Environmental Planner 2

State-of-Washington-Pollution-Liability-Insurance; Olympia (WA); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Pollution Liability Insurance Agency (PLIA) seeks an Environmental Planner 2 to support the FA Program for Washington UST funding and environmental compliance. The role collaborates with agency units and external partners to review applications and ensure adherence to state and federal rules.

The position emphasizes customer service, program improvement, and reporting, with required durable knowledge of planning principles and environmental laws.

Qualifications

• Seven or more years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning or closely related field.
• Alternative qualifications include combinations of education and experience as listed in the ad.
• Education combined with experience can substitute year-for-year for required experience.

Responsibilities

• Provide financial assurance program information for FA Program applications, enrollments, and financial requests.
• Check eligibility and validity of financial requests from program participants.
• Review facility reports to ensure compliance with program rules.
• Verify completeness and correctness of payment requests and approve payments.
• Respond to appeals when financial requests are denied.
• Communicate with program participants to gauge satisfaction with services.
• Assist in running the FA Program and updating policies and cost guidelines.
• Share summaries with supervisor on program improvements and update materials as needed.

Skills

Planning principles

Environmental laws

State resource policies

Government organization

Environmental issues in development

Effective communications

Ethical behavior

Equity and inclusion

Self-improvement and adaptability

Teamwork and collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in land use, urban, regional, environmental planning

Master's degree in related field

Job description

Environmental Planner 2

**ATTENTION**: If you think you do not qualify, please consider again. At PLIA, we are dedicated to building a diverse and authentic workplace centered in belonging. If you are excited about this role but your experience does not align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be the best candidate for this or other roles. PLIA welcomes diversity!

Schedule and Salary:

The core working hours are from 8:00am-5:00pm. Hybrid/flexible shifts are available. PLIA may require at least one day per week at the Olympia office. This position may require occasional travel for meetings and training. The annual salary range of compensation for this position depends upon qualifications. The expected hiring salary may be less than the top of the range to allow for growth and development.

Who we are:

If you have a passion for public service, providing excellent customer service, and furthering economic development and environmental soundness, then the Pollution Liability Insurance Agency (PLIA) is the ideal workplace for you.

PLIA's mission is to help underground storage tank (UST) owners and operators meet financial responsibility and environmental cleanup requirements for their tanks. To succeed in this mission, our team prioritizes the following items:

• Open collaboration.
• Innovative thinking.
• Delivering high-quality service.

PLIA offers a flexible, hybrid work environment that fosters teamwork. The agency also values continuous learning and professional growth for our staff.

About this Opportunity:

The Washington State Pollution Liability Insurance Agency (PLIA) provides an effective and efficient government funding model that helps owners and operators meet financial responsibility and environmental cleanup requirements for underground storage tanks (USTs).

Project Planners work with different agency units and people outside the agency. They play an important role in the agency’s FA Program. The FA Program provides funding to petroleum UST owners and operators in Washington State to clean up accidental leaks from their tanks.

The Environmental Planner 2 position also helps the agency by supporting programs that work with customers. The selected incumbent reviews program applications, environmental checklists, and reports. Project Planners at PLIA make sure that agency programs follow state and federal rules, as well as making sure that program participants follow requirements for maintaining and checking USTs and cleaning up the environment.

This position reports to the Project Planning & Programs Supervisor.

To learn more information about this opportunity, email [e-mail] and request the full job description.

Some of what you'll be doing includes:

• Providing clear financial assurance program information about applications, enrollment, and financial requests processing in the FA Program.
• Checking financial requests from people in the program to see if they are eligible and valid.
• Reviewing facility reports to make sure they follow program rules and regulations.
• Checking payment requests to make sure they are complete and correct.
• Approving financial request payments after confirming they are valid.
• Responding to appeals when PLIA denies someone's financial request.
• Talking with program participants to find out if they are satisfied with the services they received after PLIA processes their financial requests.
• Responding to technical assistance questions and other tasks related to processing financial requests.
• Helping run the FA Program.
• Reviewing the FA Program policies and procedures to make the program work better and improve customer service.
• Sharing summaries with your supervisor about ways to improve our program.
• Updating program materials as needed, including cost guidelines.

Required Qualifications

To meet the requirements of this position, applicants must have seven (7) years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field.

** Equivalent combinations of education, professional experience, military service, public service, or other qualifying education may be substituted year for year for experience.

Multiple ways of meeting the requirements:

[OPTION 1] Seven (7) years of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field.

[OPTION 2] One year of professional experience as an Environmental Planner 1.

[OPTION 3] Bachelor's degree with major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field AND Three (3) years of professional experience inland use, urban, regional, environmental or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

[OPTION 4] Master's degree or higher with major emphasis in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, landscape architecture, geography, land use or environmental law, public administration with an environmental emphasis, or closely related field AND One year of professional experience in land use, urban, regional, environmental, or natural resource planning, and/or program development.

In addition to meeting one of the above requirements, applicants must possess the following qualification, competencies, and knowledge.

Qualifications – Position Specific Knowledge and Abilities:

• Knowledge of the following items:
  • Planning principles and techniques.
  • Environmental laws.
  • Policies and programs concerning state resource development.
  • How local and state governments are organized.
  • Environmental, social and other issues that affect the development of local and state resources.
• Ability to:
  • Accept responsibility for major program activities.
  • Create long-term work plans.
  • Review information and make clear decisions that follow state rules.
  • Understand and apply rules, regulations, and policies.

Qualifications – General Competencies Required for All Positions at PLIA:

• Effective Communications:
  • Ability to communicate clearly.
  • Ability to write simple and accurate emails and documents.
• Commitment to Ethical Behavior and Integrity:
  • Ability to build trust and respect with coworkers and customers by being honest, open, and professional at all times.
  • Ability to maintain strict confidentiality and ethical behavior at all times.
• Commitment to Equity:
  • Ability to learn about our agency’s diversity, equity and inclusion culture and support those values in your work.
  • Treat everyone as important, and help create a workplace that is fair, inclusive, and respectful for all.
• Commitment to Self-awareness and the Desire for Personal Growth:
  • Ability to learn new things and grow in a changing workplace.
  • Ability to balance work and personal life to bring out your best.
  • Ability to multi-task and handle stress in a changing workplace.
• Effective Interactions with Others:
  • Ability to recognize and address the needs of others.
  • Ability to build and improve teamwork with many different coworkers and customers.
  • Ability to remain calm and helpful with difficult customers.

Supplemental Information and Conditions of Employment

You must provide all of the following items in order to be considered:

• A letter of interest describing how you meet the qualifications for this position as outlined in the job posting.
• A current resume detailing experience and education.
• A current list of at least three (3) professional references with current contact information.

If you fail to provide these items, PLIA may not consider you for the position.

Do not attach any documents that include photos or private information (social security number, year of birth, etc.).

General suggestions for creating a good application packet:

• Read the job posting carefully and find out as much as you can about the position.
• Make sure to follow all application instructions and include all requested documentation.
• Make sure your supplemental question responses address how you meet required and desired qualifications.
• Pay careful attention to each component of the supplemental questions. Provide examples of when and where you achieved the proficiency level required for this role.
• Specifically, include all of your work experiences doing the same or similar work required for this role.

NOTE: By submitting these materials, you are indicating that all information is true and correct. The state may verify information. Any untruthful or misleading information is cause for removal from the applicant pool or dismissal if employed. A resume will not substitute for completing the "duties summary" section of the application. Please do not refer to resume for detail, or your application may be disqualified.

Opportunity for All: Diversity is a core value at PLIA. We are committed to building an inclusive and equitable workforce that celebrates diverse cultures, lived experiences, and perspectives. We will also consider qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local laws. You are welcome to include the name and pronoun you would like to be referred to in your materials, and we will honor this as you interact with our organization.

The culture of respect that we strive for at PLIA promotes a work environment where we can best serve people of all backgrounds across Washington State. If you need accommodation during the screening process or a copy of this announcement in an alternative format, please contact us at 800-822-3905 or by email at [e-mail].

We invite you to apply for the position of Environmental Planner 2 at PLIA where you will work with a great team to support our customers across the state.

Contact Information

Applicants who are deaf or hard of hearing may call through the Washington Relay Service by dialing 7-1-1 or 1-800-833-6388.

For questions about this recruitment or to request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, email [e-mail].