TDEC ENVIRONMENTAL CONSULTANT 1 - 07172026-79396

About the role

This is the first level technical consultant in the TDEC Environmental Consultant sub-series. An employee in this class performs professional environmental consultant duties in environmental regulatory, radiological health, natural areas and/or sustainability programs by serving as an Environmental Consultant and technical or regulatory lead addressing issues of moderate difficulty.

Responsibilities

• Independently conducts or oversees staff conducting inspections, complaint investigations, remediation, abatement, closures, compliance monitoring (e.g. Sampling and evaluation of the environment, pollutants, and/or ionizing radiation, etc.); and/or investigations of equipment, structures, materials and/or sites/facilities to evaluate levels of pollutants and/or to ensure proper installation, maintenance, and/or operation and determine compliance with environmental laws, regulations, or other standards.
• Obtains, reviews, and analyzes technical information (e.g. records, data, operational plans, enforcement action requests, permits, permit applications, reports, reciprocity documents, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), licenses, computational modeling, etc.) of moderate difficulty for accuracy and completeness and interprets findings and results (i.e. site inspections, permits, lab results, etc.) to ensure acceptable methodologies are performed and/or are in compliance with established standards; and identifies problems, and if necessary, initiates enforcement/legal action to effect compliance of established standards, laws, rules, regulations, or policies.
• Prepares and maintains various documents (e.g. permits, reports, equipment specifications, designs, layout, blueprints, evaluations, etc.) and technical analysis of moderate difficulty in a concise and legally defensible matter to ensure Agency's missions are met and communicates interpretation of findings and results using regulations, policy, etc. to stakeholders.
• Affords assistance with the review, development, and/or revisions to regulations, technical policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs), etc. to ensure documents are current with local, state, and federal standards and/or procedures; and provide consultative, technical, or educational information to other environmental staff, stakeholders (e.g. industries, municipalities, counties, individuals, groups, etc.), and/or the public regarding regulation, policy, SOP, etc. development and/or revisions, as necessary.
• Builds effective teams by utilizing team building, leadership (e.g. participating and coordinating activities in work groups, on special assignments, in planning teams, etc.), and effective communication skills to encourage and involve staff in developing and meeting departmental goals.
• Coaches, develops, and mentors staff on the proper methods and procedures for performing environmental work to improve their knowledge or skill for an assigned job task and provides recommendations of staffs professional growth for performance evaluations as requested.
• Maintains, troubleshoots, and calibrates electronic equipment (e.g. radiation detection meter, photo ionization detector, pH meter, GPS, etc.) and mechanical equipment (e.g. ozone monitor, air monitor, laser level, watercraft, etc.) to ensure equipment is operating in accordance with manufacturer's specifications so as to meet the requirements found in state and/or federal regulations.
• Ensures the malfunctioning equipment is repaired, replaced, or surplused according to state guidelines.
• Affords assistance with the development and adherence to the budget by writing justifications and obtaining and evaluating cost estimates/proposals from various vendors for needs of equipment, material, services, etc.; ensures reimbursements or billing requests are properly justified and submitted timely and with properly coded expenditures; ensures contract work is conducted in accordance with proposed scope and established rates; provides technical oversight, review, and/or project management of ongoing state and/or federal grant/loan programs; reviews eligibility requirements to participate in fund reimbursement programs; and any other means necessary.
• Affords assistance with implementation and compliance of funding programs by planning, researching, conducting field work, managing data sets, writing annual reports, and/or scheduling and/or participating in public meetings/hearings or public outreach events.

Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited college or university with a bachelor's or higher of science or arts degree in environmental science, physical sciences (e.g. physics, chemistry, geology, meteorology), ecology, sustainability or applied science in sustainability, life sciences (e.g. biology, microbiology, agricultural science, agronomy, health physics, or biophysics), environmental health, pre-medicine, engineering or other acceptable science or natural resource related field and three years of full-time professional environmental program, natural resource conservation work or full-time professional work that involved ensuring compliance with radiation safety standards and/or regulations.
• An acceptable environmental, physical, or life science degree will be considered based on assignment by the specific program area.
• A bachelor's degree in health physics or nuclear engineering may substitute for one year of the required experience in the Division of Radiological Health.