Salary: $90,000.00 – $103,000.00 Annually
Location: Thurston County – Olympia, WA
Job Type: Full Time – Permanent
Closing Date: 9/4/2023 11:59 PM Pacific

Communications and Public Engagement-(CAPE)
 Olympia, Washington – Thurston County 

This recruitment will be posted until September 4, 2023.  Application review will be ongoing, submit your application materials as soon as possible. This recruitment may be closed at any time. Be a part of our growing Social Science Team, our collaborative approach provides lots of opportunities to work together. So, if you are looking for a career where you see where your work makes an impact, join us today. 

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) mission is to preserve, protect, and perpetuate fish, wildlife, and ecosystems while providing sustainable fish and wildlife recreational and commercial opportunities.

WDFW is dedicated to advancing environmental justice (EJ) through this mission. EJ is defined as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. It recognizes that there are communities that are under-resourced, marginalized and oppressed across Washington that are disproportionately affected. Justice will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards, access to the decision-making process, and benefits of a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work.” (US EPA, OA. “Environmental Justice.” Collections and Lists. US.EPA, November 3, 2014. https://www.epa.gov/envrironmentaljustice.

Enhance Understanding, of the importance of Environmental Justice and its impacts on Washington’s under-resourced, marginalized and oppressed communities.

In this dynamic role, you know that intention, thoughtfulness, accountability, trust, and good governance are the keys to success.

Bring your knowledge and innovation to this role, leading the agency’s environmental justice efforts, supporting the agency in developing strategies, goals, metrics, assessments, and policies allied with environmental justice.

And model WDFW’s ASPIRE values, 

• Accountability, we hold ourselves and each other responsible for acting consistent with our values and mission.
• Service, we add value to Washington communities and seek to improve the public’s experience.
• Professionalism, we serve in a manner that reflects positively on the Department and on ourselves.
• Integrity, we are consistently open, honest, ethical, and genuine in our actions.
• Respect, we treat each other with dignity.
• Empathy, we take time to understand and appreciate others.

Duties

As our Environmental Justice (EJ) Coordinator, some of what you will enjoy doing, 
Integrating Environmental Justice into WDFW’s operations:

• Collaborate with executive leadership, program managers, division managers, and subject matter experts to assess EJ nexuses and opportunities to improve justice and equity in WDFW’s work.

• Create EJ plans and strategies, that include goals and metrics, for agency and programs.

• Work in close partnership with the DEI Manager, Civil Rights Coordinator, Communications and Public Engagement, and other internal staff, and coordinate with other agency work groups such as the Diversity Advisory Committee, Pro-Equity and Anti-Racism team, Social Science Community of Practice, and Climate Action Team where appropriate.

HEAL Act alignment (Healthy Environment for All):

• Collaborate with executive leadership, program managers, division managers, and subject matter experts to assess EJ nexuses and opportunities to improve justice and equity in WDFW’s work.

• Create EJ plans and strategies, that include goals and metrics, for agency and programs.

• Work in close partnership with the DEI Manager, Civil Rights Coordinator, Communications and Public Engagement, and other internal staff, and coordinate with other agency work groups such as the Diversity Advisory Committee, Pro-Equity and Anti-Racism team, Social Science Community of Practice, and Climate Action Team where appropriate.
  

Develop and implement community engagement strategies:

• Closely coordinate and collaborate with DEI Engagement Coordinator on community engagement efforts, including strategy development and implementation.
• Serve as an agency liaison between WDFW and overburdened communities, including the community organizations supporting overburdened communities, and serve as a conduit to improve coordination and communication between agency staff and external partners so that emerging issues are resolved in a timely and effective manner.
• Ensure agency assessments of public input include adequate representation of the perspectives and interests of overburdened communities. 

EJ research and evaluation:

• Develop, adopt, and/or implement EJ assessment tool or framework, that includes goals and metrics, across agency programs and teams.
• Develop and implement science-informed EJ guidance or resources to ensure EJ is understood and integrated into WDFW efforts, including other research or programmatic initiatives.
• Help lead EJ research and evaluation initiatives, both internal and external, including those associated with agency partners.
• Coordinate with DEI Data Analyst on identifying, prioritizing, analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing, writing up, and disseminating findings associated with agency efforts, whether internal- or external-facing. This may include conducting service equity analyses for agency and programs. 

Policy development and legislative support:

Training and consultation:

WORKING CONDITIONS:

• Work Setting, including hazards:
  • This position primarily works out of the Natural Resource Building in Olympia.
  • Most duties are performed in an office setting using a personal computer and telephone. May require some bending and minimal lifting (up to 20 pounds) occasionally.
• Schedule:
  • Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Occasional evening and weekend work. Periodically (2-3 times per month) attend meetings or participate in events outside of normal office hours.

  • Hybrid work options may be considered with required duty station in Olympia,WA.

• Travel Requirements:
  • Infrequent overnight travel may be required.
• Customer Interactions:
  • Occasionally works with disgruntled constituents; may deal with stakeholder groups with conflicting demands; extensive interaction with the media.
    

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

A Bachelor’s degree with a major emphasis in one or more of the following:

• Environmental justice, environmental or natural resource policy or planning
• Public health
• Sociology
• Environmental law
• Public administration with an environmental emphasis
• Environmental science
• Natural resource science
• Geography
• closely related field. 

AND  

• Five (5) years of experience working in environmental justice, environmental or natural resource policy and planning or closely related field. 

  • Two (2) of the years must include working with communities and populations who experience environmental and/or health disparities, immigrant, or linguistically isolated communities, rural or low-income populations, or Tribes and indigenous people. 

This may include but is not limited to: 

• Community engagement and public involvement in environmental and/or public health decision-making. 
• Advocacy and policy work on environmental justice, health equity, community development, and equitable economic development. 
• Work with low-income populations, rural, linguistically isolated, or communities of color on environmental or public health issues.

OR

• A Master’s degree or above with a major emphasis in environmental justice, environmental or natural resource policy or planning, public health, sociology, environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, environmental science, natural resource science, geography, or closely related field. 

AND 

• Three (3) years of experience working in environmental justice, environmental or natural resource policy and planning or closely related field. 

  • Two of the years must include working with communities and populations who experience environmental and health disparities, immigrant, or linguistically isolated communities, rural or low-income populations, or Tribes and indigenous people. 

This may include but is not limited to: 

• Community engagement and public involvement in environmental and/or public health decision-making. 
• Advocacy and policy work on environmental justice, health equity, community development, and equitable economic development. 
• Work with low-income populations, rural, linguistically isolated, or communities of color on environmental or public health issues. 

Please Note: Closely related qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-by-year basis.

Certifications/Licenses: 

• Must possess and maintain a valid Driver’s License.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Training or experience with environmental justice, civil rights, social justice, and community engagement is highly preferred.   

• Lived or professional expertise with environmental injustice, and/or experience working with communities of color, Tribes, indigenous people, or low-income populations on environmental and social justice issues. 

• Strong written, verbal, and listening communication skills to effectively and respectfully work with a diversity of audiences and situations.

• Familiarity with quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis, including analysis software programs (SPSS, STATA, SAS, R, NVivo, Dedoose, and/or others).

• Familiarity with data visualization and geographic information system (GIS) software (ArcGIS).  

• An understanding of environmental justice research, demographic data, assessment/evaluation, and equity analyses.

• Familiarity with environmental regulatory activities, State and/or National Environmental Policy Act, rulemaking, and the legislative process.

• Knowledge and practice of collaborative problem-solving conflict resolution, participatory planning, and community-based research/assessment.

• Comfortable discussing environmental and social justice, racism, and social and economic inequalities.

To apply

In order to successfully apply for this position, you MUST complete your profile at www.careers.wa.gov and attach the following to your profile before completing the online application:

• A cover letter describing how you meet the qualifications of this position (Generic cover letter will not be accepted).
• A current resume. 
• Three professional references. 

For more information and to apply: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/jobs/4152319/environmental-justice-coordinator-wms-band-1-permanent-10102-23