Laboratory Supervisor - Regional Wastewater Reclamation

About the role

The Organic Chemistry Unit supports Pima County’s Waste Treatment Facilities through the analysis of volatile, semi-volatile, and pesticide contaminants from wastewater effluent and industrial discharge sites. Typical Work assignments include review of data and certification that results meet Arizona and EPA requirements, leading and orchestrating a team of six (6) Chemists, the operation of GC and GC-MS instruments using established EPA methods, research and selection of new instrumentation, interpretation and implementation of new EPA methods and updated methods, and revision of Standard Operation Procedures.

Responsibilities

• Maintains current knowledge of laws, rules, and regulations and relevant legislation governing regulatory bodies, including but not limited to OSHA, U.S. EPA, and ADHS, to ensure that the department's policies, procedures, and activities comply with all regulatory requirements and standards;
• Supervises, coordinates, and participates in the work of the laboratory;
• Specializes in the supervision and training of staff, methodology, and instrumentation of one of the four laboratory units: Inorganic, Organic, Microbiology/Wet, or Quality Assurance/Quality Control;
• Reviews and approves raw data and data entered in spreadsheets and automated information management systems to prepare for final reporting review;
• Develops new methodologies and refines existing methodologies used for testing complex sample matrices;
• Performs various specialized tests involving wastewater for water reclamation compliance permits or process control, as well as for other Pima County Departments and public agencies;
• Evaluates and researches advanced instrumentation needed by the laboratory and submits quotes for needed equipment, chemicals, and supplies to management for budgetary purposes;
• Evaluates methods and chemicals for licensed use in the laboratory and considers and evaluates if new chemicals will produce waste that must be disposed of as hazardous, with the intent of reducing hazardous waste production as much as is feasible;
• Ensures Quality Assurance/Quality Control of laboratory testing as stipulated by approved method, testing standard, operational procedure, and the laboratory’s Quality Assurance Plan;
• Maintains physical facilities and conducts preventative maintenance programs on analytical equipment to ensure the validity of test results;
• Determines and directs others in actions to take to resolve testing, analyses, and operational problems, conducts Corrective Action Investigations and Reports;
• Evaluates employee performance, makes recommendations on hiring, terminations, and related personnel activities, and initiates progressive discipline process as necessary;
• Responsible for other duties as assigned in support of the overall goals and functions of RWRD and the CRAO Laboratory.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university with a major in chemistry, microbiology, biology, environmental science, or a related field as determined by the department head at the time of recruitment, AND four years of specialized professional laboratory experience analyzing wastewater, including one year of professional experience in an environmental laboratory. (Additional relevant experience and/or education from an accredited college or university may be substituted.)
• Two years of experience with Pima County as a Laboratory Chemist or Laboratory Coordinator.

Qualifications

• Experience performing analyses for pesticides, volatile and semi-volatile organics, and herbicides in a licensed environmental or municipal laboratory and producing data for compliance permits on water or wastewater matrices, particularly in accordance with the Clean Water Act, AZPDES and APP permits.
• Experience with/knowledge of, within the past 5 years, of quality control requirements for EPA methods 524/624.1/8260, 525/608/625.1/8270, and experience reviewing data produced by other analysts for these methods.
• Minimum one (1) year supervisory experience.
• Experience operating, within the past 5 years, a Gas Chromatograph (GC) and a Gas Chromatograph Mass Spectrometer (GC-MS).
• Experience performing organic extractions: liquid/liquid and solid phase.
• Experience with Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS).
• Experience with Microsoft Office Suite (Outlook, Word & Excel).