Environmental Scientist Staff DCL-A

About the role

The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality’s (LDEQ) mission is to provide service to the people of Louisiana through comprehensive environmental protection in order to promote and protect health, safety, and welfare.

The LDEQ is seeking a qualified environmental professional for a leadership opportunity within the Northwest Regional Office Surveillance Division. This promotional position offers the opportunity to lead complex environmental investigations and compliance inspections, with a primary focus on water quality, while providing technical guidance to regional staff.

A bachelor’s degree in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field plus three years of experience in an environmental program, nuclear energy or radiation protection program; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); an environmental, analytical, or research laboratory, LIMS (Lab Integrated Management Systems), or laboratory auditing; ORA master’s degree in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field plus two years of experience in an environmental program, nuclear energy or radiation protection program; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); an environmental, analytical, or research laboratory, LIMS (Lab Integrated Management Systems), or laboratory auditing; ORA doctorate in an environmental, biological, atmospheric, chemical, health, nuclear or physical science field, an engineering field, a geography/geosciences field, a natural resources field, or in a statistics or quantitative methods field plus one year of experience in an environmental program, nuclear energy or radiation protection program; Geographic Information Systems (GIS); an environmental, analytical, or research laboratory, LIMS (Lab Integrated Management Systems), or laboratory auditing.

Supplemental Qualifications

One year of environmental scientific or technical experience at or above the Environmental Scientist 3 level. Qualifying experience may include experience in permitting procedures and program requirements, reviewing and evaluating operational data, reviewing/editing SOPs, and/or grant management and reporting.

The official job specifications for this role, as defined by the State Civil Service, can be found here.

Job Duties

• Coordinate and conduct complex environmental compliance inspections, primarily focused on water quality, and provide technical leadership during multimedia inspections.
• Lead or conduct investigations into challenging citizen complaints and represent the region at public meetings to explain environmental issues.
• Train and guide staff on water quality sampling, oversee ambient water quality monitoring activities, and ensure adherence to QA/QC standards and departmental procedures.
• Serve as a technical expert and incident leader for environmental emergencies, assist with interpreting complex regulations, and review inspection and incident reports.
• Assist with maintaining and improving information and data-management systems, including updating SOPs, ensuring data accuracy, and providing technical support and training for regional staff.

Position-Specific Details

• Appointment Type: Promotion-Internal Open only to current permanent employees of DEQ.
• Location: Caddo Parish

Compensation

This position offers a Special Entrance Rate (SER) listed below. This is the minimum compensation that may be offered. The job title and salary offered will be determined based on qualifications and experience.

• Environmental Scientist DCL-A: $31.38 per hour

Overview of the five major offices within the agency

It provides information on the mission, function, and organization, along with a biography for each member of management.

• Office of the Secretary
• Office of Management and Finance
• Office of Environmental Services
• Office of Environmental Compliance
• Office of Environmental Assessment

How To Apply

No Civil Service test score is required in order to be considered for this vacancy.

To apply for this vacancy, click on the “Apply” link above and complete an electronic application, which can be used for this vacancy as well as future job opportunities.

Applicants are responsible for checking the status of their application to determine where they are in the recruitment process. Further status message information is located under the Information section of the Current Job Opportunities.

*Information to support your eligibility for this job title must be included in the application (i.e., relevant, detailed experience/education). Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of completed education and experience sections on your application. Applications may be rejected if incomplete.

Please make every effort to attach a copy of your transcript to your application if possible (PDF format preferred). The selected candidate will be required to submit original documentation upon hire. You must submit an equivalency evaluation statement for any international degree(s) by the closing of this announcement.

Contact Information:For further information about this vacancy, contact

• Heidi Seba
• Human Resources
• LA Department of Environmental Quality
• P.O. Box 4303
• Baton Rouge, LA 70821