Salary: $55,224.00 – $86,208.00 Annually
Location: Thurston County – Lacey, WA
Job Type: Project (limited duration)

The Air Quality Program (AQP) within the Department of Ecology is looking to fill a Clean Transportation Grants and Cultural Resources Specialist (Environmental Specialist 4) (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. Do you possess a background in grant administration and working to educate and engage potential grantees? Do you have a passion for improving air quality, exploring electrifying the transportation sector, and advance environmental justice throughout Washington State? Not yet an expert in all of these areas? No problem! We’re seeking smart, eager candidates and will provide on-the-job training as needed. As the Clean Transportation Grants and Cultural Resources Specialist, you will provide oversight of funds from state and federal Volkswagen settlements to fund programs to reduce harmful emissions and greenhouse gases from transportation. You will also be the team lead in providing technical assistance to grantees to comply with requirements for cultural resources protection.
 
In this role you will:

• Administer settlement funds through the development of grant guidelines and evaluation criteria.
• Support grantees with interpreting the guidelines and providing technical assistance.
• Apply your expert transportation sector knowledge to ensure investments achieve maximum beneficial impact.
• Conduct Cultural Resources Reviews to ensure projects adhere to state requirements.

You will work collaboratively with other members of the VW Settlement Team and the Clean Diesel Team to develop funding opportunities, and negotiate, implement, and track grants. This is an ideal position for someone interested in clean transportation, cultural resources preservation, and environmental justice.
 
Note: This position offers a career path and on-the-job training. This position allows you to progress through the Environmental Specialist (ES) field and achieve the goal class of an ES4. Candidates will be considered at the ES3 and ES4 levels, depending on qualifications. For salary levels for each, please see the qualifications section.
 
The mission of the Air Quality Program (AQP) is to protect, preserve, and enhance the air quality of Washington to safeguard public health and the environment and support high quality of life for current and future generations. Please Note: This is a project position that is funded until December 31, 2032. 

Tele-work options for this position: This position will be eligible for up to an 80% 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 September 14, 2023. In order to be considered, please submit an application on or before September 13, 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. 

What makes this job unique:
In this position, you will have broad responsibilities that include managing Volkswagen settlement grants, ensuring that funded projects follow state requirements for cultural resources protection, and incorporating environmental justice into funding programs. This work requires a diverse range of skills including literature and policy research, grant management, stakeholder support, project management, and giving public presentations.
 
What you will do:

• Develop grant guidelines, scoring criteria and application processes. Conduct grant application solicitation, review, and award process.
• Recommend grant awards and actions to resolve stakeholder issues.
• Respond to grantee inquiries; interpret and explain Ecology grants guidance.
• Help coordinate efficient and effective management of grants and contracts. 
• Follow Ecology grant guidelines and operating procedures to administer VW settlement grants. 
• Advise management on emerging issues in VW Settlement fund management.
• Ensure cultural resource compliance with Executive Order 21-02 (Download PDF reader) and other guidance. 
• Lead Pollution Reduction Grants Section implementation of Executive Order 21-02 (Download PDF reader) and maintain expert working knowledge of cultural resource review principles.

Qualifications

This is an In-Training Position. The goal class for this position is Environmental Specialist 4 (ES4). We will consider applicants who meet the requirements for the Environmental Specialist 3 and Environmental Specialist 4 levels. If the finalist meets the requirements for the ES3 level, they will be hired in at that level and placed into a training program to become an ES4 within a specified period of time.

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.

At the Environmental Specialist 3 level: Salary Range 53 ($4,602-$6,198 monthly) (In-training)

A total of six years of experience and/or education as described below:

• Experience: Involving environmental analysis or control, policy, planning, or similar field of work. 
• Education: Involving a major study in environmental, physical, or one of the natural sciences, climate, clean energy, transportation, environmental planning or other allied field.

All experience and education combinations that meet the requirements for this position:

OR
One year of experience as an Environmental Specialist 2, at the Department of Ecology.
 
At the Environmental Specialist 4 level: Salary Range 59 ($5,341-$7,184 monthly) Goal class
A total of nine years of experience and/or education as described below:

• Experience: Involving environmental analysis or control, policy, planning, or similar field of work. 
• Education: Involving a major study in environmental, physical, or one of the natural sciences, climate, clean energy, transportation, environmental planning or other allied field.

All experience and education combinations that meet the requirements for this position:

OR
Two years of experience as an Environmental Specialist 3, at the Department of Ecology.

Desired Qualifications:

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

• Demonstrated experience in working with Tribal Governments
• Demonstrated experience in grant management.
• Demonstrated experience in air quality and transportation infrastructure and planning. 

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/4187494/clean-transportation-grants-and-cultural-resources-specialist-es4-in-training