| Ecology by Design

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GIS/CAD Technician

Ben Gardner

Job: GIS/ CAD Technician

Location: Oxfordshire (hybrid working)

Salary: Negotiable based on experience (Starting at £25,000 -£35,000 pa)

Ecology by Design is currently looking to appoint a GIS/CAD technician to join our team in an important new role.

About Us

Ecology by Design was setup in January 2015 and we have had consistent growth ever since, now being a team of 20 ecologists. We strive to employ the best and brightest and reward hard work and dedication. We pride ourselves in technical excellence and providing an innovative, pragmatic, client-friendly service. Each team member has been trained to use QGIS to complete their own mapping, but as the number of Biodiversity Impact Assessments increases, the demand on our ecologists’ time is increasing so we are looking to recruit a specialist to drive this aspect of the business forward. 

The Role

The candidate will work alongside our ecologists to provide mapping support and expand our capabilities to include production and use of CAD maps. The successful candidate will also expand our current knowledge base of QGIS and take over management and improvement of our mapping templates. There is the possibility to expand the role by tendering for projects which are GIS-led. Remote working will be possible, but it is expected at least three days per week will be office-based.

Duties, Skills and Experience

  • Production of technical ecology maps (habitat maps, species survey results etc) in QGIS

  • Installation and set-up of an appropriate CAD package and production of company protocol for using CAD

  • Improvement and maintenance of QGIS mapping templates

  • Spatial analyses, particularly biodiversity impact assessments to measure differences between baseline habitat areas and proposed habitat areas

  • Conversion to and from GIS maps and CAD maps

  • Georeferencing, purging and rescaling of client-supplied CAD plans for easy import and use into QGIS

  • Setting up tablets for use in the field

  • Downloading data from tablets and GPS units

  • Creating plans for surveys

  • Potential future roles and duties: supporting company expansion (leading a team of GIS technicians) and training new staff in GIS and CAD

Required Skills and Experience

  • Previous technical mapping experience with QGIS and CAD

  • Able to work with minimum amount of supervision and under own initiative

  • Able to manage workloads and prioritise based on complexity and delivery deadline

  • Good communication skills with colleagues and clients (biodiversity net gain assessments often require a lot of back-and-forth with changes to existing and proposed plans)

  • Strong attention to detail

  • Problem solving ability

Desirable Skills and Experiences

  • Experience working with MAC OS

  • An understanding of ecological surveys

  • Previous experience with biodiversity impact assessments

  • Experience with other GIS packages

  • Use of other graphics software packages

  • Understanding of the workings of QGIS (e.g. how to set up and manage templates)

We Offer:

  • Apple computer and iPhone;

  • Competitive salary;

  • Professional memberships paid for;

  • In-house training and unlimited external training budget;

  • Colleague awarded bonus scheme;

  • Generous pension;

  • Unlimited annual leave and flexible approach to work time, balancing a healthy work life balance.

New perks added frequently, reflecting being part of an exciting and innovative young business.

The candidate must live within commuting distance to Chalgrove, Oxfordshire or be willing to relocate. However, many of our staff mix working from home and the office on a flexible basis.

Being part of an ambitious company offers excellent opportunities to be a part of a growing SME with clear strategic direction and opportunities to grow with the business.

Interested?

In the first instance please send your CV and covering letter to hello@ecologybydesign.co.uk including the location you are based and your salary expectation.

This is an open-ended advertisement, so we reserve the right to close to new applications at any time. We aim to have the new position filled by Autumn 2024. However, we are always open to stand out candidates at any time of year.

Take a look at a short video of what it is like to work with us: https://www.ecologybydesign.co.uk/careers