facilitate, and lead highly collaborative teams.

Education:

• A postgraduate degree in a related field is beneficial, but candidates with equivalent experience gained through alternative or non-academic pathways will also be considered.

Note: Flexible work schedule and in-office/Remote work arrangements: Work primarily in a home or Birds Canada office, with the possibility of offsite meetings in a similar environment, including meetings with potential or existing donors.