Environmental Program Specialist 4 (PCN 187850)

Environmental Program Specialist 4

The Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Water is recruiting an Environmental Program Specialist 4 position in the Compliance Program. You will work with a team of experienced professionals across the beautiful State of Alaska to make a difference in protecting water quality, human health, and the environment. The position assists the Division through supervision of three professional level staff located in the Anchorage offices, through the assignment and completion of inspections, and the development of reports issued to the regulated community which outline observations, violations, or areas of concern. The primary duties of this position are to conduct inspection at Alaska Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (APDES) facilities along with the supervision of staff who perform similar duties.

The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation staff is dedicated to conserving, improving, and protecting Alaska's natural resources and environment to enhance the health, safety, economic, and social well-being of Alaskans.

By joining the Compliance Program, you will have the opportunity to work in and see amazing parts of the State of Alaska. You will become a member of a hard-working team in a face-paced environment and be surrounded by a wealth of knowledge. Members of this team enjoy many opportunities to grow your knowledge base, communication skills, and outdoorsmen skillset. Working for the Department of Environmental Conservation provides a stable, but flexible, and at times remote, work schedule, and the satisfaction of knowing that the work you do with the regulated community and protecting the environment really does a difference.

The work environment of this position will be primarily in an office setting, with opportunities to travel across the State for inspections throughout the year. The position is being recruited Statewide you will work with other inspectors in the Anchorage, Wasilla, and Juneau offices and have daily communication with your Supervisor in the Anchorage office. Due to the nature of the work, frequency of travel, and being a part of a team located across the State, remote work may be available after your probationary period (typically 1 year). The normal day to day of this position will require coordination with other sections within the Division of Water, other Departments, the regulated community, and Federal, City, and State agencies.

We are looking for a candidate that has experience in the following areas:

• Accountability: Holds self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost effective results. Determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work. Accepts responsibility for own actions and decisions. Complies with established control systems and rules.
• Attention to Detail: Is thorough when performing work and conscientious about attending to detail.
• Compliance: Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.
• Compliance Inspection: Knowledge of the guidelines, regulations, and procedures associated with compliance inquiries, including application of compliance rules and criteria and ability to make appropriate decisions and issue citations, fines, or orders.
• Conflict Management: Encourages creative tension and differences of opinions. Anticipates and takes steps to prevent counter-productive confrontations. Manages and resolves conflicts and disagreements in a constructive manner.
• Flexibility: Is open to change and new information; adapts behavior or work methods in response to new information, changing conditions, or unexpected obstacles; effectively deals with ambiguity.
• Influencing/Negotiating: Persuades others; builds consensus through give and take; gains cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals.
• Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.
• Managing Performance: Takes responsibility for employees' performance by setting and communicating expectations and goals that are specific and measurable, tracking progress against the goals, supporting employees' efforts to achieve job goals (by providing resources, removing obstacles, acting as a buffer, etc.), ensuring feedback, and addressing performance problems and issues promptly.
• Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral and written presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Planning and Evaluating: Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource requirements; determines short- or long-term goals and strategies to achieve them; coordinates with other organizations or parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors progress and evaluates outcomes.
• Problem Solving: Identifies and analyzes problems; weighs relevance and accuracy of information; generates and evaluates alternative solutions; makes recommendations.
• Supervision: Plans, distributes, and monitors work assignments; sets task priorities; evaluates work performance and provides feedback to others on their performance; ensures that staff are appropriately selected, utilized, and developed, and that they are treated in a fair and equitable manner. Assignments include the authority and responsibility to recommend or independently take action to employ (i.e., appoint, transfer, promote), discipline or discharge, or adjudicate grievances of direct reports.
• Team Building: Inspires and fosters team commitment, spirit, pride, and trust. Facilitates cooperation and motivates team members to accomplish group goals.

Special Notice:

• Valid drivers license is required
• Basic and Advanced Inspector Training (can be obtained after hire)
• This position requires frequent travel, often by small plan, boat, or other means of transportation. The applicant should expect to travel multiple times monthly, with some travel being multiple days which will require overnight accommodations.

Minimum Qualifications

This job class uses competency based minimum qualifications. Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

Competency Description

The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations, as opposed to specific tasks, and are to be used only as parameters and guidelines. A competency's description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to successfully meet the competency, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options as to how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with the following competencies:

• Scientific Research - Knowledge of the concepts, principles, and theories of scientific principles related to environmental, ecological, biological, or physical science and the methods, and processes used to conduct a systematic and objective inquiry; including study design, collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; and the reporting of results.
• Compliance - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.
• Decision Making - Makes sound, well-informed, and objective decisions; perceives the impact and implications of decisions; commits to action, even in uncertain situations, to accomplish organizational goals; causes change.
• Oral Communication - Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.
• Project Management - Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance.

Equivalent to those typically gained by: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college in an environmental, physical, biological, or natural science; engineering; planning; or natural resources. AND Professional experience evaluating, documenting, and monitoring environmental and socio-economic impacts of changes in the built environment or applying environmental regulations and pollution controls for damage recovery or to protect or improve environmental quality.

Additional Required Information

Documents required at the time of the interview:

• Educational Transcripts (if using them to show competency)
• Three professional references

Legal employment: The State's online recruitment system, Workplace Alaska, requires applicants to certify that they have a legal right to accept employment in the United States. It is the responsibility of the employee to maintain the appropriate documentation to accept or continue legal employment. The State of Alaska does not function in the role as an