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Keeping Washington Clean and Evergreen 
As our community responds to the public health emergency, the Department of Ecology’s priority is to keep our staff, candidates and the public safe. Thank you for your patience and we will be in touch as soon as we are able. We encourage you to apply to open postings. 
Protecting Washington State's environment for current and future generations is what we do every day at Ecology. We have a culture that is invested in making a difference. If you want to join a team that is highly effective, collaborative, with leadership that embraces the value of people, Ecology is a great fit.
The Air Quality Program (AQ) is looking to fill an Air Quality Planner (Environmental Planner 3) (In-Training) position. The position will be located in our Headquarters Building in Lacey, WA.
This position performs activities directed at meeting federal and state of Washington air quality standards and minimizing public health problems. 
 As an independent project manager, this position will:
  • Develop new or revise existing air quality rules to comply with state and federal requirements and to minimize health impacts.
  • Plan, direct and coordinate rulemaking and State Implementation Plan (SIP) projects.
  • Analyze options and background materials for use by program management, EPA, and stakeholders.
  • Develop SIPs required by the US EPA.
  • Develop policies and provide written and oral recommendations to management for program and agency action.
  • Ensure that the assigned projects are implemented in accordance with management direction and agency's priorities and on schedule.
  • Coordinate work of technical staff assigned to a project.
  • Maintain communications with and among committees and with local air authority partners, regional organizations, public and private interests, and the EPA.
We are looking for applicants who possess excellent people skills, have the ability to work with diverse groups, have training and/or experience in technical writing, policy development and project management, and meeting and work-group facilitation skills.
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.
To learn more about The Department of Ecology, please visit our website at www.ecology.wa.gov and follow, like or visit us on LinkedInTwitterFacebookInstagram or our blog. 
Local efforts... Diverse people... Statewide impacts
 
The Air Quality Program's mission is to protect, preserve, and enhance the air quality of Washington to safeguard public health and the environment, and support high quality of life.
As an Air Quality Planner, this position may be assigned to rule writing or SIP development depending on program workload priorities. Below are tasks and responsibilities specific to rulemaking and SIP development as well as general tasks and responsibilities that apply to both rulemaking and SIP development.
This position performs activities directed at meeting federal and state of Washington air quality standards and minimizing public health problems. As an independent project manager, this positions key work activities include:
Rulemaking:
  • Independently coordinates planning, development, and implementation of rulemaking and policy related to all aspects of air pollution regulations.   
  • Prepares all required documents for each phase of rulemaking, including, but not limited to, rule development plans, environmental checklists, written responses to comments, implementation plans, technical reports, and air quality administrative regulations.   
  • Writes preliminary rule language for stakeholder and management consideration; consults and negotiates with groups internal and external to Ecology to reach a recommendation to management for the final rule language; and finalizes rule language to comply with and implement federal and state environmental statutes.  
  • Prepares rules for EPA approval into the State Implementation Plan, when applicable. 
SIP Development: 
  • Independently coordinates planning, analysis and development of submittal packages for State Implementation Plans.   
  • Prepares all required documents, including draft and final SIP submittal documents, written response to comments, and director briefing materials. 
General tasks applicable to both rulemaking and SIP development:
  • As rule development or SIP project manager, works with others within the AQP, including engineering and scientific staff in the formulation and evaluation of rule language, SIP submittals, and policy initiatives. Coordinates the work of technical and planning staff on a project basis.   
  • Works with communications and outreach staff to develop and implement communications plans, outreach strategies and tools, and websites for rulemaking and SIP submittal projects.  
  • Holds public meetings and hearings.  
  • Develops policies, reports, and other informational materials that evaluate air pollution control and prevention strategies.  
To broaden the candidate pool, we will consider candidates that qualify at the Environmental Planner 2 or 3 levels. Please read the qualifications section below to learn more about this exciting career growth and in-training opportunity.
This recruitment will remain open until filled. The initial screening will be December 15, 2020. In order to be considered for the initial screening, please submit an application on or before December 14, 2020. The agency reserves the right to make an appointment any time after the initial screening date.
The goal class for this position is an Environmental Planner 3 (EP3). We will consider applicants who meet the requirements for the Environmental Planner 2 or 3 levels. If the finalist meets the requirements for the EP2 level, they will be placed into a training program to become an EP3 within a specified period of time.
Required Qualifications:
At the Environmental Planner 3 level: Pay Range 57 – ($4,974 - $6,534) Monthly
A Master's degree or above with a major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related scientific field.
AND
Two (2) years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, natural resource, or public policy planning, environmental permitting, air quality monitoring, engineering, and/or program development.
OR
One year of experience as an Environmental Planner 2 at the Department of Ecology.  
Two years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development, will substitute for the Master's degree provided a Bachelor's degree in a field listed above or a natural science has been achieved.
At the Environmental Planner 2 level: Pay Range 50 – ($4,188 - $5,494) Monthly
A Master's degree or above with major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related scientific field.
AND
One (1) year of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource or public policy planning, environmental permitting, air quality monitoring, engineering, and/or program development.
OR
One year of experience as an Environmental Planner 1 at the Department of Ecology. 
Two years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development, will substitute for the Master's degree provided a Bachelor's degree in a field listed above or a natural science has been achieved.
Desired Qualifications:
Applicants should have or be able to achieve quickly the following personal competencies expected for this position:
  • Planning: Be able to identify tasks, activities, work plans and timelines needed to achieve key results and to organize and prioritize work accordingly to meet critical strategic goals and established timelines. 
  • Policy Development: Have a basic knowledge of policy development processes and an interest in further developing skills such as being able to identify issues, positions, and interests of various parties and craft strategies accordingly. 
  • Project Management: Effectively direct and integrate all aspects of a project, ensuring that work progresses toward achieving goals and objectives and meeting deadlines. 
  • Technical Writing: Be able to learn, understand, and communicate basic air quality science and technical information; be comfortable with data presented in graphical and tabular format, and be able to understand or learn statistical concepts and terminology. 
  • Meeting Facilitation: Facilitate productive stakeholder and project team meetings that meet your objectives, allow for decision making, and keep your project moving forward.
Supplemental Information
Application Instructions:
In order to be considered, applicants MUST attach the following documents as an attachment to their application:
  • A cover letter describing how your experience, skills and abilities meet the required/desired qualifications of this position.
  • A resume outlining your professional experience.
Please complete the applicant profile when applying for this position. Or, you may paste the text of your resume within the profile's resume text field.
Please read the supplemental questions carefully and answer completely. Incomplete responses, including "please see resume", may disqualify you from further consideration.
Department of 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 at (360) 407-6186.
If you are reading this announcement in print format, please visit www.careers.wa.gov to access the online recruitment system. Click on "Look for Jobs" and select Dept. of Ecology under the "Department" search list. Click "Apply Search."
Other Information:
If you need assistance applying for this job, please call Human Resources at (360) 407-6186 or e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not call this number or 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 have specific questions about the position, please email Jason Alberich at: jalb461@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not contact Jason to inquire about the status of your application.
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.
This position is included in the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) union bargaining unit for the Department of Ecology.
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.