Environmental Protection Specialist

at Federal Emergency Management Agency in Chicago, Illinois, United States

Job Description

Summary The ideal candidate will have experience through educational training or prior employment in the field of Environmental Studies and/or Science. All disciplines are encouraged to apply including but not limited to wildlife biology, water permitting, floodplains, wetlands, coastal resources, and NEPA. The position is based in Chicago, IL. The position reports to the Chicago office with some telework allowed. On occasion, limited travel may be required. Responsibilities What will I do in this position if hired? In this Environmental Protection Specialist position, you will serve in the Region 5 Mitigation Division. Typical assignments include: Providing policy determinations and guidance to assist in program and operational decision making. Providing environmental planning, project compliance, and technical assistance support. Directs, administers, monitors, and maintains appropriate documentation to ensure projects are in compliance with applicable environmental laws, executive orders and/or regulations on simple to complex projects. Coordinating with State and federal resource/regulatory agencies to help identify and resolve compliance matters. Providing technical advice to leadership concerning environmental resource concerns or adverse impacts. Accessing on-line publicly available data on Floodplain, Wetland, Coastal, Soils maps, Endangered Species, etc. Developing and maintaining positive relationships with FEMA program staff. Following existing review protocols, job aids, and suggesting new methods or efficiencies. What else do I need to know? At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters, and every employee at FEMA has a role in emergency management. Every FEMA employee has regular and recurring emergency management responsibilities, though not every position requires routine deployment to disaster sites. All positions are subject to recall around the clock for emergency management operations, which may require irregular work hours, work at locations other than the official duty station, and may include duties other than those specified in the employee’s official position description. Travel requirements in support of emergency operations may be extensive in nature (weeks to months), with little advance notice, and may require employees to relocate to emergency sites with physically austere and operationally challenging conditions. This announcement is for a position as a CORE (Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery Employee). CORE employees are full-time employees hired to directly support the response and recovery efforts related to disasters. Appointments to CORE positions are typically between two years and four years in duration and may be renewed based upon workload needs and funding availability. Employees are hired under the Robert T. Stafford Act and are excluded from the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing jobs in the competitive service. They can be hired under a streamlined process instead of a competitive process. After three years of continuous service, Stafford Act employees may be granted competitive eligibility to apply for permanent full-time positions at FEMA. FEMA is committed to ensuring that its workforce reflects the diversity of the nation. At FEMA, our workforce includes the many identities, races, ethnicities, backgrounds, abilities, ages, cultures, and beliefs of the people we serve. To learn about FEMA’s ongoing diversity and inclusion efforts, reasonable accommodation process, and the FEMA Core Values, please visit www.fema.gov. Requirements Conditions of Employment To ensure the accomplishment of our mission, DHS requires every employee to be reliable and trustworthy. To meet those standards, all selected applicants must undergo, successfully pass, and maintain a background investigation for Public Trust as a condition of placement into this position. This may include a credit check after initial job qualifications are determined, a review of financial issues, such as delinquency in the payment of debts, child support and/or tax obligations, as well as certain criminal offenses and illegal use or possession of drugs (please visit: Mythbuster on Federal Hiring Policies for additional information). For more information on background investigations for Federal jobs, please visit OPM Investigations. Conditions of Employment: You must be a U.S. citizen to be considered for this position. You must successfully pass a background investigation. You must be able to obtain and maintain a Government travel card. Selective service registration is required for males born after 12/31/59. Travel may be required. Qualifications All qualifications and eligibility requirements must be met by the closing date of the announcement. To qualify for this Environmental Protection Specialist position at the IC-9 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the IC-7 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Assisting during any phase of Environmental or Historic Preservation reviews to include planning and/or organizing projects; Reviewing or assisting with Environmental and/or Historic Preservation reviews for compliance with laws and regulations; and Assisting in the conduction of meetings or conferences and delivering communication to technical audiences. OR Master’s or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. or LL.B. or J.D. To qualify for this Environmental Protection Specialist position at the IC-11 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the IC-9 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Applying laws, regulations, or executive orders regarding environmental planning or historic preservation such as, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act, National Historic Preservation Act, or Executive Order 11988/Floodplain Management or Executive Order 11990/Wetlands Protection; Assisting internal and external stakeholders to resolve technical or administrative environmental or historic preservation issues; and Preparing technical reports and presentations to support research findings related to environmental federal laws, executive orders, or regulations. OR Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. or LL.M. To qualify for this Environmental Protection Specialist position at the IC-12 level, you must possess one full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the IC-11 level in the Federal government, which has equipped you with the skills needed to successfully perform the duties of the position. Experience may be obtained in the federal government, a state or local government, or private sector, and must demonstrate the following: Evaluating impacts to environmental or historic resources by applying the Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Clean Water Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, or other environmental laws; Coordinating with internal and external partners to provide technical guidance; and Writing standard operating procedures, guidance documents, consultation letters, or white papers related to environmental or historic preservation issues. Please read the following important information to ensure we have everything we need to consider your application: Do not copy and paste the duties, specialized experience, or occupational as