Description
*This position is expected to last one (1) calendar year*
Schedule and Location: Monday-Friday 8am-5pm flexible schedule available
RCO is head-quartered in Olympia, WA on the state's capital campus. RCO will consider candidates that can successfully do this job from another location (in-state only) with occasional travel to Olympia for meetings and other functions.Who we are:The Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) is a small state agency located in Olympia, Washington that plans for and provides funding to: create and maintain opportunities for recreation; protect the best of the state's wild lands, farms, and forests; and recover salmon.RCO strives to maintain a workplace that is respectful, inclusive and family-friendly where all team members feel safe to bring their true selves to work. We believe in a culture where everyone continually improves and has the opportunity to lead.The core competencies for all RCO team members are communication, customer service, integrity, self-management, and teamwork.
At RCO we envision:A state that has abundant outdoor recreation spaces, healthy habitats, and working farms and forests that support people, fish, and wildlife.What you will be doing:This position supports the Washington Invasive Species Council, which is administratively hosted by the RCO. The Washington Invasive Species Council was established by the Legislature in 2006 and is tasked to provide policy-level direction and foster communication and coordination among numerous agencies and organizations that address invasive species prevention, early detection and response, and education.
This position supports the council’s mission as the primary staff person responsible for implementing annual plans for communications, outreach and education. The position will be the leader in synthesizing outreach and education messages, tracking metrics and project performance, and will support and facilitate meetings and workgroups that align with the council’s statewide strategic plan to prevent and stop invasive species. The position will work collaboratively with the council's Executive Coordinator, council leadership and members, other partners, and the public to achieve the goals and objectives of the council.
Duties
The position will primarily interact with the RCO invasive species council executive coordinator in addition to other RCO staff as needed. Approximately 80% of position interactions will be collaborative with council members and project partners with external organizations such as Washington State University, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Washington State Department of Agriculture. It is expected that the person has a highly developed ability to communicate and build working relationships with diverse organizations and groups with differing missions, goals and objectives, styles, and views.
Some of what you’ll enjoy doing:
- Lead implementation of annual outreach plan.
- Responsible for execution of long-term outreach campaigns.
- Create monthly batches of social media content.
- Perform analysis of key engagement metrics that are available.
- Review existing outreach among WISC members and identify gaps and overlaps for the council.
- Compile risk data from council members for assessment tool development.
- Draft economic impact updates from the economic technical committee.
- Track pathway analyses and summarizes findings.
- Create training materials and prevention toolkits, especially at local levels for public use
- Create and maintain a living list of member agency invasive species programs and state and federal funding streams.
- Implement communication toolkits developed for Tribal and municipal partners.
- Coordinate logistics to set up and run meetings for advisory panels.
- Draft panel meeting summaries, and recommendation reports.
- Track research publications and emerging threats communicated from member agencies.
- Coordinate workshops and drills.
- Track available Early Detection, Rapid Response metrics.
- Work with agencies to close the loop on response actions so WISC gets feedback essential to metric tracking.
- Develop dashboards summarizing management progress.
- Review website for possible enhancements related to data sharing and act as a hub for regulatory classification synthesis.
- QA/QC storage of documents and files online.
Qualifications
REQUIRED:
Valid driver's license, free from serious traffic violations.
Seven years of professional experience involving environmental analysis or control, environmental planning, environmental education, community outreach, or communications activities; or equivalent education/experience.
* Relevant education will substitute year-for-year for experience, up to 4 years.
Required Competencies:
- Leadership and Implementation - Proven ability to implement multi-year strategic and work plans. Experience building consensus on deliverables, schedules, and scopes of work among diverse stakeholders.
- Project Management - Demonstrated experience managing complex, multi-agency projects.
- Stakeholder Engagement and Coordination - Experience collaborating with tribal governments, federal/state/local agencies, and private sector partners. Skilled in facilitating inclusive dialogue and representing multi-interest groups.
- Communication and Public Engagement - Strong oral and written communication skills. Comfortable giving presentations, leading public meetings, and responding to public inquiries. Familiar with current standards for developing and managing content across social media accounts and websites.
- Invasive Species or Natural Resource Knowledge - Working knowledge of invasive species management, prevention, and ecological impacts. Understanding of inventory, monitoring, and control strategies relevant to natural resource sectors.
- Technology and Digital Tools - Proficiency with standard office software, web content management (e.g., for website updates), social media, and virtual meeting tools.
- Communication - Effectively express ideas and information through the spoken and/or word using language that is appropriate to both the complexity of the topic and the knowledge and understanding of the audience. Communicate openly and honestly with staff and management.
- Customer Service - Build and maintain internal and external customer satisfaction with the products and services offered by the organization. Consistently go beyond basic service expectations to help customers implement complete solutions.
- Integrity - Earn the trust, respect, and confidence of co-workers and customers through consistent honesty, forthrightness, and professionalism in all interactions.
- Self-Management - Identify what needs to be done and proactively takes appropriate action. Recognize situations that warrant assertive action and move forward without hesitation. Get the job done. Be accountable for work and consistently achieve excellent, timely results with little need for oversight.
- Teamwork - Actively partner with co-workers to provide them with assistance, information, techniques, instruction, feedback, and encouragement to maximize their successes on the job. Emphasize team approach to providing excellent customer service.
- Ability to Take Action to Learn and Grow – Practices self-awareness by reflecting on personal strengths, growth areas, and biases.
- Ability to Take Action to Meet the Needs of Others – Flexible, adaptable, customer service focused, and willing and able to empathically respond to the unique needs of the people they work with and serve.
PREFERRED:
- Bachelor’s degree involving major study in environmental, physical, or natural science, education, communications or closely related field.
- Policy Awareness - Familiarity with state and federal legislative processes.
- Equity and Inclusion - Demonstrated commitment to inclusive engagement and equity-focused program implementation. Experience working respectfully with diverse communities and tribal nations.
- Independent Research and Analysis - Ability to conduct or commission research on emerging threats, policy issues, or best practices. Experience developing pilot programs, evaluations, or strategic public education campaigns.
Supplemental Information
How to apply:
In addition to completing the online application, you must attach the following documents to your profile or paste into the "text resume" field in order to be considered for this position:
- A letter of interest(no more than 2 pages in length) explaining how your past experiences make you an ideal candidate for this position and what exceptional skills you would bring to RCO;
- A current resume, detailing experience, education, and other relevant interests;
- A current list of at least three (3) professional referenceswith current contact information (attached or available to provide at the time of interview)
NOTE: By submitting these materials, you are indicating that all information is true and correct. The state may verify information. Any untruthful or misleading information is cause for removal from the applicant pool or dismissal if employed. A resume will not substitute for completing the “duties summary” section or supplemental questions of the application. Please do not “refer to resume” for detail, or your application may be disqualified.
Union Inclusion:
This position is included in a bargaining unit represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE).Opportunity for All: The Recreation and Conservation Office celebrates our differences and we are committed to a workplace that supports equal opportunity employment and inclusion regardless of race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, marital status, families with children (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), sex, sexual orientation, gender identity diversity, age, status as a protected veteran, honorably discharged veteran or military status, status as an individual with the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with disabilities or other applicable legally protected characteristics. We will also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local laws.You are welcome to include the name and pronoun you would like to be referred to in your materials and we will honor this as you interact with our organization.Contact us:If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact Anita Macpherson at Anita.Macpherson@rco.wa.gov
For questions about this recruitment or to request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact Angie Anderson atjobs@des.wa.gov.
Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388 or access the Washington Relay Service.
