Planning Specialist III – RainScapes Program (Grade 23)
Montgomery County Government
Department of Environmental Protection
2425 Reedie Drive, Wheaton, Maryland 20902

Salary Range: $69,222 to $110,588

THIS RECRUITMENT MAY BE USED TO FILL CURRENT AND FUTURE VACANCIES IN THE STEWARDSHIP PROGRAMS SECTION WITHIN THE WATERSHED RESTORATION DIVISION. THERE ARE TWO (2) CURRENT VACANCIES.

This position may be under-filled at the Planning Specialist II, Grade 21, level with a salary range of $63,642 to $101,175.  There is a non-competitive promotional opportunity to a Planning Specialist III, Grade 23, level with a salary range of $69,222 to $110,588.

The mission of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is to enhance the quality of life in our community by protecting and improving Montgomery County’s air, water, and land in a sustainable, innovative, inclusive, and industry-leading way while fostering smart growth, a thriving more sustainable economy and healthy communities.  DEP is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals and values diverse perspectives, lived experiences, and cultures. DEP encourages BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color), immigrants, women, LGBTQIA+, individuals with disabilities and veterans to apply.

DEP is seeking an experienced Planning Specialist III to provide technical support to property owners and organizations and provide outreach efforts to promote the use of small-scale stormwater runoff controls, such as low impact design (LID) and environmental site design (ESD) techniques, on residential and commercial properties through the RainScapes Program offerings. The RainScapes program offers technical resources, outreach and rebate incentives (RainScapes Rewards Rebates) for voluntary installation of projects that improve watershed health and reduce runoff.  The types of retrofit run-off controls (RainScapes techniques) include, but are not limited to, rain gardens, conservation landscaping, rain barrels, cisterns, and pervious pavement retrofits.

The ideal candidate likes working with people, is engaging, creative, and has a desire to interact with Montgomery County’s residents who have diverse cultures, backgrounds, and experiences.  They will be able to demonstrate skill with conducting field evaluations and developing and reviewing site-specific design recommendations for small-scale ESD/ RainScapes retrofit runoff controls whether working independently or with others on the team and will be comfortable using the range of software tools used by the program.  The candidate should have passion for environmental protection and knowledge of native plants, water quality issues, and experience with outreach and engagement campaigns, communication, website content, and social media.

Key duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

  • Project management: Conducting site assessments, providing design assistance, and performing project management and review and documenting results in the program database.
  • Outreach: Developing and implementing targeted RainScapes outreach events and demonstration projects to promote the implementation of RainScapes practices on private properties to the general public and identified communities, particularly front line and underrepresented communities in the county.
  • Communication: Developing communications materials in a variety of formats for providing program presentations, and conducting meetings, seminars and demonstrations and facilitating translation of those materials with our County contractor.
  • Training: Providing classroom and hands-on training to property owners, contractors, organizations and groups interested in green infrastructure for watershed health.

Bilingual applicants are encouraged to apply. If the candidate selected for this position possesses multilingual skills, they will be required to successfully pass an examination assessing oral communication, reading comprehension, and interpreting skills. For Advanced proficiency, the candidate must also pass an examination requiring translating text.

The successful candidate must have the ability to work independently as well as work in a collaborative environment within a large organization with multiple priorities, have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and be highly organized and detail oriented. These skills include using specified software and other tools to create materials for reporting purposes and outreach.

The work requires the employee to visit sites and attend meetings or perform work at locations outside of the office. The work is performed in an office environment and at locations outside of the office that include independently conducting site visits and events in environmental conditions that present moderate discomfort.

The employee will use a variety of office equipment, cameras, hand tools and mobile technology including multiple software platforms such as Adobe suite programs, AutoCAD or other drawing software, GIS and MS Office including database packages.  Proficient in Microsoft Office Professional, including Word, Excel, Access, Outlook and PowerPoint.

This position involves field work which requires the ability to perform work outdoors, may involve frequent walking over difficult terrain, occasional stooping, bending, and reaching, lifting and carrying moderate weight (25 lbs.), and exposure to adverse weather conditions.

This position requires possession of a valid driver’s license and the ability to drive a County vehicle to attend meetings, transport work devices such as tablets, measuring wheels, tapes, penetrometers, and equipment such as shovels, to conduct site visits throughout Montgomery County in order to perform evaluations, inspections, installations and investigations, and perform other work at locations outside the office.

Preference will be given to otherwise qualified applicants also possessing registration as a Licensed Landscape Architect, Certified Professional Horticulturist, National Green Infrastructure Certification Program (NGICP), or Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional Level 1 or Level 2 (CBLP 1) or (CBLP2), Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Accredited Organic Land Care Professional.

Occasional evening or weekend work outside of normal business hours may be required.

To ensure a positive workplace and to comply with federal, state and County laws, the incumbent is responsible for completing mandatory trainings within the first three to six months or within the specified timeframe.

For information about Montgomery County Government’s comprehensive benefits package, please visit the MCG Total Rewards webpage and check out our competitive benefits!

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS  

If Position is Filled at the Planning Specialist II, Grade 21 Level:

Experience: Two (2) years of experience in planning and research related to land use, urban economics, human services, environmental issues, conservation or other work directly related to some municipalities planning and development work such as landscape design with native plants for stormwater management and plan review and inspection, landscape management and maintenance planning.

If Position is Filled at the Planning Specialist III, Grade 23 Level:

 Experience: Three (3) years of experience in planning and research related to land use, urban economics, human services, environmental issues, conservation or other work directly related to some municipalities planning and development work such as landscape design with native plants for stormwater management and plan review and inspection, landscape management and maintenance planning.

All Levels:

Education:  Graduation from an accredited college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in planning, urban design, environmental studies, public administration or related field such as landscape architecture, horticulture, ecology, or recreation and parks management.

Equivalency: An equivalent combination of education or experience may be substituted.

License: Possession and maintenance at all times of a valid Class “C” (or equivalent) driver’s license from the applicant’s state of residence.

Work Environment: The work is mainly performed indoors in an office environment and sometimes outdoors under adverse weather conditions, which involves normal, everyday discomforts.

Physical Demands: Tasks may involve frequent walking over difficult terrain, lifting and carrying moderate weight (25 lbs.), and exposure to adverse weather conditions. Operation of survey equipment may be required.

PREFERRED CRITERIA

There are NO Preferred Criteria Assessments. All Applicants will be reviewed by the Office of Human Resources (OHR) for minimum qualifications.  Those applicants who meet minimum qualifications will be rated “Qualified”, placed on the eligible list, and may be considered for an interview.  Employees meeting minimum qualifications of the same grade or higher will be placed on the Eligible List as a “Transfer” candidate and may be considered for an interview.

Preference for interviews will be given to applicants with experience in the following.  Please address this information in a separate section of the resume.

  • Experience and knowledge of landscape architectural concepts, horticultural plant selection and proper installation practices particularly applied to the subspecialty of ESD/LID facility suitability in the MidAtlantic Region.
  • Experience in site assessment, site planning, selection, design and construction of vegetated LID/ESD stormwater management systems, facilities and other types of LID/ESD Stormwater management practices such as Permeable Pavements and Water Harvesting.
  • Experience working with frontline communities impacted by climate change and experience improving participation in environmental programs in communities where there may be barriers to participation including language, income or education.
  • Experience in development and delivery of outreach programs suited to a wide range of lay and professional audiences both in the field or in a classroom setting.
  • Experience in creating reports or other reporting analysis from program data.
  • Knowledge of the Federal Clean Water Act, Code of Maryland regulations (Specifically Title 26 Subtitle 08: Department of Environment, Water Pollution, State of Maryland Stormwater Design Manual Criteria (aka Chapter 5) and Montgomery County Code Chapter 19.

IMPORTANT: If selected for consideration for this position, you will be required to provide a portfolio of green infrastructure landscape design work with examples of projects produced, including information of plant selection, visuals to present the project such as printed materials and links to websites, photography, videography or downloadable materials as well as work samples from CAD or other drawing software and GIS. Other relevant materials such as brochures or social media content may be included in the portfolio. You may also be required to provide evidence that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities indicated on your resume.

Montgomery County Government offers competitive salaries and excellent benefits.

To view the complete job announcement and to apply, please visit our website at https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HR/Recruitment/MCGCareers.html  
and click on the “Search Jobs and Apply” tab. Read the full job description under the “General Professional” Job Category. Interested candidates must create an online account in order to apply.

The requisition number is IRC61569.

This Recruitment Closes February 23, 2024.

All resume submissions must address the preferred criteria for the position, which are listed in the full advertisement, preferably in a separate section of the resume.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review the Resume Preparation Tips listed under the “Career Resources” tab on the Office of Human Resource’s WORK4MCG webpage.

EOE. M/F/H.