STATE OF CONNECTICUT EXECUTIVE BRANCH JOBS

Environmental Protection Program Specialist (Natural Resources)

Recruitment #240814-3429EE-001

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Introduction


Looking to advance in your career with the State of Connecticut?
Explore this opportunity with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) below!

Did you know that Connecticut is the 4th most populated and 14th most forested state in the US? Connecticut has the highest urban tree cover (UTC) in the nation (62%), but lacks an equitable distribution of the resource, fostering greater vulnerabilities to climate change. The need for urban and community forestry investment and stewardship has never been greater, and CT DEEP Forestry is growing its Urban & Community Forestry Program as a result.

We are looking to hire an Environmental Protection Program Specialist (Natural Resources), located in Hartford.

POSITION DETAILS
This is an exciting opportunity to oversee and coordinate Connecticut's Urban and Community Forestry Program, which is tasked with promoting UTC equity through urban and community forestry technical and financial assistance statewide. Housed within the Division of Forestry, the UCF coordinator will play a key role in communicating and collaborating with other related programs within the agency to identify areas of overlap and potential complementary programing. Related programs within the Forestry Division include Service Forestry and outside of may include the office of Environmental Justice, Climate Planning, Outreach and Engagement, Bureau of Water Protection and Land Reuse among others.

Position-specific duties can be found in the "Examples of Duties" section below.

This is a full-time, 35 hour per week position on first shift. The position is based out of Hartford, with hybrid work opportunities available.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
We take part in a competitive benefits plan which includes:
  • NEW: Visit our State Employee Benefits Overview page!
  • Generous paid time off (vacation, sick and personal);
  • Excellent health, dental and supplemental benefits;
  • Eligibility to apply for Federal Student Loan Forgiveness Program.
For an inside look at how State of Connecticut employees Make an ImpaCT, watch the video below!
 

Selection Plan

In order to be considered for this job opening you must be a current State of CT employee of the agency listed above for at least six (6) months of full-time service or full-time equivalent service, absent any applicable collective bargaining language, and meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on the job opening.  You must specify your qualifications on your application. 

FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING:  Please read or watch our Applicant Tips on How to Apply!

To Apply:
• In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on this job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.
• The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
• Ensure that your application is complete and detailed before submitting it. In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process. You will not be able to make revisions once your application is submitted into the JobAps system.
• All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.

Important Information After You Apply:
• This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the questionnaire's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.
• Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.
• 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.
• The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
• Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.

Should you have any questions pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Jake Ferrari at jake.ferrari@ct.gov.

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

  • Provide strategic oversight of CT's Urban and Community Forestry (UCF) Program;
  • Supervise and serve as the day-to-day point of contact for UCF program staff;
  • Oversee and coordinate inter-agency collaborations with statewide technical resources as they pertain to the CT UCF Program;
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for CT's UCF Program internally and externally and to provide comment on UCF-related legislation and dockets;
  • Pursue competitive and con-competitive funding opportunities (e.g., grants) to secure key resources for the UCF Program;
  • Write and manage the UCF Program budget(s);
  • Develop and oversee the administration of a robust UCF sub-grant program(s);
  • Conduct annual federal reporting for the UCF Program and ensure the Program remains in compliance with federal programmatic guidelines;
  • Manage contracts and oversee financial pass throughs with CT UCF partner agencies;
  • Develop and maintain statewide UCF datasets, including but not limited to geospatial datasets;
  • Submit recommendations for developing rules and regulations governing forestry programs;
  • Develop or assist in the development of UCF policy;
  • Present and provide educational opportunities for statewide and regional audiences;
  • Coordinates or directs fire fighting, protection and control activities when required;
  • May act as a consultant (i.e., provide technical assistance) to UCF landowners in matters concerning management of natural resources;
  • May conduct and analyze or assist in the analysis of socioeconomic research and use data to inform the status of forestry resources and management thereof
  • May serve as the Bureau's lead for multi-jurisdictional forestry commissions or similar entities that require technical support;
  • Performs related duties as required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

  • Knowledge of principles and practices of silviculture and urban & community forestry;
  • 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 applying for competitive and non-competitive funding opportunities pertaining to urban and community forestry;
  • Experience managing one or more grant programs;
  • Experience writing and managing programmatic budgets;
  • Experience developing and executing a contract;
  • Experience developing or assisting in the development of urban and community forestry policy;
  • Experience assisting environmental justice communities in urban and community forestry planning or management;
  • Experience liaising with internal and external program partners;
  • Experience providing urban and community forestry technical assistance;
  • Experience overseeing the day-to-day performance of program support staff.

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.




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