Environmental Analyst – Interstate Environmental Commission (IEC), BioBAT, Brooklyn Army Terminal, 140 58^th Street, Building A, 2^nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11220

LOCATION: Brooklyn, New York, and boat-based surveys departing from Port Washington, New York.

STARTING SALARY RANGE: Approximately $58,500-$75,000. Grade and Step dependent upon level of experience and qualifications

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: Benefits provided but not included in salary: vacation, personal and sick leave, health, life insurance, retirement plan. Tuition reimbursement plan. This position requires the incumbent to work five days a week, 7½ hours per day, except for approved time off. This is not a remote or hybrid position. While a regularly scheduled telecommuting day is not an available benefit for IEC employees, an employee who has completed the probationary period may request a day to work at home in connection with a specific project.

 BACKGROUND:  The Interstate Environmental Commission comprehensively addresses water quality issues and priorities in the IEC jurisdictional waters in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, and CT).  IEC’s jurisdictional waters were established by compact in 1936, which also established IEC as an interstate organization responsible for protecting the water and air of its jurisdictional area.

SUPERVISORY CONTROLS: Incumbent consults with the Executive Director to prioritize responsibilities and duties in accordance with approved workplans. The Executive Director evaluates job performance. Incumbent operates with substantial independence of action and delegation of professional decisions within his or her area of activity.

JOB SUMMARY: The incumbent will provide overall project management for IEC’s ambient water quality monitoring program in western Long Island Sound and participate in and assist with the coordination of other monitoring programs.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

As IEC’s western Long Island Sound (WLIS) programs project manager, primary responsibility will be the coordination of IEC’s water quality monitoring surveys in western Long Island Sound and its embayments. Water quality monitoring surveys in WLIS occur weekly June through September and monthly October through May, with additional surveys as projects require. Surveys are boat-based and currently embark from Manhasset Bay. Tasks associated with this position include:

• Coordinate sampling schedules and sampling plans in conjunction with laboratory, interns, and boat charter.
• Supervise and perform pre- and post-survey calibration and calibration checks of equipment, maintain equipment, and troubleshooting equipment as necessary, with assistance of a project intern. Ensure adequate inventory of supplies necessary to perform the surveys.
• Supervise and perform boat-based surveys with assistance from interns and other staff, utilizing portable monitoring equipment (YSI EXO1 sondes) to collect field measurements.
• Supervise and perform sampling, preservation and transport of samples, perform filtration and processing of samples for analysis or shipment, as required, with assistance of interns and laboratory staff.
• Assure that all field monitoring and sampling activities are performed in accordance with approved standard operating procedures (SOPs) and approved Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPPs) and that all data are recorded properly on calibration sheets, field data sheets, chain of custody and other documents, as appropriate.
• Coordinate shipping of samples to contract laboratory, as necessary.
• Perform and review data entry into Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) and online databases (WQX EPA’s online water quality database).
• Summarize weekly monitoring data for distribution to stakeholders, and assist with an annual WLIS monitoring report jointly with Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) staff.
• Participate at committees and workgroup meetings associated with Long Island Sound Study, including the Long Island Sound Study Management Committee, Water Quality Monitoring Workgroup, and Science and Technical Advisory Committee.
• Assist with laboratory analyses of water samples, including chlorophyll a, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and total suspended solids (TSS) in accordance with established standard operating procedures (SOPs) based on EPA approved methods, as necessary

As Monitoring Coordinator for IEC’s monitoring activities associated with the Unified Water Study:

• Participate in boat-based early morning (dawn) monitoring surveys of Little Neck Bay and Manhasset Bay twice a month May through October, utilizing portable monitoring equipment (YSI EXO1 sondes) to measure water quality profiles
• Supervise and perform pre- and post-survey calibration and calibration checks of equipment, maintain equipment, and troubleshooting equipment as necessary, with assistance of a project intern.
• Perform field filtrations for chlorophyll and process filters for shipping to project-designated laboratory
• Adhere to program-specific quality assurance project plan and standard operating procedures
• Record monitoring data on project-specific data sheets and upload to shared (Microsoft Teams folder)
• Enter data on project-specific spreadsheet template and perform review data for transcriptional errors,
• Attend annual in-person training and participate in field audits, as required by the program.
• Communicate via email and Microsoft Teams with coordinating organization.

Assist with other Long Island Sound monitoring projects, including a regional pathogen indicator monitoring network.

RECOMMENDED QUALIFICATIONS:

Education

A bachelor’s degree in environmental science, biology, chemistry, earth science, environmental health, natural science, toxicology, public health, or a related field. Master’s degree preferred.

Experience

Ideal applicants will have at least (A) three years of full-time, or equivalent part time, technical or professional experience, of which (B) at least one year must have been in a professional capacity.

Special Knowledge and Skills:   Ideal applicants will be organized, flexible, detail-oriented, with a proven ability to understand, coordinate and prioritize multiple tasks associated with a project and a strong interest in water quality issues related to Long Island Sound. Candidates should be comfortable working in a combination of laboratory and field settings and be equally comfortable and effective working independently or as well as a part of a small team.

Required:

• Knowledge of and experience with water quality monitoring and sampling procedures.
• Experience with the collection, organization, and analysis of environmental data.
• Desire and ability to work outside, on a boat, under a variety of environmental conditions, starting very early in the morning up to two days per week (leaving dock as early as 5am) from May through September.
• Excellent computer skills, including proficiency with Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, ArcGIS.
• Ability to write technically and concisely in order to produce technical documents and reports.
• Exceptional communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Ability to work both independently and as part of a team.
• Ability to take initiative to coordinate, troubleshoot and manage a monitoring project without ongoing supervision.
• Valid driver’s license, private means of transportation, and willingness to transport water samples and sampling equipment when necessary.
• Experience driving in and around the tri-state area (NY, CT, and NJ.)
• Ability to lift and carry up to 50 pounds.

Desired:

• Prior experience with YSI EXO1 sondes or similar water quality monitoring equipment.
• Knowledge of budget preparation and grant writing.
• Knowledge and interest in updating website content, managing and creating content for social media posts.

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS:  Fieldwork begins in the early morning and occurs in all weather including heat, sun, and rain, with little to no shelter. Fieldwork may require flexibility in hours including early morning start times and occasional workdays that exceed 7.5 hours (in which case compensatory time will be approved and earned). Some monitoring surveys require working as long as 6 hours on a sampling vessel without access to amenities. Position requires extensive driving around tri-state area.

TO APPLY: Send a cover letter, resume, a list of references, and a short writing sample to [email protected]  by June 14^th, 2024. Please reference position number 24-IEC-004 in the e-mail subject line.