The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is dedicated to preserving, protecting and perpetuating fish, wildlife and ecosystems, while providing sustainable recreational and commercial opportunities dependent on viable fish and wildlife populations.  Each day, WDFW employees facilitate fishing, hunting and wildlife viewing opportunities for millions of residents and visitors.  WDFW’s employees–field and laboratory biologists, geneticists, research scientists, hatchery professionals, policy experts, fully commissioned law enforcement officers, land stewards, lab technicians, property acquisition specialists, customer service representatives and others work throughout the state.  WDFW employees protect and restore critical habitat, strive to facilitate species recovery when necessary, and manage hundreds of fish and wildlife species.  WDFW employees maintain nearly a million acres of public wildlife lands. They interpret, apply and enforce state and federal laws and collaborate with stakeholders to protect fish and wildlife resources.  Find out more about the important work and us we are a part of at www.wdfw.wa.gov

There is currently a permanent Fish Hatchery Specialist 4 position in the Fish Program, Hatchery Division, Region 4.  The duty station is Baker Lake Hatchery located at 47356 Baker Dam Road, Concrete, WA. 98237

This position plays a key role in addressing the resource gap identified in fish hatchery management and supervision for the Baker Lake Hatchery within the Nooksack Complex. The fish produced at these facilities contribute heavily to sport, tribal, and commercial fisheries, in the Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. These fish, and the facility, also provide tremendous opportunities for the public to view salmon, the salmon spawning process, and other facets of the salmon life cycle.

The Hatchery Specialist 4 is the manager and first line supervisor for the hatchery facility, and requires many physical and mental attributes to be successful.   The person in this position must have knowledge of the principles of hatchery management, budget tracking and development, interagency agreements, fish species, gender, and disease signs, fish culture methods and techniques, basic math and descriptive statistics, basic scientific terminology and techniques, and the methods, equipment, and supplies used in the maintenance of hatchery structures and grounds.

• Carries out personnel actions (e.g. recruitment, hire recommendations, evaluations, corrective action).
• Ensures that expectations are adhered to
• Coordinates operations of assigned facilities
• Identifies training needs and develops training plans
• Develops work plans
• Ensures safety compliance
• Serves as a leader/role model for other staff
• Acts in absence of the Complex Manager :

Tasks Include:
Plan, schedule, organize, and supervise work assignments as a working leader for a crew including: eight full time Puget Sound Energy Fish Hatchery Technician employees and up to 12 temporary PSE Fish Hatchery Technicians at two locations;
Coordinate and schedule workloads with PSE supervisory staff to ensure timely, efficient, and cooperative completion of required duties;
Communicate, monitor, and correct crew adherence to specific operational, fish health, and safety protocols;
Ensure timely completion of projects
Model and encourage appropriate, ethical and responsible behavior;
Communicate any pertinent crew issues to the Regional Hatchery Operations Manager in a clear, timely, and appropriate manner.

Managing facility production

• Meets with fish health specialist to ensure production quality
• Program goals are met both in number, size, and fish health
• Reviews and interprets the Future Brood Document
• Communicates changes needed in FBD to the Complex Manager
• Develops/monitors production plans with Co-Managers
• Ensures staff maintain records
• Ensures that staff meet reporting deadlines
• Understands how facility production contributes to harvest and/or conservation

Tasks Include:
Use preseason forecasts to scope fish culture needs with Co-Managers for each upcoming season: plan, schedule, and supervise the Baker Lake Hatchery crew to meet program goals according to specific and unique operational, fish health, and safety protocols;
Identify and communicate opportunities to improve fish culture practices: monitor fish behavior and health; actively seek to learn new fish culture practices: project and monitor program fish culture goals and progress.

Managing facility budgets
Tasks include:

• Coordinates with constituent groups and volunteers to achieve agency mission (e.g. artificial production and nutrient enhancement)
• Represents agency policy when speaking in public forums (e.g. at sport clubs) and to constituent requests
• Keeps supervisor and staff apprised of emerging issues
• Represents the agency professionally and communicates effectively on potentially sensitive policy issues to influence decision making of internal or external entities
• Communicates to staff the linkage between facility programs and agency goals (i.e. How production fits into the bigger picture

Operations management and compliance

• Reviews/understands, and monitors staff compliance with policy, procedure, laws, rules, regulations
• Ensures that supervised staff understand and comply with federal/state laws, rules, regulations
• Resolves issues and problems as they arise and responds to change
• Observes and assesses the state of facility upkeep and maintenance
• Prioritizes and coordinates implementation of upgrade/repair, and communicates to Operations Manager and staff
• Reviews, evaluates adequacy of facility structures; develops plans to address needs
• Assigns activities to staff to ensure production goals are met

Internal/External Communications

• Coordinates with constituent groups and volunteers to achieve agency mission (e.g. artificial production and nutrient enhancement)
• Represents agency policy when speaking in public forums (e.g. at sports clubs) and to constituent requests
• Keeps supervisor and staff apprised of emerging issues
• Represents agency professionally and communicates effectively on potentially sensitive policy issues to influence decision making of internal and external entities.
• Communicates to staff the linkage between facility programs and agency goals (i.e. how production fits into the bigger picture.

Working Conditions
Work hours are Monday – Friday 8 – 4:30 and office location is at the Baker Lake Hatchery.  A valid drivers license.

Special Note:
All applicants considering applying for this position should understand and consider that standby is a requirement for all positions in the Fish Hatchery Specialist series.  Management may determine it is necessary to assign it in order to accomplish the goals and objectives of the agency and as necessary to protect the resources of the agency and if assigned, it will be a requirement of the position.

Union
This position is covered by a collective bargaining agreement between the State of Washington, Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Washington Association of Fish Hatchery Professionals (WAFHP), which contains a “union security” provision. This means that, as a condition of employment you must either join the union and pay union dues, or pay the union a representational or other fee within 30 days of the date you are put into pay status.

Three professional references (personal references do not count as professional)

Please note:  Failure to follow the above application instructions will lead to disqualification.  E-mailed documents will not be accepted in lieu of attaching your documents to the online profile.
Upon submission of your online application, you will immediately receive a confirming e-mail.  You will then be notified via e-mail of your status during the process.  In addition to the e-mail notifications, you can check the status of your application at any time by visiting your online profile at www.careers.wa.gov.

The Department of Fish and Wildlife is an equal opportunity employer.  We strive to create a working environment that includes and respects cultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation and gender identity diversity.  Women, racial and ethnic minorities, persons of disability, persons over 40 years of age, disabled and Vietnam era veterans and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities are encouraged to apply.  Persons needing accommodation in the application process or this announcement in an alternative format may call (360) 902-2276 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (800) 833-6388.