Taxonomy Team Lead

About the business and the role

Do you believe you can make the world a better place?

SLR’s purpose is Making Sustainability Happen, which we achieve by having a team of experts who partner with our clients to tackle some of the world’s most complex sustainability challenges.

SLR is an international environmental consultancy with a globally recognised reputation for providing high quality tailored services. With close to 200 staff spanning the length of Aotearoa and an additional 800+ staff across Asia Pacific, we provide consultancy advice and support on a wide range of strategic and site-specific issues to a diverse and growing base of business, regulatory and governmental clients. We celebrate a ‘One Team Culture’, where bringing together diversity of thought and expression is key to building the best team to deliver excellent results.

During an exciting time for our Nelson Ecology Team with new projects kicking off and an upcoming move into our new purpose-built office and lab located in Richmond, we are looking for an experienced Taxonomist with both technical and people leadership capabilities to join the Team as the Taxonomy Team Lead.  

Responsibilities

The successful applicant will:

• Provide technical leadership, training and actively coach the local team
• Lead the delivery of projects to time and budget
• Proactively identify and engage with new and emerging clients to promote SLR Ecology services 
• Process and identify macroinvertebrate samples from marine and/or freshwater environments in the customised taxonomy laboratory
• Perform data collection, data entry and tabulation
• Contribute to and improve a range of lab processes, including the operation/maintenance of equipment
• Be a “person of the people”; engage, inspire and motivate peers and staff to achieve financial and strategic goals

Skills and experience

To have an effective start to the role you will ideally have:

• A degree in Ecology, Marine Science or a related field
• Extensive experience delivering marine and freshwater taxonomic expertise within commercial projects, including ecological surveys, biodiversity assessments and technical reporting across Aotearoa
• Proven leadership and team management experience, including mentoring technical specialists, allocating project resource, reviewing outputs and ensuring high-quality results and delivering within often tight timeframes
• Experience managing client relationships and the ability to identify new growth opportunities
• Proficiency in contemporary taxonomic tools and approaches, and Detail focused and ability to implement quality control and quality assurance protocols
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• A clean and active New Zealand driver’s licence.
• New Zealand citizenship/working rights are essential.

Our Benefits

We are proud of our unique culture where we work together to collaborate on projects to get the best possible outcome for our clients. SLR supports flexible working arrangements as we recognise that every person is different, and our benefits aim to ensure that we cater for all.

You can find a comprehensive list here.

Next Steps

We make hiring decisions based on your experience, skills and passion. Please note that interviews are conducted with gender diverse interview panels to the best of our ability. When you apply, please tell us the pronouns you use and any reasonable adjustments you may need during the interview process.

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