Senior Ecologist (Terrestrial Biodiversity)

Requisition #

SC-L6.9

Job title

Senior Ecologist (Terrestrial Biodiversity)

Category

Sciences

Contract type

Permanent (Employee)

Full Time

Cape Town - Century City, WC ZA (Primary)

Zutari: Co-creating an engineered impact.

Zutari is a well-established, management owned engineering firm with almost 90 years' experience. As human-centred engineering consultants and advisors, we are trusted by our clients, business partners, communities and other stakeholders across Africa.

We co-create engineering solutions that have a positive impact and improve people's lives. Zutari values inclusion and recognises the importance of a diverse, talented workforce, believing that people need other people to succeed.

What kind of talent do we pursue?

We employ people with the right attitude and a positive mindset, who are motivated by doing the right thing, getting things done and sharing a sense of urgency. People who have an impact in our teams and broader community. People who think differently and connect with those around them to co-create new opportunities and leave a meaningful legacy.

The Senior Ecologist provides technical leadership and delivery of ecological specialist services across multi sector infrastructure and built environment projects. The role focuses on terrestrial biodiversity specialist studies, with working capability in wetlands/aquatic ecology, ensuring compliance with South African regulatory requirements and supporting practical, implementable mitigation and management measures through design, authorisations, and construction.

• Lead and execute terrestrial ecology/biodiversity specialist studies, including baseline surveys, sensitivity assessments, and impact assessments.
• Plan and implement field programmes (flora, fauna, habitats, threatened species indicators, ecological condition), including:
  • Survey design and timing/seasonality planning
  • Field team coordination
  • Data quality assurance and defensible interpretation
• Deliver high quality specialist reports and inputs for EIAs/Basic Assessments and related processes, including:
  • Biodiversity specialist reports / ecological assessments
  • Biodiversity Management Plans (BMPs)
  • Alien Invasive Species assessment and management recommendations
  • Rehabilitation/restoration inputs and monitoring plans
  • Constraints and opportunities mapping and integration into design
• Apply the mitigation hierarchy (avoid-minimise-rehabilitate-offset/compensate) and translate findings into clear design and construction requirements.

• Contribute to and/or support wetlands and aquatic ecology assessments (as part of integrated teams), including field screening, delineation support where applicable, impact identification, and mitigation/monitoring recommendations.
• Coordinate with wetland/aquatic specialists when advanced expertise is required and ensure seamless integration of findings into overall EIA and design.

• Provide construction support through the development of method statements and CEMP ecology inputs, site walkdowns, inspections and audits, delivery of toolbox talks and contractor briefings, and support to incident response and corrective action close out.
• Ensure ecological commitments are practical, measurable, and auditable.
• Deliver ecology services across all sectors (e.g., transport, energy, water, mining/industrial, urban development), tailoring methods and mitigation to each project context.
• Manage ecology scope, programme, and budgets on assigned projects; proactively identify risks, assumptions, and data gaps.

• Engage effectively with regulators, landowners, and stakeholders on ecology related matters.
• Support public participation processes with clear responses to biodiversity related comments and specialist findings.

• Maintain high technical standards: internal QA/QC, peer review, defensible conclusions, and consistent report quality.
• Mentor junior ecologists and field staff; contribute to capability development (methods, reporting, field skills, safety).
• Support proposals and business development: approach/methodology write ups, resourcing, and pricing inputs.
• BSc (or equivalent) in Ecology, Zoology, Botany, Conservation Biology, Environmental Science or related field. Essential
• Honours or Master's degree in a relevant discipline - advantageous
• Professional registration: SACNASP registration (required) and maintained in good standing - essential
• 5+ years relevant professional experience delivering ecological specialist studies (terrestrial focus) for development/infrastructure projects.
• Demonstrated capability in producing high quality, defensible technical reports and advising multi disciplinary teams.
• Valid driver's licence and willingness to undertake fieldwork and travel as required.
• Strong working knowledge of wetlands/aquatic assessments within integrated EIA teams - advantageous
• GIS proficiency (QGIS/ArcGIS) and spatial analysis for sensitivity/constraints mapping -advantageous
• Experience supporting construction phase environmental management and compliance monitoring - advantageous

• Demonstrates the ability to design, interpret and quality assure terrestrial ecology surveys, biodiversity risk screening and impact assessments to inform sound project and decision making outcomes.
• Consistently applies the mitigation hierarchy to develop practical, implementation ready mitigation measures that can be integrated into design, construction and operational phases.

• Applies sound principles of ecological monitoring, rehabilitation and restoration, including invasive species management, to support sustainable project outcomes over time.

• Maintains high standards of data QA/QC and produces clear, accurate and defensible technical reports and written outputs suitable for regulatory, client and project use.

• Professional Judgement & Client Engagement
• Demonstrates confident, credible client facing communication and professional judgement, building trust with clients and stakeholders in complex and high risk contexts.
• Works pragmatically and constructively with engineers, planners and environmental and social practitioners to deliver integrated, fit for purpose solutions.
• People Leadership & Delivery Focus
• Provides mentorship and technical guidance to team members while effectively planning, prioritising and delivering work to quality and deadline expectations

• Terrestrial Ecology & Biodiversity Assessment: Ability to plan, lead and deliver terrestrial ecology and biodiversity studies, including baseline surveys, impact assessments, sensitivity analysis and defensible interpretation of findings.
• Field Programme Planning & Data Quality Management: Ability to design and implement ecological field programmes, coordinate field teams, manage seasonality and survey timing, and ensure robust data QA/QC and technical integrity.
• Mitigation & Implementation Planning: Ability to apply the mitigation hierarchy and translate ecological findings into clear, practical and auditable design, construction and rehabilitation requirements.
• Construction Phase Ecology Support: Ability to support construction activities through CEMP inputs, method statements, site inspections and audits, contractor briefings, and incident response and corrective action close out.
• Multi Sector Project & Stakeholder Delivery: Ability to deliver ecology services across multiple sectors, manage scope, programme and budgets, and engage effectively with regulators, stakeholders and project teams to support approvals and delivery.

Travel: Periodic travel within South Africa (and potentially regionally) for site visits and field surveys, aligned to seasonal survey windows and project needs.

We believe that a diverse workforce is key to our business success. We seek the best people for our jobs based on their skills, qualifications, and experience. We embrace the principle of equal opportunity in employment, and we work towards eliminating all forms of unlawful discrimination in our employment practices. In support of diversity and the equal opportunity principle, preference will be given to individuals from designated groups within South Africa.