Career Opportunity

Environmental Permitting Program Manager - Environmental Management Group - SFPUC (0931) (136741)

Recruitment: RTF0136740-01117780

Published: August 08, 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: Tuesday, August 8, 2023
• Application Filing Deadline: Tuesday, August 22, 2023, at 5:00 PM (PDT)
• Annual Salary: $145,028-$185,146 (Range A) Appointment above the maximum of the annual salary range may be considered based on recruitment and retention issues, and is subject to approval. 
• Recruitment ID: PBT-0931-136741 / RTF0136740-01117780

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. EMG staff prepares CEQA documentation including Environmental Impact Reports (EIRs), Mitigated Negative Declarations (MNDs), and categorical and statutory exemptions. 

About the Position
The Environmental Permitting Program Manager will be responsible for program management of environmental management for projects that are part of the SFPUC 10-year Capital Plan, an $8.8 billion citywide program to upgrade the City's aging sewer and water infrastructure and to ensure a reliable and seismically safe system to 2033. Major projects address the most critical assets within SFPUC's

• wastewater system, which is comprised of three wastewater treatment plants and a collection system that includes sewer pipelines, transport/storage structures, pump stations, catch basins, combined sewer discharge structures, and green infrastructure, and
• water system which is comprised of water treatment plants, conveyance facilities, dams and reservoirs.

The Environmental Program Permitting Manager coordinates the environmental review and permitting for the individual projects for consistency of approach and analysis, reviews and monitors schedules, prepares budgets including consultant contracts, conducts quality control and quality assurance, coordinates with regulatory agencies, the Planning Department and other City Departments, and makes presentations to Boards, Commissions, and Citizen Advisory Groups.

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

1. Manages environmental project managers and/or other environmental professionals, including consultants and a range of specialists in planning, permitting, biological resources, wetland delineations, and cultural resources.   
2. Oversees quality control/assurance of environmental program documents for consistency across projects, including technical sections of environmental review documents prepared pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), complex permit acquisition packages for environmental resource agencies (such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, State Historic Preservation Officer, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, California Coastal Commission, Regional Water Quality Control Board, and San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission) and from agencies providing funding to various programs.
3. Directs program planning, scheduling and budgeting; manages solicitation, negotiations, and administration of consultant contracts to implement the permitting program, and reviews consultant work for timeliness and quality.
4. Consults with project management, engineering, construction bureau managers on applicable policies, laws, regulations, and guidelines affecting environmental program documents and permitting.
5. Coordinates with bureaus to advise them on streamlining environmental review and permitting and off-site mitigation; strategizes on acquiring approvals for complex infrastructure projects, explains technical and procedural aspects of permitting, and negotiates/resolves complex issues.
6. Makes presentations to SFPUC senior management, other city department Commissions, the Board of Supervisors, other stakeholder groups. 
7. Participates in field visits to project sites for environmental surveys and meetings.
8. Supervises, evaluates and trains staff.
9. Performs other duties as assigned.

Ideal Candidate: 
The ideal candidate will have a demonstrated track record and ability to exercise the following competencies which are the most critical to this role:

Accountability: Acts with integrity, honesty, and fairness; inspires trust. Clearly defines roles and responsibilities for self and others. Holds self and others to their roles and responsibilities. Complies with legal and ethical guidelines. Acts as a responsible steward of the resources entrusted to the SFPUC.

Decision Making and Problem Solving: Takes ownership of problems and makes timely, responsible, transparent, and clear decisions. Involves others in addressing problems and seeking solutions. Gathers relevant information and conducts appropriate analyses. Understands the impact of decisions. 

Innovation: Creates a thriving culture in which employees feel both safe and encouraged to explore new ideas and improve existing ones. Develops new insights, questions conventional approaches, and encourages others to develop new ideas and innovations.

Relationship Management: Builds open, honest, and respectful relationships through effective communication and collaboration techniques. Develops networks and lasting partnerships across boundaries to maintain strategic relationships and achieve common goals. Utilizes a variety of communication approaches to successfully gain support, influence others, and strengthen relationships.

Risk Management: Identifies, assesses, and mitigates operational, financial, legal, or health and safety risks impacting the organization’s achievement of strategic goals and objectives.

Safety Excellence: Actively promotes a safety culture of the highest standard by allocating resources, ensuring compliance, and creating policies aligned with industry best practices.

Strategic Planning: Formulates objectives and priorities, implements plans, and allocates resources to achieve the long-term goals of the organization.

Talent Management: Builds and develops a highly skilled workforce based on organizational goals, budget considerations, and staffing needs. Creates succession planning strategies to address an aging workforce.

Valuing Diversity: Recognizes the role of diversity in assembling capable teams and building a successful workforce. Fosters an inclusive and cooperative work environment where diversity and individual differences are values and capitalized upon to achieve the vision and mission of the organization. 

How to qualify

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

Experience: Six (6) years of professional experience in environmental review and permitting, of which 3 years must include experience supervising environmental professionals; AND

License: Possession of a current valid California Driver’s License.

Substitution:

• Additional experience as described above may be substituted for the required degree on a year-for-year basis up to a maximum of two (2) years. One (1) year is equivalent to thirty (30) semester units/forty-five (45) quarter units.
• Master’s Degree from an accredited college or university may substitute for one (1) year of non-supervisory 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.

• Degree in biology, ecology, zoology, life sciences or a closely related field.
• Experience with special-status species in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Joaquin, and Tuolumne counties.
• Experience implementing resource agency permit requirements during construction.
• Experience permitting projects to improve, expand, or replace dams.  
• Experience with mitigation banks. 
• Experience permitting projects that receive State and federal funding, such as the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act and the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund. 

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 minimum qualifications will be invited via a separate link to complete the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination. The purpose of the Supplemental Questionnaire Examination is to evaluate the experience, knowledge, skills and abilities that candidates possess in job-related areas, which have been identified as critical for this position and include, but are not limited to: knowledge of the principles and practices of environmental law and regulations; knowledge of environmental permitting program management and environmental review; management skills, 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.