Environmental Protection Program Specialist (Natural Resources)

State of Connecticut • Full-time • Hartford, Connecticut • 1d ago

Introduction

The State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), has an exciting opportunity for an Environmental Protection Program Specialist within the Forest Protection Program.

What We Can Offer You

Visit our NEWState Employee Benefits Overview page!
Professional growth and development opportunities
A healthy work/life balance to all employees
The State of Connecticut is an eligible Public Service Loan Forgiveness employer, meaning you may be eligible to have qualifying student loans forgiven after 10 years of service. Click here for more information.

Position Highlights

In this role, you will provide direct leadership and supervision to Fire Control Officers and coordinate cooperatively with other Bureaus within the Agency maintaining statewide Agency wildfire response readiness through training and communication. This position also leads the Agency response to national and international mutual aide response for wildfires and other natural and human caused disasters.

Responsibilities of this role include:

Scheduling, assigning, overseeing and reviewing work of staff;
Providing staff training and assistance;
Conducting performance evaluations;
Determining forest protection program priorities and plans;
Establishing and maintaining program procedures;
Developing or making recommendations on development of policies and standards;
Acting as liaison with other operating units, agencies and outside officials regarding program policies and procedures;
Prepares reports and correspondence;
Directing, supervising and coordinating the compiling and analysis of statistics and data;
Analyzing data and preparing projects and other reports;
Reviewing prescribed burn and forestry plans to ensure consistency with program objectives;
Acting as a departmental representative at technical and professional meetings;
Advising the Division Director on pertinent matters;
Assisting in preparation of financial reports, budgets and federal grant requests; performs related duties as required;
Coordinating and directing the work of Fire Control Officers, Foresters, and others directly involved with prescribed fire management and wildfire suppression;
Administering municipal firefighting reimbursements;
Ensuring annual training and maintaining qualification standards for state employees and non-state members of Connecticut's in state and interstate wildland fire crew;
Coordinating State lands prescribe burning and special burn permits on private and municipal lands.

Additional responsibilities will include:

Managing federally funded volunteer and state fire assistance grants, interim and annual compliance reporting, cost-share expense tracking and contract compliance, federal excess property, and hazard mitigation projects.
Coordinating Agency participation in Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Compact.
Fulfilling northeast regional and national responsibilities assigned through the Northeastern Interagency Coordination Center, USDA Forest Service, and FEMA.
Coordinating DEEP response to invasive forest pests through MOU with Connecticut Agriculture Experiment Station including, early pest detection, delimiting surveys, other public outreach and education.

About Us

DEEP's Forestry Division encourages the long-term practice of responsible and sustainable forest management. We accomplish this by:

Protecting Connecticut's forest resources from the effects of fire, insects, disease, and misuse.
Providing accurate and timely information about Connecticut's forest resources.
Certifying forest practitioners
Managing the State Forests, in which exist many large blocks of unfragmented forest land
Engaging municipalities and citizens in the work of urban forestry and;
Providing guidance, education, and technical assistance to private forestland owners.

Learn more about our Forestry Division by navigating to this link.

Selection Plan

FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING:

Check out our Applicant Tips on How to Apply! Need more resources? Visit our Applicant Toolkit for additional support throughout the recruitment process.

BEFORE YOU APPLY:

Meet Minimum Qualifications: Ensure you meet the Minimum Qualifications listed on the job opening by the job closing date. You must specify your qualifications on your application. The minimum experience and training requirements listed must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
Educational Credits: List your earned credits and degrees from accredited institutions accurately on your application. To receive educational credits towards qualification, the institution must be accredited. If the institution of higher learning is located outside of the U.S., you are responsible for providing documentation from a recognized USA accrediting service which specializes in determining foreign education equivalencies to the contact listed below by the closing date listed on the job posting.
Resume Policy: Per Public Act 21-69, resumes are not accepted during the initial application process. As the recruitment process progresses, candidates may be required to submit additional documentation to support their qualification(s) for this position. This documentation may include: a cover letter, resume, transcripts, diplomas, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the request and discretion of the hiring agency.
Preferred Shift/Location: Select all location(s) and shift(s) you are willing to work on your application. Failure to do so may result in not being considered for vacancies in that specific location or shift.
Timely Submission: All application materials must be received by the job posting deadline. You will be unable to make revisions once you officially submit your application to the State. Late submissions are rarely accepted, with exceptions only for documented events that incapacitate individuals during the entire duration of the job posting. Request exceptions by emailing DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.
Salary Calculations: For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e., Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.
Note: The only way to apply to this posting is via the ‘Apply’ or ‘Apply Online’ buttons on the official State of Connecticut Online Employment Center job posting.

AFTER YOU APPLY:

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Referral Questions: This posting may require completion of additional Referral Questions (RQs), which must be completed by the questionnaire’s expiration date. If requested, RQs can be accessed via an email sent to you after the job close date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section).
Prepare For An Interview: Interviews are limited to those whose experience and training are most aligned with the role. To prepare, review this helpful Interview Preparation Guide to make the best impression!
Stay connected! Log in daily to your JobAps Personal Status Board to track your status and check email (including spam/junk folders) for updates and tasks.
The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
Note: This position will be filled in accordance with contractual language, reemployment, SEBAC, transfer, promotion and merit employment rules. Candidates who are offered and accept a position with the State of Connecticut are bound by the State Code of Ethics for Public Officials and State employees, available at www.ct.gov/ethics.

QUESTIONS? WE’RE HERE TO HELP:

Due to high volume, we are unable to confirm receipt or provide status updates directly. For recruitment updates, please check your Personal Status Board and review our Frequently Asked Questions. If you have additional questions about the recruitment process, reach out to Mackenzie Robinson at Mackenzie.Robinson @ct.gov.

Join the State of Connecticut and take your next career step with confidence!

PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)

In the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection this class is accountable for overseeing major, complex and/or specialized natural resources programs, grants and/or projects as well as acting as a technical advisor to field/staff.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

Serves as bureau’s federal aid coordinator in program area;
Administers federal, state and private grants;
Prepares fishery and wildlife management plans and projects;
Provides direction for Master Woodland Manager Program;
Monitors field work to document, evaluate and ensure adherence to scientific and technical criteria set forth in grant agreements;
Submits recommendations for developing rules and regulations governing fisheries, forestry and wildlife programs;
Develops or assists in development of fisheries, forestry and wildlife program policy;
Coordinates fisheries, forestry and wildlife programs with federal or state agencies and private organizations;
Assists with bureau’s annual budget development and oversight;
May act as consultant to private landowners in matters concerning management of natural resources;
May inspect land management projects to determine effects on wildlife;
May conduct and analyze socioeconomic research and analyze socioeconomic data to inform on status of fisheries, forestry and wildlife resources;
May serve as bureau’s technical lead for multi-jurisdictional fisheries, forestry and wildlife commissions or similar entities that require technical support;
Performs related duties as required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

Considerable knowledge of
- fisheries and wildlife biology and management;
- fish and wildlife habitat and environmental factors affecting fish and wildlife populations;
Knowledge of principles and practices of silviculture;
Considerable
- oral and written communication skills;
- interpersonal skills;
Ability to
- prepare and administer grants;
- evaluate natural resources program effectiveness;
- utilize computer software;
Supervisory ability.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE

Eight (8) years of technical experience in fisheries, forestry or wildlife management.

NOTE:

Fisheries management is defined as work requiring a knowledge of scientific fields such as ichthyology, fishery biology, fish population dynamics, ecology, limnology, fish taxonomy, fishery statistics, aquatic entomology and aquatic psychology.
Forest management is defined as work requiring a knowledge of scientific fields such as dendrology, silvics and silviculture, engineering, forest economics, forest influences and forest pathology, urban forestry, entomology and application of their principles to productions of goods and services.
Wildlife management is defined as work requiring knowledge of scientific fields such as wildlife biology, zoology, entomology, ornithology, mammalogy, dendrology, wildlife ecology, wildlife taxonomy and statistics.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED

College training in biology, fisheries management, forestry or wildlife management or a related field may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
A Master's degree in biology, fisheries management, forestry or wildlife management or a related field may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

Experience in application of forest protection state agency policies and procedures and forest protection state and federal laws, statutes, and regulations.
Experience in State and Federal Grants administration.
Experience supervising natural resource or wildfire related professional and technical staff.
Experience in application of principles and practices of forest fire control, forest resource protection from fire, insects and disease, prescribed fire for vegetation and wildlife habitat improvement.
Experience with National Fire Danger Rating System, fuels, fire behavior, and how the National Fire Danger Rating System is affected by changes in fire weather.
Experience with fire organizations under an organized incident command system, including initial attack and extended attack as defined by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC).
Experience with fire cause investigation, fire law enforcement, evidence preservation, interviewing techniques, and court presentation.
Experience using oral and written communication to train, direct and evaluate employees in fire suppression and firefighting techniques.
Experience writing technical reports.

Conclusion

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.