Ocean Planner (Environmental Planner 3) (Internal Only)

In this role, you will be leading important work to advance ocean management and stewardship off the Pacific coast of Washington State, advancing the development of an Ocean Research Agenda together with the scientific community, and analyzing proposed activities, laws and policies that impact our coastal resources. You will work in collaboration with coastal communities, Tribes, natural resource agencies, and tackle some of the most challenging issues that Washington is facing. You will work alongside a great team of dedicated people who strive to find new ways to address ocean management, scientific research to inform policy decisions, and collaborate with Tribal and coastal interested parties.

Agency Mission: The mission of the Department of Ecology's is to protect, preserve and enhance Washington's environment for current and future generations.

 
Program Mission: The mission of the Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program is to create community conservation partnerships to protect and restore our shorelands, wetlands, and floodplains.

Please Note: This is a project position that is funded until June 30, 2025. The funding for this position has a probability of being converted to permanent pending funding and agency authorization.  
 
Tele-work options for this position: This position will be eligible for up to an 80% tele-work schedule. Applicants with questions about position location options, tele-work, and flexible or compressed schedules are encouraged to reach out to the contact person listed below in “other information.” Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.

 

Ecology employees may be eligible for the following:
Medical/Dental/Vision for employee & dependent(s), Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), Vacation, Sick, and other Leave*, 11 Paid Holidays per year*, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, Tuition Waiver,  Long Term Disability & Life Insurance, Deferred Compensation Programs, Dependent Care Assistance Program (DCAP),  Flexible Spending Arrangement (FSA), Employee Assistance Program, Commute Trip Reduction Incentives(Download PDF reader), Combined Fund Drive, SmartHealth *Click here for more information 

About the Department of Ecology

• A healthy life/work balance by offering flexible schedules and telework options for most positions.
• An Infants at Work Program that is based on the long-term health values of infant-parent bonding and breastfeeding newborns.
• Continuous growth and development opportunities. 
• Opportunities to serve your community and make an impact through meaningful work.

Our commitment to DEIR
Diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect (DEIR) are core values central to Ecology’s work. We strive to be a workplace where we are esteemed for sharing our authentic identities, while advancing our individual professional goals and collaborating to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment for current and future generations.

  
We believe that DEIR is both a goal and an action. We are on a journey, honoring our shared humanity and taking steps to demonstrate our commitment to a vision where each of us is heard, seen, and valued. 

 

What makes this role unique?

This role is unique in that you will be responsible for advancing a policy-informing ocean research agenda that is still in development, providing an opportunity for you to inform the direction of some of the most important research off Washington’s coastline. You have the responsibility to address large scale issues around ocean management including possible marine renewable resource proposals, and future potential impacts on our ocean systems and how that interacts with current and future uses. In doing so, you will work with many people, with a host of perspectives including Tribes, fishers, commerce, natural state and federal resource agencies, and more. You will work to support our federal consistency team with relevant policies and laws, adding capacity to Ecology’s internal alignment to manage our federal consistency authority. You will travel to coastal locations when needed and interact with dynamic and interesting people. The Ecology team is highly collaborative and supportive, working to manage these complex issues together.

What you will do: 

• Assist with coordination between Tribal, local, state, and federal agencies informing the creation and implementation of an Ocean Research Agenda. 
• Act as a liaison between internal and external science leads to inform Ecology’s Ocean Management Team and ocean policy analysis.
• Assist with federal consistency team, policy development, and reporting related to the Marine Spatial Plan (MSP), Ocean Action Plan, and the Ocean Resources Management Act (ORMA).
• Support internal review of new ocean use proposals, and federal consistency determinations.
• Work with program communications team, data management team, and agency Information Technology Services Office to maintain web-based ocean science information and data.
• Identify high priority data and information needs for ocean resource planning and management.
• Explore partnership and funding opportunities for a new Ocean Research Agenda.

Required Qualifications:
Years of required experience indicated below are full-time equivalent years. Full-time equivalent experience means that any experience where working hours were less than 40 hours per week will be prorated in order to meet the equivalency of full-time. We would calculate this by looking at the total hours worked per week, divide this by 40, and then multiply by the total number of months worked. Examples of the proration calculations are:

• 30 hours worked per week for 20 months: (30/40) x 20 months = 15 months full-time equivalent
• 20 hours worked per week for 12 months: (20/40) x 12 months = 6 months full-time equivalent

Experience for both required and desired qualifications can be gained through various combinations of formal professional employment, education, and volunteer experience. See below for how you may qualify.

Option One:

A Bachelor’s degree with a major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field
AND
Four years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

Options Two:
A Master’s degree or above with major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field,
AND
Two years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

Option Three:
One year of experience as an Environmental Planner 2, at Department of Ecology.

 

Desired Qualifications:
We highly encourage you to apply even if you do not have some (or all) of the desired experience below.

Note: Having some (or all) of this desired experience may make your application more competitive in a highly competitive applicant pool.

Ecology seeks diverse applicants: We view diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect through a broad lens including race, ethnicity, class, age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigration status, military background, language, education, life experience, physical disability, neurodiversity, and intersectional identities. Qualified candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.


Need an Accommodation in the application and/or screening process or this job announcement in an alternative format?

• Please call: (360) 407-6186 or email: careers@ecy.wa.gov and we will be happy to assist.
• If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can reach the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.
• If you need assistance applying for this job, please e-mail careers@ecy.wa.gov. Please do not send an email to this address to follow-up on the status of your application. You can view the latest status of your application on your profile's main page.
• If you are reading this announcement in print format, please enter the following URL to your search engine to apply: https://ecology.wa.gov/About-us/Get-to-know-us/Jobs-at-Ecology.   

Application Instructions:

It's in the applicant's best interest to submit all of the documents listed below. Applications without these documents may be declined.

• A cover letter describing why you are interested in this position.
• A resume outlining your experience and education (if applicable) as it relates to the minimum qualifications of this position.
• A list of three professional references.

Note: References will only be contacted during the final steps of the recruitment process for candidates selected as finalists. References will not be contacted without the candidate’s formal authorization.

Please do NOT include your salary history. Wage/salary depends on qualifications or rules of promotion, if applicable.  
 
For Your Privacy:
When attaching documents to your application (such as Resume, Cover Letter, Transcripts, DD-214, etc.):

• Please be sure to remove private information such as your social security number, date of birth, etc. 
• Do not attach documents that are password-protected, as these documents may not be reviewed and may cause errors within your application when downloaded. 

Additional Application Instructions for Current 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.

Application Attestation: 

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. 

Other Information:Other Information:

If you have specific questions about the position, please email Jay Krienitz at 

Jay.Krienitz@ecy.wa.gov  Please do not contact Jay to inquire about the status of your application. To request the full position description: email careers@ecy.wa.gov

Why work for Ecology?

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.

Joining Ecology means becoming a part of a team committed to protecting and restoring Washington State's environment. A career in public service allows you to help solve some of the most challenging problems facing our state, while keeping your health and financial security a priority. We combine one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation with a strong commitment to life/work balance.

To learn more about The Department of Ecology, please visit our website at www.ecology.wa.gov and follow, like or visit us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or our blog.

Collective Bargaining: This is a position covered by a bargaining unit for which the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE) is the exclusive representative.   

Equal Opportunity Employer: The Washington State Department of Ecology is an equal opportunity employer. We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity. Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, veterans, military spouses or people with military status, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply. Persons needing accommodation in the application/testing process or this job announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 407-6186. Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.

Note: 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. 

Salary : $64,092 - $86,208