Salary: $61,056.00 – $82,056.00 Annually
Location: Thurston County – Olympia, WA
Job Type: Full Time – Permanent
Closing Date: 10/11/2023 11:59 PM Pacific

Bring your unique skills and creativity to work every single day, in a flexible and mutually supportive work environment among others who share your passions for urban forestry and community engagement. You will teach, inspire, and motivate others to be better stewards of urban forests across a range of different projects in communities throughout the state. If you love working with people as much as you do working with trees, if you are committed to principles of equity and environmental justice, and if you enjoy working independently as part of a small team, this could be one of your most fulfilling jobs.

DNR’s Forest Resilience Division is seeking a motivated individual to join the Urban & Community Forestry Program, a small but impactful team of passionate professionals committed to the restoration, enhancement, and management of urban forests across Washington State. As part of this Division and Program, you will work alongside a talented group of planners, scientists, foresters, and outreach professionals providing services to state, private, and federal partners to increase the health and resiliency of Washington’s forested landscapes.

In this position you will be a key member of a team focused on supporting local governments and other stakeholders to adopt and implement best practices for arboriculture and urban forest management. Working independently and as a member of the team, this position works under the supervision and guidance of the Urban & Community Forestry Program Manager. This is a dynamic position and every day will be different. You will complete a variety of tasks requiring skills in relationship-building, communications, planning, teaching, critical thinking, and data analysis in addition to tree identification and assessment. The DNR Urban & Community Forestry Program incorporates principles of equity and environmental justice into the delivery of program resources and services.

Responsibilities:
Implementation and delivery of statewide Urban and Community Forestry Programming through tasks such as:

• Providing UCF technical expertise to Washington State stakeholders such as cities and towns, counties, tribal governments, 501(c) 3 non-profit organizations, and educational institutions.
• Assisting stakeholders to resolve complex problems affecting community forest management.
• Coordinating technical assistance activities with regional urban forestry program staff and associates.

Urban forestry education and technical guidance through tasks such as:

• Communicating industry-accepted best practices for urban forest maintenance and management including arboricultural best practices, invasive pest management, climate adaptation strategies, and creative funding or financing approaches.
• Providing assistance with urban forestry ordinances, plans, and policies.
• Cooperating with other program staff and regional associates to facilitate urban forestry educational opportunities.

Coordination of projects through tasks such as:

• Assisting with implementation of a diverse program and grant activities. Tracking delivery of technical assistance to stakeholders.
• Assisting the Program Manager in the development and delivery of initiatives or projects such as the Urban Forest Pest Readiness Project.
• Assistance with scoping, development, and implementation of future urban forestry initiatives, projects, programs, and plans.

Provide management and supervision to a professional staff of urban forestry technicians to achieve program priorities and objectives; support workplan development; assign and inspect work; and promote professional development.

Required Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in forestry, natural resources, urban forestry, horticulture, urban landscape planning, or landscape architecture from an accredited institution AND 3 years professional experience in a natural resource program area.
  OR An associate’s degree in forestry, natural resources, urban forestry, horticulture, urban landscape planning, or landscape architecture from an accredited institution, AND 5 years professional experience in a natural resource program area.
• 2 years of urban forestry experience resulting in highly developed urban forestry technical knowledge and skills in tree identification, diagnostics, pest and disease management including threats from invasive species, tree inventory, natural area management, and industry-accepted best practices.
• Valid International Society of Arboricultural Arborist certification or ability to obtain within 6 months of employment.
• Experience with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), including ArcMap, Survey123, and Collector, and other mapping tools to document work and convey information to non-technical audiences.
• Demonstrated experience of effective oral and written communications and can convey messages clearly and persuasively. Excellent public speaking skills.
• Demonstrated experience responding to and interacting in a positive, responsive, cooperative, collaborative manner with the public and other professionals (both inter-organizational and interdisciplinary).
• Proficient with computers and Microsoft Office applications including SharePoint.
• Works well independently and effectively manages multiple tasks at different stages.
• Organizational management – has a strong understanding and ability to organize efficiently and the ability to develop or use systems for tracking implementation and accomplishments of several complex projects.
• Good understanding of urban forestry policy issues.
• DNR Core Competencies: 
  • Personal Accountability 
  • Value Others 
  • Compassionate Communication 
  • Inspire Others 
  • Commitment to Excellence 

Special Requirements and Conditions of Employment:

• Assigned duty station is the Natural Resources Building in Olympia and may be approved for other. Most work is performed indoors in office environments but includes regular onsite, outdoor settings.
• Travel is required and may include site visits statewide, may be multiple days in length, and will require overnight stays. Additional travel may be required nationally for meetings, conferences, and other activities.
• A valid unrestricted driver’s license and have two years of driving experience. This position requires driving as an essential function. Finalists and/or interview candidates will be asked to provide a driving record from all states in which they have held a license during the past three years.

Desired Qualifications: 

• Professional experience working with or for a municipal urban forestry program, including direct experience with tree inventory and municipal work order software systems.
• At least 2 years of professional experience coordinating an urban and community forestry program.
• Skills and experience with general forest health issues such as insects, diseases, invasive species, drought, wildland fire, etc.
• Experience working with underserved or historically marginalized residents, neighborhoods or communities; firm understanding of social and environmental justice issues.
• Grant writing and development experience.
• Experience creating forestry training programs.
• Advanced skills with Excel or programming experience.

Application Requirements:

• To be considered you must apply online at www.careers.wa.gov. 
• Attach a letter of interest describing how your experience and qualifications relate to the position profile and the position required, desired and special requirements.
• Attach a resume describing your experience and qualifications.
• Provide three to five professional references – you may attach a document, use the References text field in the online application, or include with resume.
• Attach a copy of your college degree certificate or an unofficial copy of your transcripts.  This is a required attachment. If you do not attach your college degree certificate or an unofficial copy of your transcript your application will not move forward in the application process.  
• Important: Do not attach any documents that include photos or private information (social security number, year of birth, etc.).
• Complete all supplemental questions.

For more information and to apply: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/washington/jobs/4199334/statewide-urban-community-forestry-specialist-natural-resource-specialist-4