Career Opportunity

Planner IV-Environmental Project Manager (5299) – Environmental Management Group - SFPUC (136743)

Recruitment: RTF0136659-01102968

Published: July 20, 2023

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal.

About:

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.

• Application Opening Date: Thursday, July 20, 2023
• Application Filing Deadline: Friday, August 18, 2023, at 5:00 PM (PDT)
• Annual Salary: $139,932-$170,040
• Recruitment ID: PBT-5299-136743 / RTF0136659-01102968

WHO ARE WE?
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)
Headquartered in San Francisco, we have 2,300 employees operating across eight counties serving more than 2.7 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area – 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Our Mission: To provide our customers with high quality, efficient, and reliable water, power, and wastewater services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.

Our Vision: We are an innovative utility leader, recognized for excellent results in service, safety, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

We are an award-winning and industry-leading utilities organization committed to our customers, community interests, and the environment. To learn more about our organization, please visit our website at https://www.sfpuc.org/.

We are proud of our infrastructure and programs, but most importantly, we value our highly qualified and dedicated workforce which ensures that this vision becomes a reality.

To learn more about working at the SFPUC, visit our career site here.

Role description

About the Environmental Management Group
The Environmental Management Group (EMG) is responsible for California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) approvals for all SFPUC capital projects as well as other discretionary actions, namely, projects that require the exercise of judgment or deliberation when the SFPUC decides to approve or disapprove a particular project or activity. EMG specialists in CEQA, NEPA, environmental project management and key resource areas such as land use, biology, cultural resources, permitting, and construction compliance manage the preparation of environmental review documents for the Water, Wastewater, and Power Enterprises. In addition to Environmental Impact Reports (EIR) and Mitigated Negative Declarations (MND), EMG staff prepares documentation for categorical and statutory exemptions from CEQA.

About the Position
Under the direction of the Environmental Management Group (EMG) Manager, the Planner IV-Environmental Project Manager will manage and perform complex planning, environmental review, and permitting work. This position will be responsible for managing projects, developing project descriptions, managing consultants, analyzing environmental impacts and mitigation measures, and managing and reviewing technical studies and reports, as well as acquiring resource agency permits, supervising staff, and providing information on environmental matters to other SFPUC enterprises/bureaus/divisions, City Departments, and the public.

SFPUC manages a variety of water, sewer, and power infrastructure projects that extend from San Francisco to the O’Shaughnessy Dam in Yosemite National Park. As such, we enjoy working on projects in urban settings, agricultural areas, watershed lands, and other natural environments. These projects range from sewer upgrades within San Francisco, to dam improvements/upgrades on our watershed lands.

The essential duties and responsibilities of this position include but are not limited to the following:

• Supervises, trains and evaluates staff.
• Advises project teams on strategies to avoid or minimize the environmental impacts of our projects during the planning, design, environmental review, and permitting phases.
• Advises project teams on ways to streamline environmental review and permitting.
• Scopes and manages consultant contracts, including schedule and budget management.
• Prepares and/or directs consultants in the preparation of various environmental reports, including exemptions, Mitigated Negative Declarations, and Environmental Impact Reports pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
• Prepares and directs consultants in complex analyses and preparation of technical reports for a range of environmental matters such as air quality, health risk, noise, traffic, hazardous materials, biological, water quality, hydrological, paleontological, and cultural resources.
• Prepares and directs consultants in acquiring complex permits from resource agencies, including but not limited to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Regional Water Quality Control Board, State Historic Preservation Officer, California Coastal Commission, and San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission.
• Collaborates and coordinates with multidisciplinary staff from other SFPUC enterprises/bureaus/divisions and City Departments.
• Prepares technical reports and correspondences.
• Interprets and explains technical and procedural aspects of environmental review to the public, boards, and commissions.
• Represents SFPUC at public hearings and construction site visits with other agency staff.
• Performs other job-related duties as assigned.

How to qualify

Minimum Qualifications:
Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university; AND

Experience: Five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in the areas of planning, environmental review, or environmental law, of which at least four (4) years must be in environmental review or environmental law, including management and scheduling experience.

Substitution: Advanced degrees in related fields of planning, science or law may be substituted for up to two (2) years of experience; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

Note: One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2000 hours. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week.)

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted. 

Desirable Qualifications: The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in environmental studies/science, biology, natural resources, cultural resources or a closely related field.
• Experience managing or overseeing CEQA Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs) or Mitigated Negative Declarations (MNDs) or NEPA Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) or Environmental Assessments (EAs).
• Experience in applying requirements of Chapter 31 of the San Francisco Administrative Code.
• Experience managing three or more EIRs for Water, Wastewater, or Power Projects.
• Experience managing the completion of a CEQA document (EIR or MND) for a project involving dam upgrades and/or improvements.

Verification of Education and Experience: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. For more information on how to verify your experience or education please click here.

Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

What else should I know?

Selection Procedures:
After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ): (Weight: Qualifying) Candidates will be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application at a later time. This MQSQ is designed to obtain specific information regarding an applicant's experience in relation to the Minimum Qualifications (MQ) for this position. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Supplemental Questionnaire Examination (Weight:100%): Candidates who meet the minimum qualifications will be sent a Supplemental Questionnaire Examination via electronic mail after the closing of the application filing period. The Supplemental Questionnaire Examination is designed to measure the knowledge, skills and/or abilities in job-related areas required for the position include but are not limited to knowledge of the principles and practices of environmental law, ordinance and regulations; knowledge of techniques of researching environmental and planning issues; ability to collect, analyze and interpret data pertaining to environmental impacts; interpersonal skills and written communication skills.

Applicants will be given a deadline to return the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination. Those who do not respond by the established deadline will not be eligible to continue in the examination process and will not be added to eligibility list resulting from this process. All applicants’ responses to the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination are subject to verification.

A passing score must be achieved on the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination in order to continue in the selection process and be placed on the eligible list. Candidates will be placed on the eligible list in rank order according to their final score. Candidate scores on this examination may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

The department may administer additional position-specific selection procedures to make final hiring decisions.

NOTE:  Applicants who meet the minimum qualifications are not guaranteed to advance through all of the steps in the selection process.

Eligible List/Score Report: A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be of six (6) months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see here.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights: Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at here.

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis’ for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

How to Apply: Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.sf.gov/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “Apply Now” button and follow instructions on the screen

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, @careers.sf.gov and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Recruitment Analyst Information: If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Vivian Yeung via email at VYeung@sfwater.org or (628) 215-1236.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.