Salary: $51,888.00 – $82,896.00 Annually
Location: Thurston County – Lacey, WA
Job Type: Project (limited duration)
Remote Employment: Flexible/Hybrid
Job Number: 2023-SEAP1237-05861
Department: Dept. of Ecology
Division: Shorelands and Environmental Assistance
Opening Date: 05/09/2023
Closing Date: Continuous

The Shorelands & Environmental Assistance (SEA) program within the Department of Ecology is looking to fill a Resilience Project Coordinator (Environmental Planner 3 (In-Training) position. This position is located in our Headquarters Office in Lacey, WA. Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from the duty station. Please Note: This is a project position that is funded until November 30, 2025. The Funding for this position has a high probability of being renewed for the next bi-annual budget. 

Note: This position offers a career path and on-the-job training. This position allows you to progress through the Environmental Planner field and achieve the goal class of an Environmental Planner 3. Candidates will be considered at the Environmental Planner 2 and Environmental Planner 3 levels, depending on their qualifications. For salary levels for each, please see the qualifications section.

In this position, you will work with the Coastal/Shorelands Section within the Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program at the Department of Ecology. As part of managing the state’s coastal and shoreline areas, the Department of Ecology works closely with communities, tribes, and other agencies to create community conservation partnerships to protect and restore our shorelines and support efforts that avoid or minimize the impacts natural hazards can have on communities and the environment. Key priorities for this work include: climate resilience, equity, diversity, inclusion, and environmental justice.

In this new role as the Resilience Project Coordinator, you will help establish and coordinate a conservation and resilience partnership program to identify, develop, and prioritize habitat acquisition, restoration, and coastal resilience projects. This will be accomplished by coordinating with Tribes, local governments, state agencies, and other state and local partners to protect or restore high priority natural ecosystems, enhance species and habitat diversity, and build resiliency to coastal hazards and climate change. You will be responsible for ensuring effective implementation, administration, performance tracking, and reporting of the program, working closely with our federal partners at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to do so.

The mission of the Department of Ecology’s is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment for current and future generations. The mission of the Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program is to work in partnership with communities to support healthy watersheds and promote statewide environmental interests. The Coastal/Shorelands Section in Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program works to ensure that the shorelines, floodplains, and ocean waters are protected, restored, and managed consistent with state and local laws.

Telework options for this position: This position will be eligible for up to a 90% tele-work schedule. Applicants with questions about position location options, tele-work, and flexible or compressed schedules are encouraged to reach out to the contact person listed below in “other information.” Schedules are dependent upon position needs and is subject to change.

Application Timeline: The positions will remain open until filled, we will review applications on May 23, 2023. In order to be considered, please submit an application on or before May 22, 2023. If your application isn’t received by this date, it may not be considered. The agency reserves the right to make a Hire any time after the initial screening date.

Duties
In developing the new conservation and resilience partnership program, as the Resilience Project Coordinator, you will significantly increase the Department of Ecology’s capacity to advance efforts that restore and enhance aquatic and shoreline habitats, support soft shoreline and nature-based approaches, and build resilience to climate change hazards – balancing diverse interests to build common ground and find solutions that have multiple benefits (community, economy, and environment). You will also seek to advance equity in the field of habitat acquisition and restoration by actively supporting and advancing project proposals from Tribal entities as well as rural and underserved communities.

You will also work closely with our state’s wetlands, floodplain management, shoreline management, and coastal monitoring and analysis teams at Ecology to ensure coordinated and strategic implementation of key state authorities.

What you will do:

  • Support coastal habitat acquisition, restoration, and community resilience efforts, coordinating and serving as liaison with Ecology staff and other state and federal agencies, Tribal representatives, and local governments. 
  • Provide expertise, consultation, and technical support to project proponents and partners on habitat acquisition, restoration, and resilience projects and plans, focusing on supporting access to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (formally known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) funding programs.
  • Develop project work plans, planning processes, and local government, Tribal, and stakeholder involvement strategies.
  • Participate in and coordinate Shorelands and Environmental Assistance (SEA) program input in collaborative multi-agency or multi-stakeholder workgroups convened to support habitat acquisition, restoration, and/or community resilience efforts.
  • Develop outreach and engagement resources and conduct presentations to foster partnerships and support equitable access to habitat acquisition, restoration, and community resilience funding opportunities.
  • Conduct research and analysis to assess gaps, needs, and opportunities in the fields of habitat conservation and community resilience.
  • Oversee and administer projects as a grant officer, agency partner, and/or project lead. Participate in state, regional, and national floodplain management and related conferences, workshops, and seminars, and represent Ecology and the State of Washington at such events.

Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
Years of required experience indicated below are full-time equivalent years. Full-time equivalent experience means that any experience where working hours were less than 40 hours per week will be prorated in order to meet the equivalency of full-time. We would calculate this by looking at the total hours worked per week, divide this by 40, and then multiply by the total number of months worked. Examples of the proration calculations are:

  • 30 hours worked per week for 20 months: (30/40) x 20 months = 15 months full-time equivalent
  • 20 hours worked per week for 12 months: (20/40) x 12 months = 6 months full-time equivalent

Experience for both required and desired qualifications can be gained through various combinations of formal professional employment, education, and volunteer experience. See below for how you may qualify.

This is an In-Training Position. The goal class for this position is Environmental Planner 3 (EP3). We will consider applicants who meet the requirements for the EP2 and EP3 levels. If the finalist meets the requirements for the EP2 level, they will be hired at that level and will be placed into a training program to become an EP3 within a specified period of time.

At the Environmental Planner 2 level: Pay Range 52 ($4,324 – $5,813 monthly) (In-Training)
Option 1: A Bachelor’s degree with a major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field AND three years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

Option 2: A Master’s degree or above with a major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field AND one year of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

Option 3: One year of experience as an Environmental Planner 1, at the Department of Ecology.

At the Environmental Planner 3 level: Pay Range 59 ($5,136 – $6,908 monthly) Goal Class
Option 1: A Bachelor’s degree with a major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field AND four years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

Option 2: A Master’s degree or above with a major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field AND two years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

Option 3: One year of experience as an Environmental Planner 2, at the Department of Ecology.

Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment: Obtain and maintain a valid driver’s license.

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

  • Knowledge and/or experience in the following areas:
    • Working collaboratively with diverse stakeholders to address complex or multi-faceted resource management and conservation issues.
    • Basic coastal and shoreline processes; basic climate science; basic concepts supporting wetland restoration; experience or familiarity with wetland, estuarine, or nearshore systems.
    • Experience in project management and grant writing.
  • Ability to:
    • Develop long-range work plans and work effectively individually and with collaborative teams.
    • Identify key stakeholders concerned with conservation and community resilience issues and understand their views and priorities to build and maintain effective working relationships.
    • Write effectively and deliver presentations to large groups.

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

Other Information
If you have specific questions about this position, please email Bobbak Talebi at Bobbak.Talebi@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact Bobbak to inquire about the status of your application. To request the full position description: email careers@ecy.wa.gov

Application Instructions
It’s in the applicant’s best interest to submit all of the documents listed below. Applications without these documents may be declined.

  • A cover letter describing why you are interested in this position.
  • A resume outlining your experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to the minimum qualifications of this position.
  • A list of three professional references.

For more information and to apply: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/jobs/4022250/resilience-project-coordinator-environmental-planner-3-in-training

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