Environmental Education Coordinator - Entomology na THE WOODLANDS TOWNSHIP

Description

Summary of Duties: Under general supervision of the Environmental Services Manager, this position develops, promotes, and implements environmental education programs for the residents, schools, community organizations and Village Associations of The Woodlands Township. This position is responsible for the planning and development of outreach programs, materials, and events related to mosquito prevention, reduction of mosquito breeding sites, integrated pest management, reduction of pesticides/insecticides in home landscapes and education on beneficial insects. This position oversees the Mosquito Surveillance and Education program staff focused on reducing mosquito-borne disease in The Woodlands through outreach activities, educational campaigns, and actions that support public health partners such as trapping, testing and data reporting. This position is responsible for the planning and development of special events and outreach programs related to entomology. This position is also a resource for the Environmental Services Department’s initiatives including solid waste and recycling, resource conservation, mosquito control, sustainable landscaping and gardening practices, local flora and fauna, and other department topics.

 

Emergency Response Responsibilities: During emergency conditions, subject to being called to work in the event of a disaster, such as a hurricane, or other emergency situation and are expected to perform emergency service duties, as assigned.

 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Subject matter expert on all aspects of the Mosquito Surveillance program including trap usage, navigation, driver & field safety, mosquito biology & identification, sample processing for arbovirus testing, larvicide, and outreach communication. Train staff and volunteers to complete work efficiently, accurately, and safely.
• Maintain accurate and complete databases and oversee the quality control of data entry by various personnel.
• Provide reports throughout the surveillance season for leadership, internal staff and public partner agencies with a high level of accuracy and discretion.
• Respond to resident concerns about mosquitoes and/or potential breeding sites; provide solutions where possible and report issues to properties owners, county entities, and/or utilities to repair or maintain infrastructure to prevent or reduce larval habitat.
• Create and deliver engaging presentations on mosquito bite prevention, source reduction, arboviruses, integrated pest management, beneficial insects and other topics as assigned.
• Develop and implement special events and programs including but not limited to the BioBlitz event and educational sessions on various departmental topics.
• Play a supporting role in the planning and development of numerous department special events including, but not limited to Arbor Day Tree Giveaway, Community Tree Planting, Woodlands Landscaping Solutions, Recycling Drive Thru, Pumpkin Smash, and other school field studies.
• Create and deliver outdoor experiential education activities for a wide range of audience types. Develop and coordinate School Field Studies Programming. Staff educational booths at outreach events on a range of department topics. Develop and deliver presentations in person and online on a variety of department topics.
• Bring forward effective, innovative messaging strategies to design and disseminate outreach materials on a wide range of environmental and sustainability-related topics. Materials include but are not limited to magazine articles, blogs, press releases, social media posts, mailers, web pages, advertisements, etc.
• Provide excellent customer service in support of the Township’s waste management contract as well as the range of local sustainability and conservation related topics.
• Recruit, train, coordinate and cultivate volunteers including individuals, youth groups and community organizations to broaden educational outreach and community involvement projects.
• Network with governmental, environmental, and public health organizations at local, regional, and national level.
• Research grant and outside funding sources to enhance programming resources. Write grant and award applications.
• Solicit bids and negotiate agreements with vendors.
• Assist Environmental Services Manager in budget development, monthly and quarterly reports, and grants.
• Meet and maintain the requirements of the driver safety policy.
• Employee is required to work certain special events on nights, weekends, or holidays.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

 

Supervisory Responsibilities: Directly supervises mosquito surveillance staff – 1 Senior Mosquito Surveillance Technician and seasonal Mosquito Technicians. Occasional direction of helpers, assistants, seasonal employees, interns, or temporary employees. Supervise volunteers in the office, in the field, and at special events.

 

Work performed by those being supervised is semi-complex.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

Knowledge of: Mosquito bionomics, larval habitats, biorational pesticides and source reduction techniques. Educational and informative presentation techniques for a wide variety of audiences. Broad range of environmental concerns and issues pertaining to entomology, native plants and wildlife, conservation practices and sustainable landscape practices. Understanding of effective messaging strategies and techniques.

 

Ability to: Develop impactful, innovative educational programs.

 

Education: Bachelor's Degree from four-year college or university with a degree in Environmental Science, Biology, Entomology, or related field.

 

Experience: Three (3) years of related experience and/or training; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

 

Licenses and Certifications:

• Must possess a Texas driver’s license within the first ninety (90) days of employment and meet the driver safety policy requirements.
• Certification in Integrated Vector Management or Integrated Mosquito Management is a plus.
• Associate Certified Entomologist, Board Certified Entomologist or Certified IPM Technician is a plus.

 

Computer Skills: Proficient in MS Office; additional expertise in ArcGIS, GovDelivery, Microsoft Forms, Canva, MailChimp, and Adobe preferred.

 

Language Skills: Confident and effective public speaker. Excellent writing skills essential. Ability to read and interpret documents such as contracts, safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, and procedure manuals.

 

Mathematical Skills: Have the ability to compute and apply concepts such as fractions, percentages, ratios, and proportions to practical situations. Have the ability to work with concepts of probability and statistics.

 

Reasoning Ability: Detail oriented with strong organizational skills. Possess skills in planning, scheduling, prioritizing, and coordinating activities. Have the ability to identify and utilize resources effectively. Have the ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out instructions furnished in written, oral or diagram form. Have the ability to deal with problems involving several concrete variables in standardized situations.

 

Other Skills and Abilities: Must have superior teamwork skills, able to both support and lead peers. Ability to self-direct, and work with minimal supervision. Has the ability to work flexible hours including early morning, evenings and weekends depending on the program. Excellent customer service, organizational and interpersonal skills are essential. Have general knowledge of community resources in The Woodlands.

 

Human Collaboration Skills: Decisions regarding implementation of policies may be made. Contact may involve support of controversial positions or the negotiation of sensitive issues or important presentations. Contacts may involve stressful, negative interactions with the public requiring high levels of tact and the ability to respond to aggressive interpersonal interactions.

 

The likely impact on the organization is moderate.

 

Freedom to Act: The employee normally performs the job by following established standard operating procedures and/or policies. There is a choice of the appropriate procedure or policy to apply to duties. Performance reviewed periodically.

 

The impact of action is moderate: Moderate benefits or costs in time, money, or public/employee relations.

 

Technical Skills: Skilled: Work requires practical knowledge of a technical field with use of analytical judgment and decision-making abilities appropriate to the work environment of the organization.

 

Work product primarily affects unit processes.

 

Budget Responsibility: Prepares accounting, budget, employment actions, and purchasing documents; and does research to justify language used in documents for a unit or division of a department. Candidate may recommend budget allocations.

 

Physical Demands: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle, or feel, reach with hands and arms, and interpret. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and frequently lift and/or move up to 40 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and ability to adjust focus.

 

This role has a high requirement for presence in the field to complete necessary work, supervise staff, and respond to service requests. One can expect the following demands from April to November:

 

Trapping Days:

• 1-2 hours of gathering and loading equipment in a truck for 24 traps, some equipment up to 40 lbs.
• 4 hours of driving to sites and walking over rough terrain, squatting/kneeling, reaching, lifting/carrying 15 lbs of equipment to trap sites and getting in/out of a truck.
• 1-2 hours of unloading and storing equipment.
• This occurs a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 days a week, depending on operations.

 

Inspection Days:

• 3-5 hours of walking, sometimes over rough terrain, kneeling/squatting, reaching, lifting/carrying some equipment.
• Operating a gas-powered backpack blower, estimated at 30 lbs.
• 1-2 hours of loading/unloading equipment and larvicide.

 

 

Work Conditions: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

 

While performing the duties of this job, often exposed to the elements for multiple hours at a time under medium physical exertion.

 

While working events, employee may be required to stand for long periods of time.

 

Satisfactory: Occasional exposure to unpleasant environmental conditions and/or hazards. Often work outside under moderate physical effort.

 

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

 

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The Woodlands Township is an Equal Opportunity Employer and values diversity at all levels of its workforce.

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