Environmental Analyst 2 (35 Hour)

Introduction

The State of Connecticut, Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is hiring an Environmental Analyst 2 to work in Hartford, Connecticut within the Office of Equity and Environmental Justice in the Office of the Commissioner.

DEEP is charged with conserving, improving and protecting the natural resources and the environment of the state of Connecticut as well as making cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy available for the people and businesses of the state. The agency is also committed to playing a positive role in rebuilding Connecticut’s economy and creating jobs – and to fostering a sustainable and prosperous economic future for the state.

If you're an experienced environmental analyst who is passionate for geospacial processing, we invite you to apply to this position!

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU:

• Visit our new State Employee Benefits Overview page!
• The opportunity to work for a Forbes top company: 'Forbes' State of Connecticut Ranked One of the Best Employers of 2023 - State of CT Receives National Recognition for Offering Job Growth, Competitive Benefits, and Flexible Schedule
• Professional growth and development opportunities
• A healthy work/life balance to all employees

Our state has a lot to offer - from fun activities for all ages, to great food and shopping, to beautiful state parks and forests, to our diverse cultures and rich history. Connecticut is a great place to live! Learn more about Connecticut here.

POSITION HIGHLIGHTS

• Full Time (35 hours per week)
• First shift, Monday through Friday with a flexible schedule available between the hours of 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
• Hybrid schedule, based in Hartford, CT

OUR MISSION

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is charged with conserving, improving and protecting the natural resources and the environment of the state of Connecticut as well as making cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy available for the people and businesses of the state. The agency is also committed to playing a positive role in rebuilding Connecticut’s economy and creating jobs – and to fostering a sustainable and prosperous economic future for the state.

The Office of Equity and Environmental Justice focuses, for the agency and its partners, on (1) Environmental Justice, (2) Tribal Affairs, and (3) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the agency. Your work within the office will support, for the state, meaningful community engagement and public participation, promote environmental justice and equity considerations in decision-making throughout the Department, support government-to-government consultation with tribes, and effectuate meaningful DEI reforms. You will report to the Office Director within the Office of the Commissioner and work with a team of environmental justice advocates.

NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEEP

The Office of Equity and Environmental Justice is seeking an individual to support the GIS data-based work of the office. The candidate is expected to assist in project-specific geospatial processing for the Office in collaboration with other parts of the agency in day-to-day tasks and GIS products.

The primary role of this position is contributing to the development of and the maintenance of an EJ Screening Tool and a Cumulative Impacts Tool. The first tool is one that began with a recommendation from the Governor’s Council on Climate Change’s Equity and Environmental Justice Working Group for a state-specific environmental justice screening tool that provides a visual representation of the spatial distribution of environmental, public health and climate change vulnerabilities across CT.

The second tool was mandated by the Legislature in 2023, when it adopted Public Act 23-202, amending the state’s EJ statute. This legislation expanded the notice requirements for certain permitting applications to provide more meaningful public participation. It also, most relevant to this position, authorized the Commissioner to consider the cumulative impact of environmental and health stressors for those applications. As part of the cumulative impacts analysis, the agency will be developing, with its partners, a cumulative impacts tool to help permit applicants and the agency evaluate those impacts.

These mapping tools must be able to identify communities with adverse cumulative effects of climate change, environmental pollution, health disparities and other social and economic injustices. This position must be able to perform geographic and statistical analyses of environmental public health parameters and/or other factors, develop underlying spatial data, and other related duties. While these tools are being developed by an external contractor, DEEP holds the responsibility for maintaining these tools and their usage for relevant stakeholders.

THE ROLE WE ARE SOURCING FOR

This position includes assisting in the development of and leading the maintenance of multiple mapping tools and related products and materials to support environmental justice (EJ) communities (described in more detail below). Some of these mapping tools already exist, such as the EJ Communities Map and Affecting Facilities Map, while others like the EJ Screening Tool and Cumulative Impacts Tool are under development through a third-party vendor.

This position is newly created to support and oversee the development of the EJ Screening Tool and Cumulative Impacts Tool described above. A third-party vendor will be working on developing the first tool into a version 3.0 and on creating the second tool. This position will involve providing expert guidance to contractors and proficient understanding of the underlying methodology to calculate cumulative impacts.

Additionally, this position will be helping to explain to stakeholders from EJ Communities and Regulated Industry are able to understand how the tools work and the outputs.

After the development of these tools, this position will focus on routine maintenance of the tools and datasets, and ongoing cartographic needs including developing new resources for stakeholders, updating existing resources, and supporting stakeholder engagement with these tools. The candidate is expected to assist in project-specific data processing for the Office in collaboration with other parts of the agency in day-to-day tasks.

The position will assist the office and other programs across the agency in any available time and as needed on GIS and data analysis projects, especially after the two tools and related materials have been finalized and Connecticut communities have become familiar with them.

Duties include, but not limited to:

• Tracking affecting facilities throughout the state and maintaining accurate and updated databases;
• Developing maps in coordination with CT’s state-recognized tribes;
• Leading efforts on public-facing maps and story boards related to environmental justice issues and initiatives;
• Creating guides in order to facilitate multi-stakeholder engagement around tool utility;
• Updating maps in accordance with dataset changes; and
• Maintaining the state’s EJ Screening Tool and Cumulative Impact Tools.

More details can be found in the class specification. 

START WITH US, STAY WITH US, GROW WITH US!

Selection Plan

This is a competitive recruitment, open to the public.

For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e. Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.

TO APPLY:

• In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on this job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.
• The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
• Ensure that your application is complete and detailed before submitting it. In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process. You will not be able to make revisions once your application is submitted into the JobAps system.
• Please select all location(s) and shift(s) you are willing to work on your application. Failure to do so may result in not being considered for vacancies in that specific location or shift.
• In order to receive educational credits toward qualification for this job posting, the institution must be accredited. If the institution of higher learning is located outside of the U.S., you are responsible for providing documentation from a recognized USA accrediting service which specializes in determining foreign education equivalencies to the recruiter listed on this job posting.
• All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.

FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING:

• Please read or watch our Applicant Tips on How to Apply!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AFTER YOU APPLY:

• This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the questionnaire's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.
• Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.
• Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.
• Interviews will be limited to candidates whose experience and training most closely meet the requirements of the position.
• The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
• Read through this helpful link to prepare for your interview.

CONNECT WITH US:

• Due to the large volume of applications received, we are unable to provide confirmation of receipt or status during the recruitment process. Updates will be available through your JobAps portal account. Should you have any questions pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Samantha.Rivera@CT.Gov
• Follow the State of Connecticut on LinkedIn.

PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)

In the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection this class is accountable for independently performing a full range of tasks in the technical review and analysis of environmental program data and issues within the environmental field, developing recommendations on courses of action and assisting with the implementation of policy and program decisions.

In other state agencies this class is accountable for independently performing a full range of tasks in the technical review and analysis of environmental program data and issues, developing recommendations for courses of action and assisting with the implementation of policy and program decisions.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES

• Assists in development of a departmental, statewide or local environment and/or emergency response plans and programs; 
• Researches, collects and analyzes resources, data and educational materials; 
• Reviews and analyzes proposed projects for consistency with policies and statutes and assesses environmental impact; 
• Conducts site investigations; 
• Prepares environmental impact statements and recommends corrective actions and alternatives; 
• Analyzes existing state policies, statutes, plans and regulatory programs and reviews pending legislation for environmental impact; 
• Coordinates database maintenance and disseminates information; 
• Assists in drafting new regulations, statutes, guidelines and other written materials; 
• Assists in formulating policy options; 
• Provides technical consultation to local, regional, state, federal officials and the public; 
• Coordinates federal grant-in-aid programs and prepares related paperwork; 
• Recommends enforcement actions and prepares reports; 
• Reviews and makes recommendations on environmental permit requests; 
• May prepare publications and guidelines on environmental protection, natural resources education and economic development issues; 
• May develop and implement environmental and leisure service education programs; 
• May testify at public hearings; 
• May prepare enforcement actions; 
• May serve as a legislative liaison; 
• May serve as department representative on various regulatory and advisory boards and committees; 
• Performs related duties as required.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY

• Knowledge of
  • principles and practices in fields relative to environmental protection; 
  • principles and practices of environmental and policy analysis; 
  • local, state and federal laws, statutes, regulations and policies pertaining to environmental protection; 
  • environmental program planning principles and practices; 
  • statistics; 
• Skills
  • interpersonal skills; 
  • oral and written communication skills; 
  • in research and organization; 
• Ability to
  • understand and interpret legislation and technical data; 
  • utilize computer software.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE

Six (6) years of experience involving technical analysis and interpretation of environmental program data or planning and implementing environmental programs.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED

• College training in a scientific or technical discipline related to the environmental field including but not limited to the biological, earth, or physical sciences; environmental planning; environmental law; economics; leisure services; geographic information systems; geography with a concentration in geographic information systems; natural sciences; or natural resources may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
• A Master's degree in a scientific or technical discipline related to the environmental field including but not limited to the biological, earth, or physical sciences; environmental planning; environmental law; economics; leisure services; geographic information systems; geography with a concentration in geographic information systems; natural sciences; or natural resources may be substituted for five (5) years of the General Experience.
• NOTE: Education may only be substituted for a total of five (5) years.
• For state employees one (1) year of experience as an Environmental Analyst 1 may be substituted for the General Experience.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to perform spatial and statistical analysis and create cartographic deliverables;
• Familiarity with geodatabase management, including use of ArcGIS Online and web mapping applications;
• Experience using programs like Python and SQL to perform statistical analysis and to streamline data processing;
• Knowledge and experience working in areas of environmental justice, public health and health disparities, and/or data equity and analyses;
• Experience organizing and overseeing research projects from design to production and incorporating user feedback;
• Experience communicating technical and scientific data to audiences with diverse educational and socioeconomic backgrounds.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.
• Incumbents in this class may be required to possess and retain a valid Motor Vehicle Operator’s license.

WORKING CONDITIONS

Incumbents in this class may be exposed to some danger of injury or physical harm from on-site environments and a moderate degree of discomfort from exposure to year-round weather conditions.

Conclusion

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes.  As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.