Environmental Protection Wildlife Biologist 2 (35 Hour)
State of Connecticut
Full-time
On-site
Burlington, Connecticut, United States
$76,600 - $110,249 USD yearly
Introduction
Do you have experience in wildlife management? If so, we invite you to explore this opportunity with the State of Connecticut!
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is hiring an Environmental Protection Wildlife Biologist 2 at Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area in Burlington, CT.
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
- NEW: Visit our State Employee Benefits Overview page!
- The opportunity to work for a Forbes top company: 'Forbes' State of Connecticut Ranked One of the Best Employers of 2023 - State of CT Receives National Recognition for Offering Job Growth, Competitive Benefits, and Flexible Schedule.
- Professional growth and development opportunities.
- A healthy work/life balance to all employees.
Our state has a lot to offer - from fun activities for all ages, to great food and shopping, to beautiful state parks and forests, to our diverse cultures and rich history. Connecticut is a great place to live! Learn more about Connecticut here.
POSITION DETAILS
This is a full-time, 35 hour per week position on a first shift, Monday-Friday schedule. Hybrid work opportunities are available for this position.
Specific responsibilities of this position will include but not be limited to:
- Create and review content for the Wildlife Division website and social media platforms.
- Manage public relations and communications messaging for sensitive or controversial wildlife-human interactions and management issues.
- Design, conduct, and interpret qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys to aid wildlife management decision making and public communication.
- Translate information needs regarding wildlife and natural resources stakeholders into studies to inform management and outreach efforts.
- Lead or facilitate stakeholder or community meetings related to natural resources or human-wildlife interactions.
- Assist in the development and distribution of press releases and response to media inquiries.
- Assist other programs in understanding human values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, preferences, and expectations as they influence wildlife conservation and management.
- Collaborate with communications and marketing agencies to ensure wildlife and natural resource messaging considers public values, beliefs, attitudes, preferences, and expectations.
- Develop and present public presentations, both technical and general.
- Assist staff with field work to better understand areas where biological and social science may not align.
- Assist staff in translating complex or controversial wildlife conservation or research results into relevant, readily accessible outreach materials.
For additional responsibilities, see the "Examples of Duties" section below.
ABOUT US
CT DEEP is charged with conserving, improving and protecting Connecticut's natural resources and environment as well as making affordable, clean and reliable energy available for the people and businesses of the state. The agency is also committed to playing a positive role in building Connecticut's green economy and fostering a sustainable and prosperous economic future.
Sessions Woods WMA focuses on conservation education, with facilities to bring school groups, the general public and natural resource professionals from throughout Connecticut and the region to participate in educational programs, demonstrations, and workshops pertaining to wildlife and natural resource management. These facilities include an education center with an exhibit area and a large meeting room, as well as interpretive trails, and habitat management demonstration sites. Sessions Woods WMA offers conservation education programs that use the expertise of Wildlife Division and other DEEP natural resource management staff. Staff may also be available, by appointment, to conduct group educational programs at the Center and to give technical assistance and professional advice to visitors on an individual basis.
For an inside look at how State of Connecticut employees Make an ImpaCT, watch the video below!
Selection Plan
Before you apply:
- In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on the job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.
- The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
- Ensure that your application is complete and detailed before submitting it. In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process. You will not be able to make revisions once your application is submitted into the JobAps system.
- All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.
- For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from branch to branch but it does not impact your state service credit.
- This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the questionnaire's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.
- Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.
- Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.
- For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e., Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.
- The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)
In the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Division of Wildlife this class is accountable for performing the most complex tasks in wildlife management, research and conservation.
EXAMPLES OF DUTIES
- Plans and estimates the amount and kind of labor needed on wildlife social science projects;
- Selects the number and style of stakeholder engagements to advance wildlife conservation projects;
- Keeps progress reports and records;
- Analyzes study data and prepares written and graphical descriptions of results;
- Interprets social science data to better understand and explain its relationship to management issues;
- Provides technical assistance to biologists on use of social science information to aid conservation and manage human/wildlife interactions;
- Helps develop public relations and communication messaging;
- Prepares material for and conducts public interviews/engagement on sensitive or controversial wildlife issues across media platforms;
- Leads or facilitates stakeholder engagement meetings on wildlife conservation and management;
- Works with marketing and communication agencies on wildlife or natural resource campaigns;
- Website content entry;
- Designs, conducts, and interprets qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys using statistical methodologies;
- Translates wildlife management information needs regarding stakeholders into studies;
- Aids in crafting legislation and regulations which will benefit programs and operations of the division;
- Attends conferences and seminars on wildlife human dimensions topics;
- May serve as program representative on advisory boards or committees as needed;
- Performs related duties as required.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY
- Considerable knowledge of
- habits and ecology of wildlife species;
- principles and practices of wildlife management and conservation, including habitat management, development and manipulation of land resources, and planning/directing research projects;
- Knowledge of
- wildlife management programs;
- upland wildlife propagation including incubation and disease;
- Skills
- interpersonal skills;
- oral and written communications skills;
- Ability to
- prepare reports and surveys;
- apply sound statistical procedures;
- interpret wildlife laws and regulations;
- utilize computer software.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE
Seven (7) years of experience in wildlife management.
NOTE: Wildlife management is defined as work requiring a knowledge of scientific fields such as wildlife, biology, zoology, wildlife population dynamics, wildlife ecology, plant ecology, vertebrate zoology, ornithology, mammalogy, animal and plant taxonomy.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED
- College training in wildlife management as defined may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
- A Master's degree in wildlife management as defined may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience managing public relations and communications messaging regarding controversial issues, pertaining to wildlife or natural resources management.
- Experience responding to sensitive or controversial issues across written and digital media platforms, including responding to interview requests, replying to written or verbal media inquiries, and managing social media responses.
- Experience conducting stakeholder and community engagement, such as leading or facilitating stakeholder or community meetings, pertaining to natural resources or human-wildlife interactions.
- Experience working with marketing and communications agencies on messaging campaigns, pertaining to natural resources.
- Experience investigating and assessing human values, beliefs, norms, attitudes, preferences, and expectations about wildlife or wildlife management.
- Experience designing, conducting, and interpreting qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys and using statistical methodologies to aid wildlife management decision making and public communication.
- Experience designing, conducting, and interpreting focus or stakeholder group processes that inform wildlife management decision making.
- Experience translating management information needs regarding stakeholders into studies conducted or commissioned by an agency.
SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS
- Incumbents in this class must be willing to accept assignment or transfer to any area of the State.
- Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.
- Incumbents in this class may be required to possess and retain a valid Motor Vehicle Operator’s license.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
- Incumbents in this class must have adequate physical strength, stamina, physical agility and visual and auditory acuity, and must maintain such physical fitness as to be able to perform the duties.
- A physical examination will be required.
WORKING CONDITIONS
Incumbents in this class may be subject to some danger of injury or personal harm from environmental and working conditions and to some discomfort from year round weather conditions.
Conclusion
AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes. As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.