Senior Water Resources Specialist
The Hennepin County Environment and Energy Department (EED) is accepting applications for a Senior Water Resource Specialist who will be responsible for providing technical expertise and leadership to soil and water conservation efforts throughout the county. This position will perform highly skilled duties in urban and rural water resource management; develop and implement green infrastructure and natural resource projects targeted to improve water quality, restore altered hydrology, and improve overall ecological function; and provide technical advice and input to internal and external partners.
Hennepin County's EED serves as Hennepin County's Soil and Water Conservation District – this position is part of the team that serves the county's residents in this special capacity.
Location and hours:
This position is located at the Hennepin County Environment and Energy Department, 701 Fourth Avenue South, Suite 700, Minneapolis, MN 55415 but will work extensively throughout the County. This position may occasionally make use of available work space at the County's Public Works facility in Medina, MN.
About the position type:
This is a full-time, benefit earning position.
In this position, you will:
- Provide technical assistance to internal and external partners, businesses, and residents seeking to improve natural resource outcomes by making targeted investments in developing or re-developing areas.
- Respond to inquiries from the public related to natural resource grants and other topics, perform site visits and assessments, and develop and manage projects.
- Interpret, evaluate, and prepare studies, reports, technical memos, design documents, and design plans for water resources projects including: subwatershed assessment studies, engineering analysis and calculations, feasibility studies, concept plans, scopes of work, and project proposals.
- Develop relationships and provide technical advice to the county's watershed districts and management organizations; represent the Department on watershed Technical Advisory Committees; build and establish relationships with other entities and local units of government (e.g. Cities)
- Support county's efforts to spur creation of local wetland bank credits, and assist with county's role in administering the Wetland Conservation Act
- Provide input and direction to county's short- and long-term priority-setting as it relates to water resource protection and improvement
- Prepare project budgets; manage consultants and contractors
Need to have:
- One of the following:
- Bachelor's degree or higher in business administration, public administration, the sciences or a field related to the position, and two years of experience planning or operating environmental programs related to water resources involving inter-agency coordination.
- Associates degree in a field closely related to the assignment and four years of experience in work related to the assignment.
- A valid driver's license and access to reliable transportation for travel to various sites throughout Hennepin County.
Nice to have:
- Ability to work in both a field and office environment.
- Eight or more years of experience as a professional in the water resources field.
- Experience with:
- Current Board of Water & Soil Resources (BWSR) and/or Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) engineering and/or ecological job authority approval or technical authority approval; licensure as a Registered Landscape Architect, Engineer in Training, or Professional Engineer.
- Using tools such as GIS, CAD, HydroCAD, XPSWMM, HEC-RAS, WINSLAMM, SWAT, P8, MIDS, RUSLE2.
- Sponsoring wetland bank applications, and participating in Wetland Conversation Act-related work flows.
- Planning, design, and construction of water reuse and conservation systems.
- Defining project goals, making well-supported recommendations, documenting alternatives analysis, drafting work plans, timelines and budgets, tracking progress.
- Sourcing, contracting, and managing external service providers
- Planning, visualization, design, and construction of storm water best management practice (BMP) for water pollution and green infrastructure.
- Implementing ecological design principles, watershed management, and surface water hydrology.
- Knowledge of:
- Watershed rules and governance, local surface water management plans, other watershed planning and assessment efforts (e.g. WRAPS, TMDLs, 1W1P), state statutes that govern water management in the metropolitan area (especially MN Statute 103B and 103C, MN Rules 8410 and 8420), the roles of a Soil and Water Conservation District in water management.
- BWSR, MPCA, and DNR grants and reporting procedures
- Agricultural BMPs
- State and Federal farm programs (e.g. EQIP, CRP, State Cost-Share)
- Ability to:
- Maintain a positive outlook and disposition, a can-do attitude, and genuine care for Hennepin County's natural resources.
- Be self-directed and resourceful; able to contingency plan and problem-solve, anticipate and navigate obstacles, and keep others up-to-date on progress and set-backs.
- Excellent customer service skills; comfortable working with the public, peers, and leaders, and tailoring messages to intended audiences.
- Excellent collaborative and teamwork skills – an ability to get along with most, express ideas and opinions respectfully and thoughtfully, and a preference for seeking input and generating buy-in through consultative decision-making.
Engineering licensure may be useful, but is not required for this position. Interested licensed professional engineers are encouraged to apply and discuss future position classification with hiring manager.
About the department:
The Environment and Energy department protects and preserves the environment to enhance the quality of life for current and future generations. We engage communities to develop and enact sustainable solutions. We focus on reducing and responsibly managing waste, protecting and preserving ecosystems, delivering clean energy and promoting environmental stewardship.
About Hennepin County:
Hennepin is the largest county government organization in Minnesota. Our employees work every day to improve the health, safety and quality of life for our residents and communities. All of our jobs align to one or more of our overarching goals -- that Hennepin County residents are healthy, protected and safe, self-reliant, assured due process, and mobile.
Our employees receive a combination of generous benefits and positive workplace culture not found at other organizations. This includes meaningful work that impacts our community, competitive pay, work-life balance, a variety of benefits and opportunities to grow. Learn more at www.hennepin.us/employees .
Hennepin County envisions an organization where our commitment to diversity is fundamental in providing excellent service to our community.
Your future. Made here.
This posting may be used to fill current and future vacancies.
This position is internally classified as an Environmentalist, Senior.
Click here to view the job classification specification.
Invitations to interview will be based upon an assessment of education and experience.
Final candidates may be required to complete a drug test and/or background check.