Environmental Program Manager

Job Description:

Environmental Program Manager

Description

Our diverse and inclusive workforce of more than 7,000 employees play a key role in the success of San José, the heart of the Silicon Valley. All City of San José employees work together as one team to make San José a vibrant, innovative, and desirable place to live and work. Visit here to learn more about our One Team Leadership Values and Expectations, including quality and excellent customer service and here to learn more about San José.

The City of San José is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants for all job openings will be considered without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, veteran status or any other consideration made unlawful under any federal, state or local laws. The City of San José is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to job applicants with disabilities. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, please contact us at 408-535-1285, 711 (TTY) , or via email at CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov .

About the Department

The Environmental Services Department (ESD) is a national leader in pollution prevention, watershed protection, utility service provision, and climate action. Together, ESD employees positively impact every resident and business in San Jose.

Our department is an exceptional place to start or grow your career. We have a supportive leadership team, numerous professional growth opportunities, and an inclusive workplace culture that is welcoming of your talents! We offer an array of meaningful career paths and value flexibility - offering hybrid work and alternative work schedules in select roles. Additionally, the City offers excellent health and pension benefits, as well as 15 paid holidays!

To learn more about ESD, follow @sjenvironment on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and San Jose Environmental Services on LinkedIn.

About the Water Resources Division

ESD’s Water Resources Division brings together engineers, operations and maintenance, technical, and program staff to supply clean water to over 100,000 customers and recycled water to more than 850 customers; in addition, we lead conservation efforts to preserve our region’s precious drinking water supply. You can contribute to the local community by joining us in meaningful and important work focusing on water supply, resource sustainability, customer outreach, and infrastructure reliability. We are a small, but fun, division of ESD located in South San José.

The Water Resources Division is comprised of three sections: Potable Water Supply and Engineering (Municipal Water System), Water Recycling (South Bay Water Recycling), and Operations and Maintenance.
The Salary range for this role is: $134,381.52 - $168,277.20 Annually

Position Duties

Environmental Services Program Manager - Risk & Resiliency

The Water Resources Division is seeking a responsible and dynamic individual to serve as Environment Program Manager (EPM) with strong management skills, programmatic and operational leadership skills, a skillful understanding of the technical and programmatic complexities of interpreting and applying a variety of regulations, strong knowledge of the water operations industry and the ability to develop and lead new partnerships.

Typical duties include but are not limited to the following:

• Assisting and supporting the Operations Manager in the planning and execution of programs and projects to ensure regulatory, environmental, and safety compliance.
• Responsible for implementing and ensuring compliance with California’s Cross-Connection Control Policy Handbook and relevant state and local regulations. This role involves overseeing cross-connection control programs, developing a plan, conducting inspections, managing backflow prevention assembly requirements, and working with internal and external stakeholders to safeguard the public drinking water system.
• Responsible for reviewing, revising, and recertification of America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) Risk and Resilience Assessment (RRA) and Emergency response plan (ERP).
• Evaluating the field activities, operations, and services affiliated with regulatory compliance for the Municipal Water operations, including Section 2013 of US EPA America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) of 2018
• Oversight, routine updating, and training of senior operations management and field staff on core incident response procedures for specifically identified scenarios such as cyber-attack, earthquake, extreme heat, wildfire, flooding, source water contamination, and distribution system contamination.
• Evaluating, reviewing, and developing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and emergency response drills required to comply with applicable laws and regulations as may apply to water utility operations, from agencies including State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB), Santa Clara County Fire Department (SCCFD), San Jose Fire Department (SJFD), Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), and Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA).
• Ensure compliance with the NPDES permit requirements; oversee all aspects of a planned and unplanned discharge; ensuring adherence to federal, state, and local water quality regulations. Key responsibilities include monitoring discharge activities, preparing compliance reports, coordinating with regulatory agencies, and implementing best management practices to minimize environmental impacts.
• Providing related oversight and direction to two (2) Full Time Employees (Cross Connection Specialist & Environmental Inspector) implementing and maintaining regulatory compliance programs related to cross connection control program and recycled water.
• Developing and implementing policies and procedures for assigned programs.
• Performing complex work which requires exercising sound judgment and applying professional knowledge and skills to programs, policies, and problems that have Division-wide implications.
• Assisting in the development and implementation of departmental goals, objectives, policies, and procedures, and providing highly responsible professional and technical advice
• Collaborating regularly with other City Departments and/or City management to ensure compliance and/or program alignment
• Acting as a representative to outside agencies and organizations; participates in professional groups and committees.
• Acting as a technical and professional resource providing support and assistance reflective of the City’s concerns and interests.
• Interfacing with Federal, State, and regulatory agencies; assisting in the coordination and implementation of intergovernmental activities and regulatory programs in conjunction with other local, state, and national agencies; and performing related duties as assigned
• Monitoring and staying abreast of new trends, laws, regulations, and innovations; researching emerging products and enhancements including integrated systems solutions and their applicability to water system needs; attending and participating in professional group meetings.
• Developing and overseeing an assigned budget and associated fiscal operations which may include grant funding, contracts, and inter-agency agreements as well as program evaluation.

If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in environmental sciences, public or business administration, or a closely related field.

Experience: Five (5) years of increasingly responsible experience in overseeing and administering complex environmental programs, including two (2) years of supervisory experience.

Competencies

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:

• Job Expertise - demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/ technical principles and practices for public administration and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies, and federal and state rules and regulations.

• Communication Skills - communicates and listens effectively and responds in a timely, effective, positive, and respectful manner; written reports and correspondence are accurate, complete, current; well-organized, legible, concise, neat, and in proper grammatical form.

• Computer Skills - Computer Skills - Experienced with common business computer applications including but not limited to MS Outlook, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Access, and MS Excel.

• Decision Making - makes timely and sound decisions; identifies and understands issues, problems, and opportunities; uses effective approaches for choosing a course of action or developing appropriate solutions.

• Fiscal Management - Understands the relationship of the budget and resources to the strategic plan; complies with administrative controls over funds, contracts, and procurements.

• Leadership - leads by example; demonstrates high ethical standards; remains visible and approachable and interacts with others on a regular basis; promotes a cooperative work environment, encourages and rewards risk-taking, allowing others to learn from mistakes; provided motivational supports and direction.

• Management - Evaluates priorities to ensure the 'true' top priorities are handled satisfactorily; sets clear goals for the employees and the work unit.

• Political Skills - In taking action, demonstrates an understanding and consideration of how it will impact stakeholders and affected areas in the organization.

• Supervision - Sets effective long and short-term goals based on a good understanding of management practices; establishes realistic priorities within available resources; provides motivational support; empowers others; assigns decision-making and work functions to others in an appropriate manner to maximize organizational and individual effectiveness.

Selection Process

The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to the Job Specific Questions. Only the candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews .
If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection, or the hiring process please contact Irina Orozco at Irina.Orozco@sanjoseca.gov

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses. Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application. If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.

The City of San Jose offers a wide range of core health benefits including Medical, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Disability, and Savings Plans. Please visit the City's benefits pagefor detailed information on coverage, cost, and dependent coverage.

For information on the City’s Retirement Plan(pension for full-time employees), please visit the Office of Retirement Services website. You will be able to view information based on different Sworn/Federated job classification.

In additional to the benefits above, there is an additional perks siteto explore further benefits of working for the City of San Jose like paid leave, educational reimbursements, and holiday pay are specific to the job classification and union membership.

Closing Date/Time: 2/24/2025 11:59 PM Pacific

Salary:

$134,381.52 - $168,277.20 Annually