Senior Environmental Specialist - The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

The Senior Environmental Specialist will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations in Metropolitan Water District’s (MWD) Desert operations area, which includes the Colorado River Aqueduct and associated facilities. This position will report to and require full-time work at MWD’s Desert facilities, including Hinds, Eagle Mountain, Iron Mountain, Gene, and Intake pumping plants, and along the Colorado River Aqueduct and associated electrical transmission line alignments.

The Senior Environmental Specialist will be the Environmental Planning Section point of contact and will oversee all environmental planning work for both operations and maintenance (O&M) activities and capital investment plan (CIP) projects in MWD’s Desert operations area in coordination with Water System Operations managers and staff. The position will be responsible for ensuring compliance and preparing documentation associated with environmental planning laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Fish and Game Code, Clean Water Act, state and federal Endangered Species Acts, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The candidate hired for this position will serve as a technical expert and have a functional knowledge of federal, state, and local environmental regulations and how they may directly or indirectly impact MWD and its operations. Excellent knowledge of and experience with the biological resources of the Mojave and Colorado deserts and all applicable environmental regulations, as well as knowledge of the resources of the southern California desert environment, will be utilized in this position to ensure compliance and minimize existing and potential risks to MWD, the environment, and the public. The position requires strong written and oral communication, interpersonal, and analytical skills.

As a Senior Environmental Specialist, the responsibilities and duties of this position will include planning, directing, and conducting environmental planning work activities, including conducting impact assessments and CEQA and permitting analysis, preparing environmental documentation, conducting biological surveys, performing construction monitoring, and conducting environmental awareness training for staff and contractors in support of both CIP projects and O&M activities. In addition, this position will prepare and review environmental specification sections for contractors and review construction drawings in support of CIP projects. This position will prepare and review biological impact assessments and technical reports, conduct environmental inspections, conduct biological surveys to identify plants, wildlife species, and wildlife habitats in the project area, and conduct wildlife and vegetation baseline studies and nesting bird surveys to support the preparation of environmental documents.

In this role, you will demonstrate your familiarity with desert biological species and working knowledge of southern California desert environments. The position will have oversight of environmental consultants, including management of budget, schedule, and oversight of work products, to ensure that tasks are accomplished. The position will act as a liaison with regulatory agencies and other federal, state, and local agencies and will assist with regulatory permitting, including participating in resource agency negotiations and developing appropriate environmental impact minimization and avoidance strategies and feasible mitigation strategies to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulations.  This position will review and analyze legislation, environmental documents, and environmental regulations that may impact MWD; prepare technical environmental documents; and train and inform MWD employees to ensure that they comply with all applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures related to environmental compliance. Year-round field work in all types of weather, including extreme weather conditions, primarily in remote desert locations, will be required.

Schedule: 9/80, Monday through Friday with every other Friday off

This job announcement has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work being performed by employees in this classification / job.

To view the full job description click here: Sr. Environmental Specialist

EMPLOYMENT STANDARDS
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university, majoring in Environmental Science, Engineering, Biology, Ecology, Planning, or other directly related environmental or social sciences or science field, and 8 years of progressively responsible experience in environmental compliance, including regulatory/legislative liaison within the health and safety or environmental fields.

Progressively Responsible Experience is defined as: experience leading environmental planning surveys and document preparation, as well as experience in project management related to compliance with environmental regulations including, but not limited to, the California Environmental Quality Act, California Fish and Game Code, Clean Water Act, and federal and state endangered species acts.

Directly related environmental or social sciences or science field related bachelor’s degree is defined as: Environmental Studies, Geography, Environmental Planning, or other directly related environmental or social sciences degree.

CERTIFICATIONS, LICENSES, AND REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS
License(s): Valid California Class C Driver’s License or equivalent (required at time of application) that allows you to drive during your employment.

CLOSING
Benefits:
• Competitive compensation
• Excellent medical, dental, life, vision plans.
• Deferred compensation in the form of a 401(k) plan (with matching contribution) and a 457 plan.
• Retirement benefits under the California Public Employees' Retirement System
• Tuition reimbursement
• Excellent working environment

For more information on MWD benefits, please use the following link: Benefits Regular Full Time Employee (Represented)

ABOUT MWD

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a state-established cooperative that, along with its 26 cities and retail suppliers, provides water for 19 million people in six counties. The district imports water from the Colorado River and Northern California to supplement local supplies, and helps its members to develop increased water conservation, recycling, storage and other resource-management programs.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. Qualified individuals with disabilities, who need a reasonable accommodation during the application or selection process, please call (213) 217-7738 or email: jobs@mwdh2o.com

Metropolitan is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran, or any other protected characteristic(s).

Application Filing Period: Closes at 4:30 pm PST on the date stated in the job announcement. However, it may close prior to the filing end date if sufficient applications have been received. If sufficient applications have not been received, then the filing period end date may be extended.

Sponsorship: Applicants for employment with The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California must have work authorization that does not now or in the future require sponsorship of a visa for employment authorization in the United States (i.e., H1-B or other employment-based immigration case).