Native Plant/Restoration Project Manager
Resource Development Restoration
A Native Plant and Restoration Project Manager delivers ecological restoration projects from planning through installation and monitoring. You're managing the logistics of putting the right species in the right place at the right time — coordinating nurseries, contractors, site preparation, planting crews, and client expectations. The work is ecologically meaningful and operationally complex. It suits people who are equally at home in a species mix spreadsheet and on a restoration site.
Advanced
Experience Level
Year-round
Seasonality
Low–Moderate
Physical Demands
This role suits people who want operational ownership over outcomes that matter ecologically. You're coordinating a supply chain of living material, working to ecological timelines that don't flex the way construction schedules do, and managing relationships with clients, nurseries, and field crews simultaneously. The projects you deliver leave a visible and lasting mark on the landscape. That's an unusual combination of accountability and purpose.
A DAY IN THE LIFE
The work moves between field and coordination. A site visit to review installation progress in the morning, procurement calls with nurseries in the afternoon, a report draft in the evening. Planting windows are non-negotiable — the biology drives the schedule. Keeping all the pieces aligned around that constraint is the job. People who are energized by that kind of orchestration tend to thrive here.
WORKING CONDITIONS
A mix of field and office depending on project phase. Installation periods bring more site time; planning and reporting phases are more desk-based. Year-round work with intensity shaped by planting windows and project delivery timelines. Travel between sites is common.
CYCLICAL NATURE OF ROLE
Year-round with intensity shifting through planting, growing, and monitoring cycles. Spring and fall planting windows drive the highest coordination demand.
REQUIRED EDUCATION & TRAINING
REQUIRED SOFT SKILLS
Multi-stakeholder coordination and communication
Project planning and ecological timeline management
Client relationship management and expectation setting
Problem-solving across ecological, logistical, and contractual variables Accountability for project outcomes
REQUIRED HARD SKILLS
Significant experience in native plant production, restoration field operations, or related project coordination is typically required
Post-secondary education in ecology, restoration science, forestry, horticulture, or related field is typically preferred
Strong knowledge of BC native plant species and restoration principles is required
Occupational First Aid (OFA Level 1) with Transportation Endorsement is commonly required
Valid driver's licence is required
Experience with regulatory compliance and environmental documentation is typically expected
ON THE JOB LEARNING
End-to-end restoration project delivery
Multi-stakeholder coordination across nurseries, contractors, and clients
Applied restoration ecology and species procurement management
Regulatory compliance and environmental documentation
Ecological monitoring and post-installation assessment
FUTURE CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
Restoration project management experience is a pathway into senior program management, ecological consulting, environmental stewardship leadership, and policy advisory roles. Skills transfer into habitat planning, biodiversity assessment, and environmental management broadly. Some project managers develop into restoration program directors or ecological research roles.