The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has a full-time opportunity available for an Air Quality Planner (Natural Resource Specialist 4) at Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

Initial Posting Date: 09/05/2019

Application Deadline:09/29/2019

Agency:Department of Environmental Quality

Salary Range:$4,851 – $7,104

Position Type:Employee

Position Title:Air Quality Planner (Natural Resource Specialist 4)

Job Description:

With more than 30,000 employees who are dedicated to making Oregon a fantastic place to live work, and play, the State of Oregon enterprise is comprised of a diverse group of employees who are passionate about public service. At the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, employees have the opportunity to work with a dynamic and supportive team of mission focused individuals tasked with maintaining, restoring, and enhancing the quality of Oregon’s air, land, and water.

Ready to make a positive impact on community health across Oregon? The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has a full-time opportunity available for an Air Quality Planner (Natural Resource Specialist 4) at Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.

What you will do!

This position will serve as a technical expert responsible for the development and implementation of local and statewide air pollution reduction strategies.  The position serves as an air quality planner supporting efforts to reduce air pollution from a wide variety of sources. This work involves leading DEQ and stakeholder teams to gather scientific, policy, legal, and other information, including public input, to formulate policy, regulations, and programs that satisfy state and federal law as well as the agency’s strategic goals for air quality. This work may address multiple types of air pollutants, including criteria pollutants (such as ozone or fine particulate), toxic air pollutants (i.e. air toxics), regional haze, and greenhouse gas pollution.

In addition to the various planning duties assigned, this position will partner with the Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Health Authority to reduce the impacts air pollution from prescribed fire activity. This position will serve as a technical expert in forest management practices and the implementation of alternatives to prescribed fire for forest residue management. Also, this position participate in a team working on evaluate Oregon’s progress towards our Regional Haze goal.

This position will be responsible for outcomes of major significance to the agency and state, and must weigh and manage a wide range of factors and uncertainties to develop policy and regulatory proposals for action including evaluating and considering technical, policy, legal, and political risks as well as stakeholder and public input.

Please note: First review of application will take place on September 19th, 2019. Applications will continue to be accepted after the date of first review until a sufficient pool has been received.

What’s in it for you!

The opportunity to join a dynamic team of mission focused individuals tasked with maintaining, restoring, and enhancing the quality of Oregon’s air, water, and land.  We offer medical, dental, and vision health benefits with paid sick leave, vacation, personal leave, and 10 paid holidays a year. Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program: If you are employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, you may be able to receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF). Learn more to see whether you qualify at PSLF Program. If you are passionate about Oregon’s environment, apply today!
 

This is a full-time, exempt, AFSCME represented position.
This recruitment may be used to fill limited duration and/or permanent future vacancies.

What are we looking for?

• Bachelor’s degree in a physical science, environmental science, or closely related field, AND 4 years of experience in a natural resource or environmental field (an equivalent combination of education and experience is acceptable). At least 1 year of experience at a technical or professional level performing activities in a natural resource program such as researching and analyzing data, conducting investigations, applying pertinent laws and regulations, or coordinating and monitoring project activities.
• Background or work experience in forest management, particularly in the use of prescribed fire.
• Background or work experience in smoke models and how they can be used to forecast smoke impacts from prescribed fire activities.
• Background or work experience in the implementation of Oregon’s Smoke Management Plan.
• Background or work experience in Regional Haze, the pollutants of concern, and how States (particularly Western States), have planned to improve visibility.
• A life-long learner that has gained diverse technical and/or project management background.
• Experience drafting State Implementation Plans.
• Experience analyzing air quality related data, identifying source contributions of that data, designing control strategies to reduce air pollution, and drafting policy recommendations to meet air quality objectives.
• Ability to evaluate and synthesize technical information in order to negotiate progress towards project objectives.
• Experience in reviewing and/or drafting state and federal Air Quality permits.
• Facilitation experience, working with multiple parties with competing interests to achieve common goals.
• Experience negotiating with regulated parties to ensure progress and to achieve shared objectives.

How to Apply:

To apply for this position, please follow the “Apply” link above and complete the online application and all supplemental questions.

Please be sure to attach a resume and cover letter. You must submit these at the beginning of the application process when it asks for a resume. You may attach more than 1 item in this section.

Veterans Information:

DEQ provides veterans’ preference points to all eligible veterans. For more information, please go here: https://www.oregon.gov/jobs/Pages/Veterans.aspx. For privacy reasons, please do not attach veterans’ preference documents when initially applying. You will be asked to submit those once you’ve submitted your application via a pop-up with a veterans’ preference questionnaire.

Questions/Need Help?

If you have questions about the recruitment or need assistance to participate in the application process, please contact Carrie Adams, Human Resources Analyst, at adams.carrie@deq.state.or.us or (503) 229-5963.

DEQ strives to create inclusive environments that welcome and value the diversity of the people we serve. DEQ fosters fairness, equity, and inclusion to create workplace environments where everyone is treated with respect and dignity regardless of race, color, religion, sex, disability, physical stature, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, political affiliation, and any other factor applicable by state or federal law.