Avila and Associates is seeking a Biologist I, Biologist II, and/or Biologist III to participate in a wide variety of field work, environmental planning, and management activities in the greater Bay Area. Avila and Associates is a small, woman-owned business, primarily working on restoration and mitigation sites for public agencies. The environmental services group is a small, tight-knit team of biologists who work collaboratively to deliver high-quality work that impacts client decisions about how to best manage sensitive resources and habitats. The successful candidate will have the biological, wildlife, botanical, and ecological skill-set required and be excited to work on a dynamic, supportive team where collaborative decision-making is the norm.
This position will be responsible for and work with a team of other consultants and clients to
- Perform biological monitoring such as nesting bird, bat roost, invasive plant, and rare plant surveys ahead of and during projects
- Perform reconnaissance level botanical surveys and implement monitoring plans
- Contribute to technical reports and memoranda
- Contribute to the documents required to obtain permits and agreements required by local, state and federal regulatory agencies
- Assist in field studies, small projects, or portions of larger projects as part of a group
- Provide quality checks and oversee subcontractor performance on small projects
- Provide support to project leads
Required Knowledge, Skills and Abilities for All Positions
- Experience identifying common native and introduced plants in a wide variety of habitats in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.
- Keep detailed and accurate field records. Comfort with ESRI Field Maps, Microsoft Suite, and Google Suite
- Comfort working around heavy machinery such as chainsaws, chippers, excavators, and skidsteers.
- Participate in field activities often under inclement conditions – drizzle, cold, and extreme heat are common.
- Make sounds field decisions. Keeps in contact with supervisor and field team.
- Communicate clearly, concisely, and effectively, both orally and in writing.
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of the work.
- Communicate effectively with diverse stakeholders including the public and regulatory agency staff.
- Work collaboratively with Avila staff and with diverse and multi-disciplinary teams and resolve differences effectively.
- Ability to be a self-starter and work independently.
Biologist I Position
All of the above and:
- Knowledge of Bay Area special status flora and fauna species. Able to identify common California native and introduced species.
- Support all field surveys and occasionally lead survey days as needed.
- Ability to conduct the worker environmental awareness training to construction and other work crews.
- Comfort leading contract crews in habitat restoration activities. Willingness to learn on the job and grow leadership skills.
- Collect, organize, synthesize, and analyze data in the field or office.
- Perform record and data management, data analyses, QA/QC, and maintain data integrity.
- Supports biological and environmental projects as needed and commensurate with their skills and abilities.
- Possession of baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with a major in a biological science or related field (example degrees include botany, wildlife biology, fisheries biology, marine biology, aquatic biology, limnology, etc.). In some instances, comparable work experience demonstrating understanding of basic scientific and biological principles on-par with a four-year degree may be accepted.