Summer jobs, Work outdoors

2026 Field Technician position

Position: Stewardship Technician
Organization: Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society
Location: Penticton, British Columbia

Overview: Based out of the Okanagan Similkameen Stewardship Society (OSS) office in Penticton, stewardship field technicians will work alongside senior staff to achieve organization goals related to habitat and ecosystem improvement, habitat connectivity, outreach, and land management projects across the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys. The role focuses on supporting local landowners and communities in habitat stewardship and on-the-ground conservation initiatives.

Technicians will receive specialized training in workplace and fieldwork safety, landowner contact, invasive species identification and management, and native plant and wildlife identification. This position offers hands-on experience in non-profit operations, collaborative projects, ecological restoration, land management, and community stewardship and outreach.

Location: Based out of Penticton office. Work is throughout the Okanagan & Similkameen within the traditional and unceded territories of the Syilx and Secwepemc people.
Hours: 30-40 hours/week, $25/hour + 4% vacation paid biweekly, some long days (overtime compensated), evenings and weekends required
Term: early May to August with possible extension to mid-November for interested candidates (6.5-7 month term).

Our commitment to equity: OSS values diversity in everything we do, including our recruitment practices. We encourage applications from BIPOC, LGBTQ2SI+ applicants, and applicants from historically marginalized communities.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Conservation and Restoration (70%)

• Assist with grassland, riparian, wetland, and low-elevation forest restoration projects implementation and monitoring including invasive plant management, native plant revegetation, nest box installation, etc.
• Assist land managers and communities in environmental protection, stewardship, and restoration.
• Assist with contacting and supporting rural landowners and Wildlife Habitat Steward clients in addressing environmental issues
• Assist Wildlife Habitat Steward clients and OSS partners with invasive plant management
• Assist with local species at-risk associated administrative work.
• Field Technicians will also have the opportunity to work in partnership with the Burrowing Owl Conservation Society's captive breeding and release program.

Outreach (25%)

• Engage with local communities, recruit volunteers and lead community clean ups and green ups of local parks and natural spaces.
• Assist with research, writing, and design of print and digital communications including articles, newsletters, posters, web pages, and social media posts.
• Work with other employees as a team to plan and participate in community celebration and stewardship events including community clean ups, green ups, local farmer’s markets, ecotourism and agritourism events.
• Prepare dynamic public information displays.
• Prepare and deliver information to local residents and tourists

Other (5%)

• Data entry and other administrative work as needed.
• Networking and collaboration with over 80 local partners combined through South Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program and Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program memberships

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Requirements:

• Minimum of one year of post-secondary education in related field, eg. Biology, Ecology, Natural Resources, etc. (job requirement)
• Between 15 and 30 years of age, inclusive, at the start of employment (funding requirement)
• Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or person to whom refugee protection has been conferred (funding requirement)
• Flexible schedule including evenings and weekends (job requirement)
• Able to be on your feet for 8 hours and lift 50 lbs (job requirement)

Assets:

• Previous volunteer or paid work experience with non-profit organization
• Knowledge of Okanagan and Similkameen wildlife.
• Experience with website and/or social media management (not personal accounts)
• Experience working outdoors in all weather conditions
• Experience working with power tools (eg. brush cutters, carpentry tools)
• Experience working and interacting with the public.
• Experience with manual labour and/or invasive species management
• Experience with event planning
• Experience with science/nature interpretation or landowner outreach

HOW TO APPLY

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Deadline for applications is March 10 2026, 11:59pm
Complete the application on https://www.osstewardship.ca/work-with-us and upload your resume ensuring the FILE NAME is YOURLASTNAME_FIELDTECH

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