Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Manager – Fish and Fish Habitat

🎯 Role Definition

The Manager – Fish and Fish Habitat leads the planning, delivery and evaluation of fish habitat protection, enhancement and restoration programs. This role combines technical aquatic science, regulatory navigation, project management and partnership-building to deliver on outcomes such as species-at-risk recovery, hydrologic and riparian restoration, fish passage, habitat offsetting, and monitoring programs. The successful candidate will manage multi-disciplinary teams, oversee budgets and contracts, and be the organization’s primary technical and strategic advisor on fish and aquatic habitat matters.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Fish Biologist / Aquatic Ecologist
Habitat Technician / Field Technician (aquatic focus)
Environmental Planner with fisheries portfolio

Advancement To:

Senior Manager, Fish and Aquatic Habitat Programs
Director of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources
Regional Conservation Lead / Head of Environmental Programs

Lateral Moves:

Conservation Program Manager (terrestrial & aquatic)
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) / Regulatory Affairs Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Lead the design, implementation and evaluation of comprehensive fish and fish habitat restoration projects—including conceptual design, technical design, permitting, contractor procurement, construction oversight, and post-construction monitoring—to achieve measurable biological outcomes and regulatory compliance.
Manage day-to-day operations of a multi-disciplinary team of biologists, technicians and contractors responsible for aquatic habitat surveys, monitoring programs, and restoration activities; set priorities, allocate resources and conduct performance reviews.
Develop, monitor and manage program budgets, contracts and grant agreements; prepare cost estimates, track expenditures, and ensure projects are delivered on budget and on schedule.
Provide technical leadership on fish habitat assessments, including instream habitat mapping, reach-scale and watershed-scale assessments, habitat suitability modeling, and instream flow analyses to inform restoration and management plans.
Prepare, review and submit technical reports, environmental assessments, permit applications, and regulatory submissions (including Fisheries Act, habitat alteration authorizations, and provincial/municipal permits), ensuring scientific rigor and legal compliance.
Design and direct robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks (e.g., BACI studies, biological and physical monitoring) to quantify restoration effectiveness, population responses and long-term habitat trends.
Serve as the primary liaison with federal, provincial, and local regulatory agencies, Indigenous Nations, municipal partners and NGOs to coordinate approvals, stewardship initiatives and joint projects.
Lead stakeholder engagement and community consultation strategies, facilitating collaboration among landowners, First Nations, industry partners and community groups to secure project buy-in and co-management agreements.
Oversee development and application of GIS spatial datasets, habitat mapping, LiDAR and remote-sensing analysis to prioritize restoration opportunities and to support reporting and visualization.
Provide expert advice on fish passage design, culvert and barrier remediation, hydrology alterations, and sediment management to restore longitudinal connectivity and improve critical habitat.
Coordinate and supervise field programs including electrofishing, snorkel surveys, PIT tagging, redd surveys, juvenile and adult fish surveys, and water quality testing, ensuring health and safety and scientific protocols are followed.
Develop and implement invasive species prevention, monitoring and control plans to limit spread of non-native aquatic organisms that degrade fish habitat.
Translate scientific findings into practical, accessible guidance products (technical guidance documents, fact sheets, restoration manuals, and best-practice protocols) for practitioners, partners and the public.
Support species-at-risk recovery planning by integrating habitat restoration actions into recovery strategies, critical habitat delineation and recovery implementation schedules.
Negotiate and manage service contracts and consultant scopes of work for engineering, geomorphology, biological surveys and construction supervision; evaluate proposals and ensure deliverables meet technical standards.
Champion data management practices—establish metadata standards, QA/QC protocols and centralized repositories for biological and physical monitoring data to enable reproducible analyses and regulatory reporting.
Prepare funding proposals and grant applications for restoration and monitoring projects; cultivate donor, grantor and government funding relationships to secure multi-year program support.
Develop and deliver training, capacity building and knowledge transfer programs for staff, partners and community groups focused on monitoring techniques, restoration methods and habitat stewardship.
Provide timely responses to environmental incidents affecting fish and habitat (e.g., spills, fish kills, culvert failures), coordinate emergency response efforts, and document mitigation actions and outcomes for regulators.
Represent the organization at public meetings, technical advisory committees and multi-stakeholder working groups; present technical findings, influence policy, and advocate for science-based habitat management.
Integrate climate change adaptation and resiliency principles into habitat restoration planning and long-term watershed strategies to enhance ecosystem resilience and species persistence.
Ensure occupational health and safety standards for field teams, including developing site-specific health and safety plans, ensuring staff certifications (e.g., WHMIS, confined space, small boat operations) and enforcing safe work practices.

Secondary Functions

Maintain and update project dashboards, performance indicators and executive summaries to inform senior leadership and funders on progress and outcomes.
Support organizational strategic planning by contributing technical input to corporate strategies and conservation priorities related to aquatic resources.
Assist with community science initiatives and volunteer programs to expand monitoring capacity and increase public engagement with habitat conservation.
Provide peer review of internal and external technical reports, ensuring scientific accuracy and consistency with current best practices and regulatory expectations.
Liaise with procurement and legal teams to develop standard contract language and insurance requirements tailored to habitat restoration and field operations.
Foster interdepartmental collaboration—work with communications, policy, and land management teams to align messaging, permitting timelines and land acquisition priorities.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Fish ecology and aquatic habitat assessment: stream, lake and estuary habitat typing, fish assemblage surveys, juvenile and adult abundance estimation.
Regulatory and permitting expertise: working knowledge of Fisheries Act (or national equivalent), provincial/territorial habitat protection statutes, and environmental permitting processes.
Habitat restoration design and implementation: fish passage design, riparian planting plans, in-stream structure placement, channel reconstruction and sediment control.
Monitoring and evaluation: design and analysis of biological monitoring programs, BACI design, statistical methods for trend detection and program evaluation.
Field survey techniques: electrofishing, snorkel/diver surveys, PIT tagging, redd counts, seine and fyke netting with associated data collection protocols.
Geospatial analysis: ArcGIS/QGIS, spatial data management, habitat mapping, LiDAR-derived metrics and watershed prioritization tools.
Data analysis and visualization: R, Python or similar statistical tools; experience producing reproducible analyses and clear visualizations for technical and non-technical audiences.
Project and contract management: budget development, procurement, contract oversight, deliverable management and vendor evaluation.
Construction oversight and technical specifications: familiarity with civil and ecological construction methods, shop drawing review and field quality assurance.
Species-at-risk recovery planning and critical habitat delineation: integrating habitat actions with recovery objectives and regulatory frameworks.
Water quality and hydrology fundamentals: basic understanding of fluvial geomorphology, instream flow requirements and sediment transport principles.
Health & safety certifications and field safety planning: knowledge of site risk assessments, safe operation of field equipment and emergency response protocols.

Soft Skills

Leadership: proven ability to lead technical teams, mentor staff, and create a positive performance culture.
Stakeholder engagement: exceptional interpersonal skills to build collaborative relationships with Indigenous communities, regulators, municipalities, NGOs and landowners.
Strategic thinking: ability to translate science into strategic programs and to prioritize efforts for maximum ecological and social impact.
Communication: strong written and oral communication to prepare compelling reports, funding proposals, and public presentations.
Negotiation: skilled at negotiating agreements, access permissions, and multi-party project arrangements.
Problem solving: pragmatic and creative approach to overcoming technical, logistical and regulatory barriers.
Project prioritization: capacity to manage competing deadlines and to allocate limited resources effectively.
Adaptability: comfortable working in dynamic field environments and responding to changing environmental or regulatory conditions.
Mentoring and capacity building: experience developing staff skills and transfer of technical knowledge to partners and volunteers.
Cultural competency: respectful engagement with Indigenous knowledge systems and collaborative approaches to stewardship.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Fisheries Science, Aquatic Ecology, Environmental Science, Biology, Natural Resource Management, or a closely related discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree (MSc) in Fisheries Ecology, Aquatic Science, Environmental Management, or Civil/Environmental Engineering with emphasis on aquatic systems.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Fisheries Biology / Aquatic Ecology
Environmental Science / Conservation Biology
Hydrology / Fluvial Geomorphology
Civil or Environmental Engineering (with aquatic emphasis)
Geographic Information Science (GIS)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 5–10 years of progressive experience in fisheries, aquatic habitat restoration, or environmental program delivery.

Preferred:

7+ years with at least 2–3 years in a supervisory or managerial role overseeing field staff and contractors.
Demonstrated track record of delivering multi-year restoration projects, securing funding, and navigating permitting processes.
Experience working collaboratively with Indigenous communities and knowledge of Indigenous consultation and accommodation practices.
Proven experience in stewardship program development, monitoring program design, and habitat effectiveness evaluation.