Description

Duties

Agency Mission: The mission of the Department of Ecology is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment, for current and future generations.

Program Mission: The mission of the Water Quality Program is to protect and restore Washington’s waters to support healthy watersheds and communities. Our work ensures state waters can support beneficial uses including recreational and business activities, supplies for clean drinking water, and the protection of fish, shellfish, wildlife, and public health.

What will you do?

The Technical Unit implements state and federal wastewater discharge permit programs for municipal and industrial dischargers. This includes permit writing and management, permit related data entry, municipal wastewater grant and loan administration, and enforcement and facility inspections. Compliance is accomplished through the use of a combination of education, technical assistance, enforcement, and cooperation based programs.

As the supervisor of the Technical Unit, you will:

• Plan, lead, organize and direct the work of a 11-person team of engineers, hydrogeologists, and environmental specialists.
• Develop unit goals and objectives, and communicate staff’s recommendations to program leadership.
• Manage the recruiting and hiring of staff, and support staff’s learning and development.
• Manage the unit budget and monitor expenditures.
• As the Central Region’s contact for policy and program development, write and manage industrial and state wastewater discharge permits.
• When compliance can’t be obtained via technical assistance, warning letters, and administrative orders, the Unit Supervisor provides oversight of WQ Program’s central region office enforcement staff.
• Testify in front of courts and boards, as needed.

Why join the team?

• You will be will be leading a team of dedicated engineers and environmental specialists passionate about working with customers to improve Washington State Waters.
• The vast majority of communities in the Central Region are small with limited ability to fund major treatment facilities. You will use innovative problem solving skills to support the team’s efforts in finding creative solutions and assisting communities in developing competitive grant applications. The team spends a large portion of time providing technical assistance and guidance to small communities.
• In this role, you will build relationships with internal and external partners and stakeholders to cultivate an environment of trust, engagement, and continuous improvement.
• As a leader, you will support the Agency’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect by demonstrating and continually growing within the statewide DEI competencies.

Please note: During Stay Home, Stay Healthy, staff are working a combination of in-office and/or telework based on position and business need.

Ecology is maintaining less than maximum building occupancy, and requiring masks, health screening questions before entry, and social distancing.

This position will remain open until filled, with an initial screening date of May 20, 2021 In order to be considered for initial screening, please submit an application on or before May 19, 2021. The agency reserves the right to make an appointment any time after the initial screening date.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

There are multiple ways to qualify for this position. See options below:

Option 1:

Nine (9) years of experience and/or education

• Education: In natural, environmental, or physical sciences, engineering, planning or closely related field
• Experience: In water quality management, environmental sciences or related field

Option 2:

• Bachelor’s degree in natural, environmental, or physical sciences, engineering, planning or closely related field
• Five (5) years of professional level work experience in water quality management, environmental sciences or related field.

Option 3:

• Master’s degree or higher in natural, environmental, or physical sciences, engineering, planning or closely related field
• Three (3) years of professional level work experience in water quality management, environmental sciences or related field

Desired Qualifications:

We highly encourage you to apply even if you do not have some (or all) of the desired experience below.

• Experience in management and supervision.
• Experience or education with the principles, practices and methods of wastewater treatment and pollution prevention.
• Experience or education in federal and state water quality rules and regulations.
• Understanding of tools and principles of environmental justice.

Note: Having some (or all) of this desired experience may make your application more competitive in a highly competitive applicant pool.

Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment:

• Obtain and maintain a valid driver’s license

Why work for Ecology?

Joining Ecology means becoming a part of a team committed to protecting and restoring Washington State’s environment.

A career in public service allows you to help solve some of the most challenging problems facing our state, while keeping the health and financial security of you and your family a priority. We combine one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation with a strong commitment to work/life balance.

Ecology employees may be eligible for the following:
Medical/Dental/Vision for employee & dependent(s), Public Employees Retirement System (PERS),  Vacation, Sick, and other Leave*, 11 Paid Holidays per year*, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Tuition Waiver,  Long Term Disability & Life Insurance, Deferred Compensation Programs, Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP),  Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA), Employee Assistance Program, Commute Trip Reduction Incentives (Download PDF reader), Combined Fund Drive, SmartHealth

Student debt and how working for Ecology can help
Employees may be eligible for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, which forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan while working full-time for a qualifying employer. See https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service for more details.

*See the Benefits tab in this announcement for more information

Supplemental Information

Application Instructions:

Please complete the short on-line application, supplemental questions and upload:

• Your current chronological resume;
• A cover letter explaining how you fit the requirements of the position;
• Three professional references with current contact information.

Important Note:

When attaching documents to your application (Resume, Cover Letter, Transcripts, DD-214, etc.):

• Please be sure to remove private information such as your social security number, date of birth, etc.
• Do not attach documents that are password protected as these documents may not be reviewed and may cause errors within your application when downloaded.

Please to do NOT include your salary history. Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable.

It is in the candidate’s best interest to submit all of the documents requested above. Applications without these documents may be declined.

Department of Ecology employees, please make sure to answer the agency-wide questions regarding permanent status as a classified employee within the Washington General Service or Washington Management Service. Do not forget to select Department of Ecology as a response to question 2, and type your personnel ID number for question 3. If you are not sure of your status or do not know your personnel ID number, please contact Human Resources.

If you are reading this announcement in print format, please visit www.careers.wa.gov to access the online recruitment system. Click on “Look for Jobs” and select Dept. of Ecology under the “Department” search list. Click “Apply Search.”

Other Information:

If you need assistance applying for this job, please e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not send an email to this address to follow-up the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile’s main page.

If you have specific questions about the position, please email Damon Roberts at: Damon.Roberts@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact Damon to inquire about the status of your application.

The act of submitting application materials electronically is considered affirmation that the information is complete and truthful. The state may verify this information and any untruthful or misleading answers are cause for rejection of your application or dismissal if employed.

This recruitment may be used to fill other positions of the same job classification across the agency. Once all the position(s) from the recruitment announcement are filled, the recruitment may only be used to fill additional open positions for the next sixty (60) days.

The Washington State Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans, military spouses or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application/testing process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 407-6186. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.