ECMC - Enforcement Advisor (Compliance Specialist IV)

Enforcement Advisor

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

Are you interested in investing in a career that makes a difference? Consider joining the dedicated people of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. It's our mission to manage and conserve Colorado's natural resources for the benefit of people today and tomorrow. That means we have to balance development with conservation so the state we all love provides similar opportunities for our children and their children. We invite you to explore our website at dnr.colorado.gov/about-us to find out more about the work we do to manage Colorado's natural resources for today and tomorrow. The State of Colorado believes that equity, diversity, and inclusion drive our success, and we encourage candidates from all identities, backgrounds, and abilities to apply.

In addition to offering rewarding, meaningful work, we offer:

• Medical, Vision and Dental plans
• Strong, flexible retirement plans including PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan, plus pre-tax and Roth 401K and 457 plans
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• Employee Wellness programs
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• Health Savings Accounts
• 11 paid holidays per year plus generous vacation and sick leave
• Flexible work schedule options and remote-work options
• Career advancement opportunities throughout the State system
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

About Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC):

The Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) regulates the development and production of Colorado's natural resources, including oil and gas, geothermal energy, and carbon capture and storage. The ECMC's mission is to do so in a way that protects the environment, public health, safety, and welfare. The Enforcement Unit exists to ensure that the exploration for and development of Colorado's oil and gas and deep geothermal resources, and the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide, is done safely and in a manner that protects public health, safety, welfare, the environment, and wildlife resources. ECMC rules are designed to ensure these potentially dangerous activities are conducted in the safest manner possible and the Enforcement Unit brings non-compliant operators back into compliance as quickly as possible while providing technical knowledge and guidance to the regulated community, ECMC Staff, and external stakeholders. If compliance cannot be reached through outreach, training, or the issuance of corrective actions or warning letters, a notice of alleged violation ("NOAV") is issued to formally demand compliance. NOAVs initiate a formal hearing process managed by the Enforcement Unit. The team includes enforcement advisors, enforcement supervisors, an NOAV Specialist, and the unit manager.

Description of Job

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

The purpose of the Enforcement Advisor position is to engage in negotiations to bring non-compliant operators into compliance as quickly as possible, and/or determine what corrective actions or penalties are required to remedy any damage to public health, safety, welfare, the environment, and wildlife resources due to operator non-compliance. This position litigates allegations of non-compliance identified by other ECMC staff through negotiated settlements and contested hearings, assembling and leading teams of subject matter experts and lawyers. This position serves as a Work Lead for enforcement actions brought by the Engineering Unit to ensure accuracy, consistency, and timeliness where non-compliance is identified by that team.

Specific job duties include but are not limited to:

• Prepare notices for hearing, draft Administrative Orders by Consent (AOC's), manage enforcement cases from beginning to end, directly negotiate AOCs to resolution and prepare settlement documents to resolve enforcement actions.
• This position works with the operator (or its attorney) and ECMC staff to ensure that all violations by the operator are well-documented, that the appropriate corrective action and penalty assessed are included, and that any additional information that can be provided by the operator is incorporated into the final AOC.
• Will identify witnesses and exhibits, prepare witnesses, prepare direct and cross examination, prepare opening and closing statements, and prepare draft and final Commission enforcement orders.
• Assist and consult with management to provide technical staff operational guidance and direction on the ECMC enforcement and compliance program and the issuance of Notices of Alleged Violation (NOAVs).
• Work with engineering, environmental, compliance, permitting, production, and financial assurance units to implement a consistent approach to compliance and the initiation of enforcement actions by issuance of NOAVs.
• Training, preparing process flow documents, determining enforcement priorities, reviewing existing and draft NOAVs, operator outreach regarding systemic or discrete compliance issues, preparing penalty calculations, project managing a warning process with another unit, or preparing suggested regulatory and statutory changes that would improve the enforcement process.
• Works with ECMC staff to assess compliance issues ranging from field operations, to environmental impacts, to un-submitted paperwork and ensures that when an enforcement matter is initiated against an oil and gas operator, all other aspects of its operations are assessed so that any additional violations are included in any enforcement action taken.

Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications, Substitutions, Conditions of Employment & Appeal Rights

This posting is only open to residents of the State of Colorado at the time of submitting your application.

Minimum Qualifications:

Experience Only:

Seven (7) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position

OR

Education and Experience:

A combination of related education and/or relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned equal to seven (7) years.

AND

Experience and/or education related to reading, writing, interpreting and applying legal documents, regulations, statutes, etc.

Substitutions:

Additional appropriate education will substitute for the required experience on a year-for-year basis.

Please note: The required experience must be substantiated within the work experience section of your application. Your resume will not be reviewed to determine if you meet the minimum qualifications; only the work experience section of your application will be reviewed to determine this. "See Resume" statements on the application will not be accepted. In addition, part-time work will be prorated.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Current or former State experience relevant to this position.
• Knowledge and/or experience with Colorado oil and gas industry, including current rules and regulations.
• Knowledge and/or experience with ECMC rules, regulations, and regulatory processes.
• Law degree from an accredited institution.
• Excellent legal writing and legal research skills.
• Professional experience participating in trials and hearings.
• Demonstrable experience in negotiations, including crafting and memorializing settlements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, to include public speaking.
• Experience managing multiple projects with differing deadlines in order to meet agency needs.
• Experience negotiating and/or enforcing legal agreements.

The current work arrangement for this position is as follows: (Please note, this arrangement can be subject to change)

• Hybrid: This position will work from a home office with occasional travel to the main Denver office and around the state for meetings and/or hearings as directed by the unit Manager.

Conditions of Employment:

• Colorado residency is required at the time of application.
• This is a Remote/Hybrid position - Work is primarily performed from a home office, however the selected candidate must be willing and able to, at times, report to the office at 1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801 - Denver, CO or other locations for meetings, training, and projects as directed by the unit Manager.
• Former employees of the state of Colorado must have concluded employment in good standing to be eligible for rehire.
• You must be legally eligible to work in the United States to be appointed to this position. DNR does not sponsor non-residents of the United States.
• Travel to out of town hearings of the ECMC, with the possibility of overnight stays will be required.
• Must possess and maintain a valid state of Colorado driver's license if operating a State vehicle.

Supplemental Information

The Assessment Process:

• All applications received by the closing of this announcement will be reviewed by an HR Specialist against the Minimum Qualifications

Colorado Department of Transportation