ESSA Technologies Ltd. (ESSA) is an employee-owned Canadian environmental consulting company with offices in British Columbia and Ontario. We envision a world where creativity, a focus on learning, and systems thinking are the foundation of innovative solutions to environmental challenges. Our corporate mission is to “bring together people, science and analytical tools to sustain healthy ecosystems and human communities”. We achieve this mission by helping clients deal with tough, emerging problems, applying a neutral, thorough evaluation of evidence, encouraging diverse participatory processes, and collaboratively guiding our clients to make informed decisions that are designed to learn over time. Learn more about us at www.essa.com.

At ESSA, we are passionate about what we do and enjoy working with professionals who share our values and mission. At ESSA, we value deep curiosity, evidence driven critical thinking, creative innovation, diverse skills, backgrounds, openness to perspectives and care to foster a culture of respect. ESSA’s staff are purpose-driven problem solvers motivated by an aspiration to become trusted advisors to our clients and make a difference in the world.

The Opportunity

We are looking for a motivated, service-oriented, resourceful, independent, and skilled Resource Allocation and Project Coordinator. This role will support their direct supervisor, the Resource Allocation Lead, with delivery of project coordination, managing shared organizational resources, and maintaining efficient workflows amongst Project Managers. This individual will serve as a central hub and shared resource for Project Managers to coordinate and enable efficient and effective resource allocation decisions and project management across the organization.

You are, above all, passionately motivated to enable our team to succeed in its corporate mission. You are in your element and thrive at being highly organized, solutions oriented, and collaborative. Someone who can find a balance among competing priorities. Recognized for your good deeds, you are content to be in an enabling and supporting role. You expect opportunity and growth, but you also have a sense of what you do well and are happy supporting the team in its resource allocation and project coordination needs. You are not intimidated by the technical language of science (because that’s what we’re all about!). Your core background will likely be in project management, business administration, accounting, or related field and you may have some prior exposure to the natural sciences, environmental studies, planning, geography, or similar fields. For certain, you are passionate about environmental sustainability and learning about ecosystems and how our human communities interact with them.

Key Responsibilities

Resource Allocation

• Plays a significant role in detecting and reducing under/over-utilization of staff and create a more balanced project workload across the organization by maintaining resource allocation forecasts for all staff during proposal development and project delivery; ensures workload forecasts are regularly updated within resource allocation planning tools
• Uses historic and forecast data to support resource allocation decision making in coordination with the Resource Allocation Lead and ESSA project managers (e.g., flag under / over utilization of staff, implement proactive and reactive strategies to resource allocation)
• Provides teaming advice during proposal development and project kick-off to improve resource allocation and role/skills alignment in support of project delivery for our clients
• Develops and maintains database of staff skills
• Works with others to facilitate project teaming decisions that support career development and project mentorship goals (where possible)
• Under direction of the Resource Allocation Lead selectively identifies and facilitates solutions to resource allocation conflicts on challenging projects and multi-project conflicts that need to be resolved in real-time (i.e., due to unexpected / unplanned forcings beyond the control of the project manager)
• Coordinates resource allocation with supervisors and project managers to ensure new staff are sufficiently supported during onboarding

Project Coordination

• Acts as an important interface between project managers and the accounting team by supporting project related workflows, specifically setting up new projects, providing project / budget status reports, and supporting project cost forecasting
• Ensures project managers have access to relevant, up to date information on resource availability to support decisions throughout project implementation (e.g., availability, overload, adjacent projects, substitutability)
• Guided by the Resource Allocation Lead, selectively identifies subset of our project teams to assist project managers with coordination and scheduling for more complex projects (from project kick-off to project debriefs)
• Maintains library of project resources for project managers and other stakeholders

Strategic Planning Support

• Works with the Resource Allocation Lead and project managers to maintain roster of subcontractors / strategic partners for the organization
• Gathers information and ensures data are available to inform strategic planning decisions around capacity needs (e.g., skill gaps, training, hiring, subcontracting, strategic partnerships) at annual / quarterly time frames
• Ensure corporate revenue forecast data are disseminated to inform corporate capacity assessments at quarterly intervals
• Works with the accounting team to support reporting workflows that relate to dashboards for resource allocation and project management needs

Education / Experience

• Bachelor’s degree or Diploma in Business Administration, Communications, Human Resources or similar field
• Minimum of 4 years of experience in a similar and/or transferrable resource allocation / project coordination support role
• Computer proficiency and literacy in Microsoft Office suite, Google Workspace applications, and virtual collaboration tools
• Assets include:
  • Familiarity with project management tools (e.g., Trello, Jira, MS Project)
  • Project management training
  • Experience with an environmental or engineering services firm
  • Experience with system integrations
  • Experience with accounting software (e.g., InFocus, SAP)
  • A demonstrated passion for environmental sciences

Qualities/Traits

• Highly organized
• Exceptional time management
• Solutions oriented
• Collaborative team player
• Strong emotional intelligence
• Sparks harmony not drama
• Attention to detail
• Adaptable to dynamic changes
• Outgoing / proactive communication style
• Ability to work calmly and effectively with in-person and remote teams
• Ability to balance multiple tasks and deadlines
• Comfortable with data management

Hybrid flexibility

As a hybrid workplace, all new ESSA personnel are expected to spend some of their time working in the office to assist with their onboarding and contributing to our creative community culture. All staff are free to work two days a week from home until they qualify for consideration for a permanent home office. COVID-19 precautions of course influence how we apply this policy, and we continue to make accommodations for staff to work home longer as may be warranted by Provincial Health guidelines and orders.

Company Policies

Compliance with company policies is a requirement of employment. Please note that this includes Covid-19 in the Workplace Vaccination Policy, which requires vaccination for all employees who require in-person contact with others at client meetings, or in an office. Accommodations will be considered where legally required.

Applying

We look forward to welcoming the successful candidate to our team. We offer a welcoming, inclusive workplace and commit to working with staff to help them thrive and prosper. Our total rewards program provides competitive compensation, medical benefits, and vacation, plus support for professional development.

Please email a cover letter and résumé to careers@essa.com by March 11, 2022 with “Resource Allocation and Project Coordinator” in the subject line. We will review applications and contact selected candidates by March 18,2022. Interviews will be conducted between March 29 and April 1, 2022. The expected start is April 25, 2022.

All applicants must be eligible to legally work in British Columbia at the time of applying.