About the role

Supervised by: Dr. Michael Twiss and Dr. Elaine Ho-Tassone

Location: 1520 Queen St. E., Sault Ste. Marie, ON P6A 2G4

Supervises: None

Wages: 18.75

Duration of employment: 1 year

Anticipated start date: July 6, 2026

Primary Function: The Research Assistant (Water Quality) will split his/her/their time between two community based water quality projects.

Responsibilities:

• Operating a water quality monitoring station, ensuring collection of continuous and accurate data
• Calibrating and maintaining equipment
• Organizing data sets and contributing to river health reports
• Preparing water samples for testing, filtration and labelling
• Conducting basic laboratory analysis, field sampling and/or eDNA sampling
• Maintaining data integrity and quality assurance
• Conducting outreach and knowledge dissemination, including lay-language regional data reports and organizing and participating in community events
• Preparing communication materials
• Creating technical reports, public webinars and year-end reports
• Contribute to mentorship of interns, educational programming in public schools, and training of new volunteers
• Assist with recruiting monitoring volunteers
• Attend orientation meeting, check-ins, office hours, and other relevant meetings or gatherings
• Other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Must be willing and able to work onsite in Sault Ste Marie and in the field across this region (there is no possibility of remote work - this is an in-person role only!)
• Must be (at the time of applying) a new entrant into the work force, OR transitioning to a new career, OR be unemployed or underemployed and entering a new field.
• Must not have previously participated in a NOHFC-funded internship.
• Must be at least 18 years of age.
• Must be legally entitled to work in Canada for the full duration of internship.
• Must have a valid class G driver's license.
• Must be able to cross between the US-Canada border.
• Must have formal training and/or experience in water quality analysis, environmental monitoring, and laboratory techniques.
• Must have a science-based undergraduate degree completed; graduate degree in the sciences is preferred. Degree should be in chemistry (preferred), environmental science, biology, civil or environmental engineering, or a related field.
• Must have strong analytical and problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective communication.
• Must have demonstrated leadership and coordination of complex activities and diverse, non-science teams, ideally in a science environment (but demonstrated non-science experience is acceptable)
• Should have demonstrated proficiency in using laboratory equipment and software for data collection and analysis (e.g., database spreadsheets or specialized data management tools).
• Should have familiarity with water testing methods, such as fluorometry, turbidity measurements, and microbiological sampling, and experience using computer controlled water sampling devices are assets - but not required (on-the-job training will be provided).