Senior Biologist

About the opportunity
PRI is seeking a Senior Biologist, a seasoned consulting biologist who thrives on solving real client problems in British Columbia, on time and on budget, and moving projects through approvals to a result. This is a senior consulting and project‑leadership role at the heart of our BC environmental work, for someone with deep terrestrial and wildlife ecology expertise and a proven track record delivering consulting projects in the BC regulatory environment.

We work with provincial agencies including the BC Ministry of Transportation and Transit, BC Hydro, FortisBC, and the BC Ministry of Forests, and with municipalities, First Nations, developers, and industry across forestry, renewable energy, municipal, land development, transportation, and resource sectors throughout the province. Our biologists are consultants first: they design and lead field programmes, but they also manage budgets and schedules, navigate permitting and regulatory processes, build client and regulatory relationships, win work, and deliver defensible results under commercial timelines.

This is applied, client‑facing consulting work, not a research or academic role.

The position is based in Kelowna, Vancouver or Calgary and involves a mix of field and office work with travel for fieldwork across BC. It reports to the Practice Lead, Natural Sciences & Forestry, and works alongside a multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, and resource professionals.

Who this role is for
This role is for an established consulting biologist. You are comfortable owning the commercial side of consulting, budgets, schedules, proposals, and client management, alongside the science, and you have a proven track record delivering environmental consulting projects. Ideally you already know the BC regulatory landscape and have relationships with BC agencies and communities. But we will also consider a strong senior consultant from Alberta or elsewhere who has the depth and adaptability to build BC‑specific knowledge quickly, with our support, because consulting instinct and senior experience are harder to teach than a provincial regulatory regime.

What is not a fit for this particular role is a background primarily in research or academia; this is an applied, client‑facing consulting position.

What you’ll do
Lead consulting projects and client delivery

Lead consulting projects end to end, owning scope, budget, schedule, deliverables, and client satisfaction, not just the technical work.

Manage project budgets, schedules, cost control, and billing oversight, delivering quality work within commercial constraints.

Serve as a senior point of contact for clients, providing responsive, practical, solutions‑oriented advice.

Carry a meaningful billable workload as a senior consultant, balancing project leadership with hands‑on technical delivery.

Terrestrial and wildlife ecology

Design, coordinate, and lead field studies in terrestrial and wildlife ecology — species‑at‑risk surveys, habitat assessments, and biodiversity monitoring.

Analyze and interpret ecological data to support environmental assessments, impact studies, and mitigation planning.

Prepare high‑quality technical reports and regulatory submissions that comply with BC provincial and federal environmental legislation and stand up to regulatory scrutiny.

Apply pragmatic, defensible professional judgment to help clients meet their regulatory obligations and project goals.

Regulatory, client, and community relationships

Navigate BC permitting and regulatory processes, and liaise effectively with provincial and federal regulatory agencies.

Build and maintain strong working relationships with clients, regulators, First Nations, and stakeholders to support project approvals.

Represent PRI professionally in the BC environmental consulting market.

Business development and team leadership

Write successful proposals, work plans, and cost estimates, and contribute actively to business development.

Identify and pursue new opportunities with existing and new clients.

Mentor and develop junior and intermediate biologists, sharing consulting craft as well as technical knowledge.

Lead and support…