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Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
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POSITION DESCRIPTION FOR JOB POSTING |
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Position Number: 00042990 |
Description Activated On: 12/22/2025 12:16:14 PM |
Position Purpose: Describe the primary purpose of this position and how it contributes to the organization’s objectives. Example: Provides clerical and office support within the Division to ensure its operations are conducted efficiently and effectively. This position in the Conservation District Support Section is a non-supervisory, professional position under the supervision of the Section Chief. Primary responsibilities of this position are: 1) to motivate and provide guidance to Conservation District directors and staff to develop and implement programs under the authority of Act 217, that will ensure the protection of soil and water resources; 2) to ensure that Conservation Districts fulfill their obligations under delegated and contracted programs; 3) to serve as the primary source of liaison between the Department, Conservation Districts, and the State Conservation Commission; 4) to develop, facilitate and provide training to district staff and directors in order to build the capacity of Conservation Districts; and 5) to work closely with DEP and SCC Staff to facilitate program evaluations. The employee is guided by established policies and procedures of the Department and the Commission and must, at times, independently exercise judgment in making decisions or providing advice on the interpretation of these policies and guidelines. |
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Description of Duties: Describe in detail the duties and responsibilities assigned to this position. Descriptions should include the major end result of the task. Example: Types correspondence, reports, and other various documents from handwritten drafts for review and signature of the supervisor. Specifically, an employee in this position performs the following duties: Provides guidance and assistance to ensure that districts fulfill their obligations under Act 217 and develop programs to ensure the protection of soil and water resources. Be knowledgeable and provide overview of the provisions of Act 217, the Clean Streams Law, Nutrient Management Act, Ch. 102, Ch. 105, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Director’s Handbook, and any other appropriate procedures and federal/state rules/regulations. Attend official and special meetings of conservation districts within assigned regions or as needed in other regions and serve on district committees as appropriate. These include, at a minimum, one conservation district Board Meeting every quarter for each conservation district. If conference call-in capabilities are available, monthly attendance is strongly encouraged. Develop and provide director training through workshops, forums, conferences, etc. Develop and provide training to new directors, managers, and staff relative to district procedures, purposes, and programs. Assist each district in developing meaningful long-range programs, annual programs and budgets. Provide financial oversight relative to conservation district’s proper utilization of federal, state and local funding. Inform directors and staff of new funding opportunities and programs available to conservation districts and how to apply for these funds and programs. Educate directors and staff of changes in program policies and procedures, relevant environmental regulations and conservation legislation. Monitor district programs and strive to upgrade and expand district goals and programs. Motivate districts and assist them in achieving defined goals and objectives. Provide oversight to ensure that districts fulfill their obligations under delegated and contracted programs. Develop and facilitate Conservation District training programs, such as orientation training, and assist with designing the curriculum to be used by District Directors and staff. Provide input to your supervisor on needed revisions to statewide training offerings, scheduling and setting up training events as required, conducting the training event and evaluating its effectiveness, and cooperate with adjacent regions and offices with training. Provide consultative assistance to districts in the conduct of their responsibilities under federal, state or local mandated or delegated programs. Support/assist district and Department technical staff with issues related to erosion control, manure management, Chesapeake Bay Program expectations, stream/wetland encroachments, and other DEP delegated and contracted programs. Attend and actively participate in current programs through relevant program-related training, such as those offered through the DEP Clean Water Academy, Annual Chapter 102 and 105 trainings, etc. Gain a working knowledge of the data management and grant reporting systems used by conservation districts (e.g. PracticeKeeper, GreenPort, e-Grants, etc.) in order to assist districts with their understanding of these systems. Actively participate in district program evaluations. Coordinates DEP – Conservation District related responsibilities and serves as the primary source of communication and liaison between the Department, Conservation Districts, and the State Conservation Commission. Provide reports to Department staff to keep them informed of areas where increased Department assistance would be beneficial and assist in resolution of critical cases relative to state-delegated programs. Inform Conservation District directors and staff of status of programs and compliance actions. Keep directors and staff informed of new Department and Commission initiatives. Attend SCC conference calls and meetings, either via phone or in person. Report back to conservation districts information provided during the SCC meetings. Facilitate the resolution of controversial situations involving the Department, Conservation Districts, and/or the Commission. Perform a lead role in planning and promoting multi-conservation district meetings with the Department ’s Regional Waterways and Wetlands Management Program and Central Office staff (District Roundtables, etc.), and others. Coordinate activities between the Department, Conservation Districts, and other cooperating organizations as appropriate to improve conservation efforts. Assists with activities that will build Conservation District capacity: Consult with county commissioners and advise on ways to promote and strengthen district programs. Work with county commissioners, districts, and organizations to improve the effectiveness of the director nominating process. Advise and consult with directors in the development of job descriptions and job specifications, hiring of new employees, and standards of performance. Provide formal and informal training, assistance and guidance to district managers, technicians, secretaries and other district staff on leadership development topics. Assist districts in developing training programs for employees. Assist district staff in the determination of district program effectiveness and problem resolution. Assist with county, state and (when held in PA) North American Envirothon activities. Promote and work with community action groups, environmental organizations and watershed associations. Consult and advise municipal and county officials and respond to requests for information, assistance and training as it relates to conservation districts and district programs. Prepare presentations and reports on DEP and district activities and speak to organizations. Research information as requested. Disseminate information on actions, events and activities that are of interest or concern to conservation districts per the talking points. Offer suggestions to improve efficiency or effectiveness of programs or actions of the respective DEP programs and the Commission. Develop weekly schedules of activities and keep supervisor and regional office informed of same and prepare reports of activities and submit bi-weekly to supervisor, regional office Waterways and Wetlands Program Manager, and to the State Conservation Commission Executive Secretary. Support Waterways and Wetlands Program initiatives to implement the Chesapeake Bay WIP, Chesapeake Bay Special Projects, Stream Bank Fencing Projects and ARRA grants, as assigned. Oversees Conservation District Performance under Pennsylvania Chesapeake Bay Program Agreements: Coordinates reviews of County Conservation Districts' requests for funding under the Chesapeake Bay Cost Share Program - SPFP. This also includes critical review of any unspent cost share funds quarterly. Maintain appropriate project files and spending/cost tracking information to maintain files current. Monitor planning and implementation status of projects in assigned counties. Assist in the development, monitoring, and achieving of realistic annual goals and objectives for district program technician agreements under CBP. Conducts annual reviews of assigned Conservation District's administration of the Chesapeake Bay Program. These include file reviews for CBP funded BMP farms under non-expired Landowner-District Agreements (CBP-3) and review of Technician goals and accomplishments. Employee may also inspect CBP funded BMP farms. Assist in or conduct compliance inspections at CBP contracted farms where BMPs and NMPs have been approved and implemented for the purpose of offering assistance to the Conservation District and landowner. This is conducted using procedures and forms provided (CBP-9). Provides training on CBP administration to district personnel, and other training initiatives as approved by your Supervisor. Oversees CBP research and demonstration projects in an administrative and technical capacity. Including adherence to budget, approved methodology, reporting and project delivery requirements. Participates in failed BMP process, including the investigation of failed BMPs. Participates in the development of CBP and SBFP planning, policies, procedures, guidance, and documents. Coordinate with supervisor and Watershed Manager to develop contractor data sheets, project layout and location maps, stakes out fence and stream crossing or ramps, establishes construction schedule, conducts inspections during construction, and certifies final projects have been completed to specifications. Complete the Certification Checklist and makes final approval of payment to contractor. Provides administrative assistance on the CBP to assigned Conservation Districts. Assistance is provided in the areas of eligibility of contracting and procurement of Best Management Practices (BMPs), execution of landowner contracts, review of nutrient management programs, tracking of program results, and adherence to program guidelines. The employee supervises the distribution of state funding to Conservation Districts through the CBP for conservation activities designed to protect water quality. Employee also assists the Conservation Districts in evaluating financial needs and makes funding recommendations to supervisor and the Regional Waterways and Wetlands Program Manager for State Conservation Commission approval. Responds to Right-to-Know requests and file review requests. Gathers responsive documents and reviews documents for compliance with Right-to-Know and file review exemptions. Provides documents to file review coordinator and/or Office of Chief Counsel. Promotes the Department’s Mission Inputs appropriate data in a prescribed format to meet data quality standards set forth by guidance, training, and policy across all of DEP’s electronic data systems; to include ensuring accuracy and completeness of entries, and where available, the use of system specific tools to ensure duplicative entries and data quality issues are minimized. This job description in no way states or implies that these are the only duties to be performed by the employee occupying this position. Employees will be required to follow any other job-related instructions and to perform any other job-related duties requested by their supervisor. |
Decision Making: Describe the types of decisions made by the incumbent of this position and the types of decisions referred to others. Identify the problems or issues that can be resolved at the level of this position, versus those that must be referred to the supervisor. Example: In response to a customer inquiry, this work involves researching the status of an activity and preparing a formal response for the supervisor’s signature. Work is assigned as both general program assignments and specific tasks. Most work is in the form of general program assignments, in which the employee exercises considerable judgment in evaluating work needs, prioritizing work into a weekly schedule, and completing the tasks. Specific tasks are discussed with the employee and scheduled as appropriate. The supervisor monitors planned work through the weekly itineraries, and evaluates all work completed through frequent verbal reports, written monthly reports, and direct observation. |
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Requirements Profile: Identify any specific experience or requirements, such as a licensure, registration, or certification, which may be necessary to perform the functions of the position. Position-specific requirements should be consistent with a Special Requirement or other criteria identified in the classification specification covering this position. Example: Experience using Java; Professional Engineer License Experience: Licenses, registrations, or certifications: 1. N/A 2. N/A 3. N/A 4. 5. 6. |
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Essential Functions: Provide a list of essential functions for this position. Example: Transports boxes weighing up to 60 pounds.
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