Natural Resource Manager 3 - Section Chief, Public Access Assertion & Defense (PCN 10-1856)

State of Alaska; Anchorage (AK); On-site; USD 110,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

State of Alaska's Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land & Water, seeks a Natural Resource Manager 3 – Section Chief for the Public Access Assertion & Defense unit in Anchorage. Lead statewide policy to assert and defend navigable waters, submerged lands, RS 2477 rights, and related public access initiatives.

Candidate will direct PAAD staff, manage budgets, coordinate with federal agencies and Native Corporations, and guide high‑level negotiations.

Qualifications

• Competency-based minimum qualifications covering administration/management and project leadership.
• Knowledge of environmental science and natural resources policy as they relate to public access.
• Experience in negotiations, stakeholder outreach, and cross‑agency collaboration.
• Ability to lead large teams and manage complex litigation or administrative actions.

Responsibilities

• Lead statewide policy and strategy to assert and defend Alaska’s navigable waters and public rights.
• Direct PAAD section operations, budget, and interdisciplinary project teams.
• Oversee fieldwork, negotiations with federal agencies, Native Corporations, and landowners.
• Provide analyses and policy recommendations to DNR leadership and the Governor.

Skills

Oral and Written Communication

Creative Thinking

Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence

Project Management

Vision

Education

Education in natural resource field or law

Job description

Natural Resource Manager 3 - Section Chief, Public Access Assertion & Defense (PCN 10-1856) in Anchorage, AK

The Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land & Water, is recruiting for a Natural Resource Manager 3 – Section Chief for the Public Access Assertion & Defense unit in Anchorage.

This position is open to Alaska Residents only.

The Section Chief leads the Public Access Assertion and Defense (PAAD) Section, directing statewide policy and strategy to assert and defend Alaska’s ownership of navigable waters, submerged lands, RS 2477 rights-of-way, and other critical easements. The position manages complex litigation, administrative actions, and high-level negotiations with federal agencies, Native Corporations, landowners, and the public to advance and protect state public access interests. It oversees PAAD personnel, budgets, interdisciplinary project teams, and all public access initiatives, including the Unlocking Alaska Initiative, to ensure coordinated and effective mission execution. The Section Chief provides expert analysis, presentations, and policy recommendations to DMLW leadership, the DNR Commissioner, and the Governor on emerging and ongoing public access issues. Additionally, the role leads fieldwork efforts and resolves complex, controversial access disputes to secure outcomes vital to the state’s long-term stewardship and transportation corridors.

Mission and Values/Culture:

The Public Access Assertion and Defense Section (PAAD) safeguards every Alaskan’s right to reach and enjoy the state’s lands and waters, defending the routes and resources that connect communities and fuel possibilities. Its work creates lasting freedoms, ensuring future generations inherit the same open Alaska that defines us today. PAAD’s mission is powered by creativity, resilience, integrity, and an unwavering belief in public service. Its members are bold, purpose-driven leaders who lift one another up and pursue every challenge with courage and heart. They bring generosity, humor, and a commitment to full, meaningful lives—strengthening both their team and the state they serve.

Benefits of Joining Our Team:

This position offers a meaningful leadership role that can positively impact the land, people, and economic development. The successful candidate for this position will have the opportunity to lead and work with a diverse group of experts and professionals from numerous fields (LAW, History and Archeology, Hydrology, Geomorphology, Surveying and Mapping, etc.). You will have the opportunity to lead high-profile and substantive projects advancing state strategic public-access priorities. The successful candidate will have opportunities to lead and participate in remote fieldwork in many gorgeous areas of Alaska (recent projects include fieldwork within the Brooks Range, the Fortymile Region, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve and Katmai National Park and Preserve) and will be the leader of an elite team within the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mining, Land & Water.

The Working Environment You Can Expect:

This position is based in Anchorage, on the 10th floor of the Atwood building, in a workplace known for its collaborative, team-oriented environment. The Anchorage office offers a stunning view of the Chugach Mountain Range and is conveniently located near a variety of services, the scenic Park Strip, and the Coastal Trail system, providing easy access to outdoor recreation and urban amenities. The daily work environment will include interaction with PAAD teammates on numerous and diverse projects with frequent interaction with other state and federal staff (including high-level state positions such as the Governor, Legislators, Commissioners of diverse departments, Director’s Office personnel from diverse divisions and high-level federal positions such as Bureau of Land Management Alaska State Director, National Park Service State Director, superintendents and directors of federal areas statewide), outside experts, attorneys, user groups, Native Corporations and the general public.

We are looking for a candidate who possesses the following position-specific competencies.

• Oral and Written Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing oral and written presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately.


• Creative Thinking: Uses imagination to develop new insights into situations and applies innovative solutions to problems; designs new methods where established methods and procedures are inapplicable or are unavailable.


• Legal, Government, and Jurisprudence: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, legal practices and documents, Government regulations, Executive orders, agency rules, Government organization and functions, and the democratic political process.

Minimum Qualifications

Competency-Based Minimum Qualifications Instructions This job class uses competency-based minimum qualifications. Please ensure your application (through work history, volunteer experience (duties summary), training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports how you have gained the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors (competencies) and that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

Competency Description The competency description(s) listed below have been designed to promote a common understanding of the essential elements of the job class. They highlight the more general and customary knowledge, skills, abilities (KSAs), tasks, and behaviors used to describe the competency. They typically list expectations rather than specific tasks and serve only as parameters and guidelines. A competency’s description is not intended to exclusively define every KSA, task, and behavior needed to meet the competency successfully, but rather to provide the manager/agency with a broad reference of options for how an applicant can meet the job expectation.

Minimum Qualifications

Any combination of education and/or experience that provides the applicant with competencies in:

• Administration and Management:Knowledge of planning, coordination, and execution of business functions, resource allocation, and production.


• Environmental Science:Knowledge of the interdisciplinary concepts, principles, theories, and methods of investigating the natural and physical environment, including examination of ecology, biology, physics, chemistry, plant science, zoology, mineralogy, oceanography, limnology, soil science, geology and physical geography, atmospheric, and other related sciences in the protection and improvement of the environment and its resources.


• Influencing/Negotiating: Persuades others; builds consensus through give and take; gains cooperation from others to obtain information and accomplish goals.


• Project Management: Knowledge of the principles, methods, or tools for developing, scheduling, coordinating, and managing projects and resources, including monitoring and inspecting costs, work, and contractor performance.


• Vision:Understands where the organization is headed and how to make a contribution; takes a long- term view and recognizes opportunities to help the organization accomplish its objectives or move toward the vision.

equivalent to those typically gained by:

Education in a natural resource field, law, public administration, planning or economics and/or progressively responsible professional experience or managerial experience in natural resource management.

Definitions:

“Competencies” means a combination of interrelated knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors that enable a person to act effectively in a job or situation.

“Professional experience” means work that is creative, analytical, evaluative, and interpretive; requires a range and depth of specialized knowledge of the profession's principles, concepts, theories, and practices; and is performed with the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment.

“Progressively responsible” means indicating growth and/or advancement in complexity, difficulty, or level of responsibility.

“Qualified” means is assessed to credibly possess the competencies needed to learn the job in a reasonable period.

“Training” and “education” in this guidance are synonyms for the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through instruction. It includes instruction through formal and informal methods (such as classroom, on-line, self-study, and on-the-job), from accredited and unaccredited sources, and long duration (such as a post-secondary degree) and short-duration (such as a seminar) programs.

“Typically gained by” means the prevalent, usual method of gaining the competencies expected for entry into the job.

Additional Required Information

Please read the information below carefully.

If invited to interview, please bring the following materials. Failure to do so may result in loss of consideration. Required documents include:

• Resume with complete job history


• A list of three professional references with current contact information, one of which must be from a current or former supervisor.


• Copy of your last two performance evaluations OR two letters of reference if performance evaluations are not available.


• A writing sample which demonstrates your ability to produce clear, well-reasoned analysis from legal and scientific sources to inform leadership on complex issues.

SPECIAL NOTICES

• This position will require travel within the state and during the summer months, occasionally overnight/multi-day travel, in remote parts of the state.

Supplemental Questions

For your application to be evaluated, you must answer the Supplemental Questions. The State of Alaska (SOA) uses four proficiency levels to measure and describe an applicant’s competence in applying specific behaviors, knowledge, skills, and abilities to accomplish a specific task. The four proficiency levels are Mastery, Fluency, Literacy, and Discovery. You must rate your proficiency level for each competency listed in the supplemental questions.

Education

If post-secondary education is required to meet the minimum qualifications, complete the Education section of the application. If you have not yet obtained a degree, please indicate the units you have completed. Copies of transcripts are required to verify educational credentials if used to meet the minimum qualifications for a position.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education

Education completed at foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the minimum qualifications listed above. If using this education to meet minimum qualification requirements, you must demonstrate that the credentials have been submitted to a private organization specializing in interpreting foreign educational credentials and that such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in standard U.S. education programs. Alternatively, an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution must report that the other institution's transcript is given full value or that full value is recognized in relevant subject areas aligned with the post-secondary institution's curricula. You must provide this evidence when applying.

Work Experience

If using work experience not already documented in your application, also provide the employer’s name, job title, employment dates, and whether full-time or part-time. Applications will be reviewed to determine whether the responses are supported and whether the minimum qualifications are met. If they are not, the applicant may not advance to the recruitment interview and selection phase.

Note: Attaching a resume does not substitute for completing the application in full. Noting “see resume” or any similar response on any portion of your application may lead to a determination that your application is incomplete and removal from consideration for this job posting.

Bargaining Unit

If you are a current state employee, please indicate the union to which you belong at the time of application. Do not complete this question if you are not a current state employee.

Please ensure your application (through work history, training, education, licenses, certifications, etc.) supports/demonstrates that you possess the minimum required competencies for the job class.

EEO STATEMENT

The State of Alaska complies with Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Individuals with disabilities who require accommodation, auxiliary aids or services, or alternative communication formats should call 1-800-587-0430 or [phone] in Juneau or TTY: Alaska Relay 711 or 1-800-770-8973 or correspond with the Division of Personnel & Labor Relations at P.O. Box 110201, Juneau, AK 99811-0201. The State of Alaska is an equal opportunity employer.

Contact Information

If you choose to be contacted by email, please ensure that your email address is correct on your application and that your spam filter will permit emails from the governmentjobs.com domain.

Please direct questions about application submission or system errors to the Workplace Alaska hotline at 1-800-587-0430 (toll-free) or [phone] if you are in the Juneau area. You may also email requests for information to [e-mail].

For specific information about this position, please get in touch with the hiring manager at the following:

Kris Hess

Division Operations Manager (Deputy Director)

Phone [phone] (Statewide toll-free number)
[phone] (Juneau and out-of-state callers)