Job Details

Senior Permit Program Consultant (Natural Resource Specialist 5)

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has a full-time opportunity available for a Senior Permit Program Consultant (Natural Resource Specialist 5) in Portland, Oregon. Please consider joining an innovative team, and work to advance our agency's mission to protect and improve Oregon's environmental quality.

You will provide technical, analytical, and administrative support to DEQ's Water Quality Permit and Program Development program through strategic planning, policy development, and technical consultation on National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits. You will serve as the technical liaison for the NPDES program, coordinating with other state agencies, EPA, federal partners, other state permitting authorities, industry representatives, advocacy organizations, and the public to address complex regulatory and policy issues. You will apply cross-program knowledge to guide the development and continual improvement of the NPDES program, ensuring alignment with other Clean Water Act subprograms, including Water Quality Standards, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), Monitoring, and Assessments. You will identify and conceptualize needed legislation, rulemaking, and policy reforms to advance the effective implementation of the NPDES permitting framework. You will lead and direct the work of subject matter experts and permit writers by providing statewide technical oversight for NPDES permit development, auditing permit actions, validating methodologies and technical tools, and designing strategies for consistent and defensible implementation of regulatory requirements.

The opportunity to work in a productive and creative environment where no two days are ever the same! DEQ cares deeply about employee wellness and benefits. We offer a competitive benefits package that offers comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans for the employee and their qualified family members, as well as paid sick leave, vacation leave, personal leave, and 11 paid holidays a year. In addition, we offer membership in the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS), and you have the opportunity to potentially receive loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF).

Minimum Qualifications: 8 years of experience in a natural resource or environmental field, with at least 1 year of experience at a technical or professional level performing activities in a natural resource program such as researching and analyzing data, conducting investigations, applying pertinent laws and regulations, or coordinating and monitoring project activities.

Substitutions: Bachelor's degree in physical science, environmental science, natural resources, or a closely related field may substitute for 3 of the required years of experience. Master's degree in physical science, environmental science, environmental engineering, natural resource engineering, natural resources, or a closely related field may substitute for 4 of the required years of experience. Doctorate degree in physical science, environmental science, environmental engineering, natural resource engineering, natural resources, or a closely related field may substitute for 5 of the required years of experience.

This position requires occasional travel by car statewide to attend meetings, trainings, public hearings, conferences, workshops, and seminars, and to conduct field visits, some of which may involve extended work hours, overnight stays, and/or weekend work. During field visits, there is the potential for exposure to inclement weather, pollutants, chemicals, contaminated soil and water, fumes, airborne contaminants, fall and tripping hazards, stairs, and substantial walking.