Environmental Education Specialist

The City:
With over 100,000 residents, the City of Allen is a dynamic and welcoming community. Its strong economy, diverse population, great educational institutions, and quality of life make it the ideal place to work, live, and play. The City of Allen has something to offer everyone.

The City's Mission is "to achieve excellence in managing the development of the community and in providing city services, so that conditions of living and public confidence are continually enhanced."

• People First - Giving priority to others
• Respect - Treating others with courtesy and dignity
• Integrity - Serving with honesty, trust, and hard work
• Deliver - Following through on commitments while exceeding expectations
• Excel - Creating an innovative and improving work environment

Under general supervision, provides educational information to the public on solid waste, recycling, waste reduction, storm water pollution prevention, and other related environmental programs. This is accomplished by planning, scheduling, coordinating, tracking, reporting, and conducting educational programs. Other duties include coordinating involvement in activities such as special events and promotional campaigns, developing and maintaining educational materials, presenting to students in grades Kindergarten through 12th Grade, updating and maintaining relevant website information, and interacting with other City employees, citizens, and the media. This position does not provide direction to other employees.

• Plans, develops, and presents public education programs through lesson plans, selecting and creating educational materials, and developing presentation methods. Documents education programs, analyzes data, evaluates program effectiveness, and schedules and coordinates public education programs.
• Interacts with the public by creating written communications for the press, interacting with the media, coordinating and supervising involvement in activities including special events and promotional campaigns, ensuring the quality of department-related community programs (such as Keep Allen Beautiful) and other city-wide events, and providing information to the community using TCEQ and NCTCOG information, materials and programs.
• Performs administrative duties by recording, preparing, and submitting reports documenting the City's environmental awareness educational programs for submission to City, State, and/or National agencies and submitting statistics on programs for certification and program resources.
• Identifies outside funding sources for department and City projects by researching State, Federal, and Foundation websites to locate grant opportunities, creating and maintaining a database of opportunities, determining feasibility, eligibility, and requirements for grants, and preparing and tracking grant submissions and reports.
• Assists with Keep Allen Beautiful by recruiting, training, and managing volunteers, staff, or other organizational partners participating in special events, litter cleanups, chemical redistribution, or other City-related events and operations.
• Provides assistance to the general public and supports the Waste Services Division by answering the telephones, maintaining records, creating and assigning work orders, performing statistical analysis, providing customer service, and crisis support during unforeseen disaster events.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: General Supervision: Work is typically reviewed upon completion, with occasional spot checks while in process, to ensure accuracy, timeliness, and conformance to established standards; autonomy is granted at the service or program level; work is subject to general and departmental policies, procedures, and guidelines.

Education and Experience:
Work requires broad knowledge in a general professional or technical field. A typical way to obtain the required qualifications would be:

• Associate's degree plus two (2) years of relevant work experience and at least one (1) year of teaching experience in either formal or informal educational settings
• High School Diploma or equivalent, plus six (6) years of relevant work experience and at least one (1) year of teaching experience in either formal or informal educational settings

Knowledge of:

• Federal, State, and City laws, rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Municipal Solid Waste, Household Hazardous Waste, construction waste/recycling, environmental issues, and disposal operations.
• Grant funding processes and procedures.
• Adult learning methods and techniques.
• Project Management methods and techniques.
• Modern office practices, procedures, and equipment.

Skill in:

• Establishing and maintaining working relationships with elected officials, professional and support staff, vendors, the public, and City employees.
• Providing outstanding customer service and conflict resolution.
• Understanding and interpreting complex laws, rules, regulations, policies, and guidelines.
• Presenting complex topics to a wide variety of audiences.
• Analyzing statistics, record keeping, program implementation, and environmental education.
• Working effectively in a high-pressure environment with changing priorities.
• Effectively communicating in both oral and written formats.

Physical Demands / Work Environment:

• Standard office environment.
• Ability to work outdoors in all weather conditions.
• Ability to sit or stand for long periods.
• Ability to reach, lift, push, pull, carry, bend, twist, climb, and crouch.
• Ability to operate city or personal vehicle for business purposes.

The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as needed.