Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen

This is an exciting time in Washington as Ecology implements brand new legislation addressing climate change. Everyone deserves clean air to breathe and a sustainable future that addresses the challenges of climate change. The Air Quality Program works to monitor air quality and reduce air pollution to protect the health of everyone who lives, works, and plays in Washington. We also work to protect Washington’s future by tracking our state’s efforts to cut the carbon pollution that drives climate change and implement carbon reduction programs.

The Air Quality Program (AQP) is looking to fill the Statewide Prevent Nonattainment Coordinator (Environmental Planner 4) position. This position will be located in Lacey, Yakima, or Spokane depending on where the finalist resides.

This position serves as the Senior Planner for developing, implementing and managing the effectiveness of efforts to reduce air pollution in areas at risk of nonattainment of federal national air quality standards. In addition to the public health impact of nonattainment, costly and demanding federal regulatory interventions are needed to return communities to clean air status. Currently, 17 communities in Washington are at risk of violating air quality standards, especially for fine particle pollution. This position will lead a major expansion and formalization of a grant program to develop locally based solutions to improve air quality and avoid nonattainment for communities.

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. The Air Quality Program’s vision is clean, healthy air for all of Washington. Our goal is to identify, prevent, and minimize air pollution.

Protecting Washington State’s environment for current and future generations is what we do every day at Ecology. We are a culture that is invested in making a difference. Join a team that is highly effective, collaborative, with leadership who embrace the value of people.

Ecology cares deeply about employee wellness; we go beyond traditional benefits, proudly offering:

• 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.
• A wellness program that offers education, and fitness classes; an agency-wide fondness for outdoor meetings.
• Opportunities to serve your community and make an impact through meaningful work.

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.

Diversity: We celebrate and appreciate diversity; our unique perspectives and abilities enrich us all and lead to innovative approaches and solutions.

Equity: We champion equity, recognizing that each of us need different things to thrive.

Inclusion: We intentionally create and hold space so that we all have meaningful opportunities to participate and contribute to Ecology’s work.

Respect: We treat each other with respect and dignity, acknowledging the inherent worth of our diverse perspectives and lived experiences, even in times of uncertainty and disagreement.

We believe that DEIR is both a goal and an action. We are on a journey, honoring our shared humanity and taking steps to demonstrate our commitment to a vision where each of us is heard, seen, and valued.

During Stay Home, Stay Healthy, employees 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.

Application Timeline: This position will remain open until filled, with an initial screening date of June 8, 2021. In order to be considered for initial screening, please submit an application on or before June 7, 2021. The agency reserves the right to make an appointment any time after the initial screening date.

Local efforts… Diverse people… Statewide impacts

In this role you will lead the effort to expand and formalize the prevent non-attainment grant program, consistent with new legislative direction. As the Statewide Prevent Nonattainment Coordinator you will travel the state to work with diverse groups of stakeholders and tribes in order to establish partnerships built on trust and collaboration. Most importantly, you will play a major role by problem solving with communities to improve public health and avoid the economic consequences of exceeding air quality standards.

What you’ll do:

• Develop and manage grant policies and procedures, including the project selection process, while ensuring coordination with management and key employees.
• Work with local governments, local air agencies, tribal governments and local communities to identify and build partnerships.
• Facilitate and coordinate locally-led solutions to avoid the public health and economic consequences of exceeding these standards.
• Manage and administer the grant program and measuring results.
• Develop a clear system for managing and tracking funds for approved projects.
• Work with technical staff to identify areas at risk for exceeding federal air pollution standards.

Required Qualifications:

Option1: A Master’s degree or above with a major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, 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 Bachelor’s degree or above with a major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field AND five 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 3, provided a Bachelor’s degree or higher in a field listed above has been attained.

Special Requirements/Conditions of Employment: 

Must have 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.

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

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 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

Please to 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 (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 Rob Dengel at: Robert.Dengel@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact Rob 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.

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 *See the Benefits tab in this announcement for more information

Student debt: how working for Ecology can help
The Department of Ecology is a qualifying employer for the Public Service Forgiveness Program (PSLF). See https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/repay-loans/forgiveness-cancellation/public-service for more details.

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.