Climate Preparedness Specialist

Apply online at: http://www.kingcounty.gov/jobs

King County is committed to equity and diversity in the workplace. In addition, the county is committed to recruiting and maintaining a quality workforce that shares our guiding principles: collaborative, service-oriented, resultsfocused, accountable, innovative, professional and fair and just.

OPENING DATE/TIME: 02/15/17 12:00 AM (GMT -8:00)

CLOSING DATE/TIME: 03/03/17 09:30 PM (GMT -8:00)

SALARY: $90,521.60 – $114,753.60 Annually

LOCATION: King Street Center – 201 S Jackson St, Seattle

JOB TYPE: Career Service, Full Time, 40 hrs/week

DIVISION: Department of Natural Resources & Parks – Director’s Office

JOB NUMBER: 2017-06632

SUMMARY:

Confronting climate change is one of King County Executive Dow Constantine’s top priorities and King County’s 2015 Strategic Climate Action Plan (SCAP) adopted diverse commitments to prepare for the changing climate. The Climate Preparedness Specialist will lead and coordinate King County’s efforts to prepare for climate change across all departments and agencies, and to help lead the region in preparedness efforts. This position will continue to build and strengthen King County’s climate change preparedness efforts with regard to County operations, capital programs, connecting communities to county efforts, and regional leadership.

This position will track and translate climate change and climate change impacts research in the Pacific Northwest, support the work of multiple King County agencies as they conduct environment and community vulnerability assessments and develop preparedness actions, and act as a central point of contact for developing research and funding proposals to support King County’s climate change preparedness priorities. It will also develop strategies to integrate equity and justice into planning and actions and develop preparedness related partnerships with other local governments, universities, non-profit organizations, community partners and businesses.

King County agencies, such as Wastewater Treatment, Stormwater Management, Road Services, Airport, Public Health, and Emergency Management, among others, are all working to address climate impacts. King County’s commitments to climate preparedness action are summarized in King County’s SCAP, and recent progress related to this work is highlighted in the 2015 SCAP Annual Report.

Who may apply: This position is open to all qualified applicants.

Work Location: King Street Center – 201 South Jackson Street, Suite 701, Seattle

Application process: Applicants must submit a (1) King County application form (2) and letter of interest detailing your background and describing how your education and experience meets the qualifications and has prepared you to perform the essential functions of the job.

About King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks (DNRP): The King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks works to advance sustainable and livable communities and a clean and healthy natural environment that support a prosperous and resilient economy. With roughly 1,400 employees, its mission is to provide regional parks and trails; protect the region’s water, air, land, natural habitats and historic properties; and reduce, safely dispose of, and create resources from wastewater and solid waste. The Department is comprised of the Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste, Wastewater Treatment, and Water and Land Resources divisions. The Director’s Office coordinates between divisions and departments, and leads or supports several countywide initiatives, including key roles in the County’s response to climate change, and in equity and social justice issues.

Examples of job duties:

• Serve as the Countywide lead for implementing the County’s climate change preparedness work, including serving as the lead in implementing Section 2 of King County’s 2015 SCAP: Preparing for Climate Change Impacts, and in future updates to this section of King County’s SCAP.
• Serve as a technical expert on climate change impacts and support King County agencies in implementing the 2015 SCAP Preparedness Priority Actions.

1. Assist King County agencies to prepare for climate change, including identifying climate change risks and impacts, assessing and analyzing county service and facility vulnerabilities, and helping to identify and implement related follow up actions.
2. Identify opportunities to align efforts across departments and with other local governments working on climate impacts and preparedness topics.
3. Track climate change and climate change impacts, research and findings for the Pacific Northwest, and identify relevant issues for King County agencies.
4. Help identify and secure funding for King County’s climate preparedness work.
5. Track and report on King County’s climate preparation activities and budgets.

• Advise staff, division and agency directors, and the executive’s office on climate preparation policies and actions.
• Lead King County’s efforts to develop and advance regional climate preparedness progress, including by:

1. Leading, in partnership with the Puget Sound Regional Council, and in collaboration with other cities, counties, and non-profit partners, the development of a robust regional climate preparedness collaboration that is a counterpart to and complements the King County-Cities Climate Collaboration (K4C), which is focused on greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
2. Partnering with other governments, research institutions, and shoreline residents to develop and implement a comprehensive countywide plan and program to address sea level rise and its impacts on ecosystems and public and private infrastructure.
3. Working in collaboration with other King County staff and agencies and community groups to improve resiliency among King County residents and communities, particularly focusing on those who are most vulnerable to health impacts.

• Lead efforts to develop, update, and implement King County policies on climate preparation, starting with the priority action items in the 2015 SCAP.
• Work with other County staff to develop and implement strategies that communicate regional climate impacts information and associated risks, hazards, and vulnerabilities on King County services and infrastructure, and related to the health and well-being of county residents, with a particular emphasis on King County’s most impacted populations.
• Make presentations, facilitate conversations, and develop written materials about climate impacts and climate preparedness to a wide variety of audiences (such as city and county elected officials, emergency management practitioners, and public health professionals) with a focus on translating complex technical information into relevant, understandable, and actionable information.
• In partnership with the Climate Engagement Specialist, apply principles and recommendations from King County’s Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan to assess disproportionate climate impacts on county populations and develop strategies, in partnership with communities, for improving health, environmental, and economic outcomes for people experiencing disproportionate impacts.
• In partnership with the Climate Engagement Specialist, support climate impacts and preparedness related outreach, materials development and engagement with the media, general public, and community based organizations, with a focus on highly impacted communities.
• Develop recommendations for climate change preparedness that maximize co-benefits for other county policy objectives, including multiple environmental benefits, mobility, housing affordability, improved health outcomes, economic opportunity, emergency preparedness, and community resiliency.

An ideal candidate will have:

• Functional and technical knowledge and skills to do the job at a high level of accomplishment
• Skills to relate well to diverse groups/individuals, build constructive and effective relationship and build appropriate rapport
• Skills and ability to organize and marshal resources to get things done
• Skills in setting priority; can sense what will help or hinder accomplishing a goal
• Skills in using logic and methods to solve problems with effective solutions

In addition, successful candidates should have the following qualifications:

• A minimum of 5 years professional experience related to developing and implementing public policy or project management of environmental, climate change preparedness, emergency management, community resilience, or related issues
• Demonstrated experience in leading and coordinating initiatives in a highlydecentralized organization to adopt and advance a common strategy
• Successful experience synthesizing and communicating complex climate change information to diverse audiences, and to identify and describe relevant relationships between climate change research and King County agencies
• Be able to build positive relationships with all King County agencies to ensure that agencyspecific needs and concerns are addressed
• Be able to prepare grant proposals and applications to fund climate related activities at King County Be able to develop policy recommendations and initiatives to ensure that King County prepares for climate change impacts
• Provide regional coordination and leadership on climate preparedness with other jurisdictions, special purpose districts, state and federal agencies, tribes, non-profit organizations, universities, businesses, and the public
• Demonstrate success managing projects and resources
• Successful experience developing and implementing new programs or initiatives that have clear intentions but sometimes undefined implementation strategies.
• Demonstrate strong leadership skills that show the ability to lead when not necessarily overseeing or supervising internal and external partners and work colleagues
• Demonstrate understanding and commitment to King County’s Equity and Social Justice values and Strategic Plan, and ability to articulate climate justice connections in this work
• Be able to work collaboratively with the team of dedicated King County staff working to implement King County’s Strategic Climate Action Plan and confront climate change

Contact Information: For questions regarding this announcement, please contact Prakash Meloot at prakash.meloot@kingcounty.gov or 206-477-5262.

Note: Online applications are preferred. However, if you cannot apply online, go to www.kingcounty.gov/jobs for other options.

If you need an accommodation in the recruitment process or an alternate format of this announcement, please inquire directly with the contact listed on the job announcement or the department’s Human Resources Service Delivery Manager.