The Water Quality Program within the Department of Ecology is looking to fill a Unit Supervisor Office Assistant (Office Assistant 3) position. This position is located in our Central Region Office (CRO) in Union Gap, WA. Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from the duty station.

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

Program Mission: The mission of the Water Quality Program is to ensure that all aquatic life and communities in the watershed experience cool, clean water to refresh and sustain us in a changing climate.
 
Please Note: This is a temporary position that will end after one year. This position has a probability of being converted to a permanent position.

Tele-work options for this position: This position will be required to work in the office for the first month. After successful completion of required onboarding and training, it will then 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 are subject to change.

Application Timeline: This position will remain open until filled; we will review applications on May 7, 2024. To be considered, please submit an application on or before May 6, 2024. 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. 

For this position, personal protective equipment will be provided by the program along with reimbursement for required footwear.

About the Department of Ecology

• A healthy life/work balance by offering flexible schedules and telework options for most positions.
• An Infants at Work Program that is based on the long-term health values of infant-parent bonding and breastfeeding newborns.
• Continuous growth and development opportunities. 
• Opportunities to serve your community and make an impact through meaningful work.

Our commitment to DEIR
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR) are core values central to Ecology’s work. We strive to be a workplace where we are esteemed for sharing our authentic identities, while advancing our individual professional goals and collaborating to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment for current and future generations.

What makes this role unique? 

You will play an integral role in supporting three unit supervisors who lead teams of environmental professionals conducting regulatory oversight and permitting of discharges to ground and surface waters within Water Quality’s Central Region Office. You will have the unique opportunity to work with Industrial and Municipal Unit staff on complex and emerging stormwater and wastewater environmental issues and permitting for a rapidly growing Water Quality Program at Ecology. This role requires the ability to communicate succinctly with a variety of professionals and build collaborative professional working relationships.

What you will do: 

• Provide clerical support to Industrial Unit and Municipal Unit staff on draft and final state waste discharge and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System fact sheets and permits by reviewing grammar, formatting, accessibility, and content.  
• Provide clerical support to Watershed Unit staff on draft and final water cleanup plans including Total Maximum Daily Load, Straight to Implementation, and Advanced Restoration Project plans by reviewing grammar, formatting, accessibility, and content. 
• Provide clerical support to Industrial Unit and Municipal Unit staff on routing and filing permit applications, permit renewals, and permit-related documentation including electronic signature forms and routine correspondence.  
• Perform word processing tasks including formatting, editing for plain talk and accessibility, updating permits in current permit templates, mail merges, creating tables, etc.
• Assist Central Region Office (CRO) Water Quality (WQ) Unit Supervisors with clerical tasks, scheduling/booking travel, scheduling meetings, reserving conference rooms, preparing meeting agendas, and taking meeting notes.  
• Maintain the permit-related document template library on the WQ CRO Industrial and Municipal Unit permitting SharePoint site and agency electronic drives.
• Provide public notice assistance for Industrial and Municipal permits, including establishing contact with, tracking, and managing payments for newspapers and the website.
• Route permit documentation and correspondence requiring the Section Manager’s signature, tracking and managing receipt of signatures to meet both public noticing and internal review timelines. 

Note: Personal protective equipment will be provided by the program along with reimbursement for required footwear.

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.

Experience and education combinations that meet the requirements for this position:
  

Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment: 

• Must possess 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.
 

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office software including Word, Excel, Outlook, and SharePoint.
• Experience appropriately maintaining scientific data or inspection records. 
• Four (4) years of clerical experience.
• Two (2) years of clerical experience in the government sector. 

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

Ecology seeks diverse applicants: We view diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect through a broad lens including race, ethnicity, class, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, military background, language, education, life experience, physical disability, neurodiversity, and intersectional identities. Qualified candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Need an Accommodation in the application and/or screening process or this job announcement in an alternative format?
 

• Please call: (360) 407-6186 or email: careers@ecy.wa.gov and we will be happy to assist.
• If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can reach the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.
• 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 on the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile’s main page.
• If you are reading this announcement in print format, please enter the following URL to your search engine to apply: https://ecology.wa.gov/About-us/Get-to-know-us/Jobs-at-Ecology.   

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.

Note: References will only be contacted during the final steps of the recruitment process for candidates selected as finalists. References will not be contacted without the candidate’s formal authorization.

Please do NOT include your salary history. Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable.  
  
For Your Privacy:
When attaching documents to your application (such as 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. 

Additional Application Instructions for Current 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.
 
 Application Attestation: 
 
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. 
 
Other Information:

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

To request the full position description: email careers@ecy.wa.gov

Why work for Ecology?
 
As an agency, our mission is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington’s environment for current and future generations. We invest in our employees to create and sustain a working environment that encourages creative leadership, effective resource management, teamwork, professionalism, and accountability.
 
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 your health and financial security a priority. We combine one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation with a strong commitment to life/work balance.
 
To learn more about The Department of Ecology, please visit our website at www.ecology.wa.gov and follow, like or visit us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.

Collective Bargaining: This is a position covered by a bargaining unit for which the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) is the exclusive representative.   

Equal Opportunity Employer: 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.

Note: 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.