Education Specialist at King County in

Summary

About the Role: The King County Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) is seeking two experienced Education Specialists to join our Education and Engagement team!

The Education Specialist positions are an exciting opportunity to coordinate and teach diverse programs within WTD's Education & Engagement Unit. These programs lead to more sustainable and high-quality community partnerships, engagement, education services, and career opportunities for local communities. King County provides many opportunities for career development and training to all staff.

As an Education Specialist, you will help coordinate and deliver education programs within the Environmental and Community Services Section (ECSS) of WTD. This includes delivering programs located at our three main sites in Renton, Woodinville and Seattle (Georgetown), supporting daily functions, including coordination of logistics, staffing, and teaching at each site.

About the team:
The Education and Engagement team is a dedicated, passionate team whose mission is to support a diverse community to act as stewards of our environment.

We do this by:

increasing the communities understanding of and connection to their local water resources
creating long-term partnerships and collaborative opportunities
providing support and funding to community organizations, schools, and agencies
supporting communities in capacity building and careers; and
providing welcoming safe gathering spaces to support community needs

The Wastewater Treatment Division (WTD) protects public health and the environment and provides equitable, inclusive services to residents and businesses across King County. To our agency, success means providing clean water safely and reliably to the next generation. It also means being accountable to our ratepayers and operating a well-managed agency. We are committed to the principles of equity and social justice. We value diverse perspectives and life experiences in our workforce and are committed to building a culturally diverse and inclusive environment.

This position performs work remotely and onsite.

Commitment to Equity, Racial and Social Justice:
King County, named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is a diverse and vibrant community that represents cultures from around the world. Our True North is to create a welcoming community where everyone can thrive. We prioritize equity, racial and social justice, making it a foundational and daily expectation for all employees. As an King County Employee, you will actively apply these principles in all aspects of your work. Learn more about our commitment at http://www.kingcounty.gov/equity.

Apply now for a rewarding career at the Wastewater Treatment Division of King County Department of Natural Resources & Parks (DNRP). Join our talented workforce in protecting and restoring the natural environment and promoting more resilient, sustainable, and equitable communities. Enjoy training, comprehensive benefits, and growth opportunities.

Job Duties

What You Will Be Doing:

Teaching programs - teaching all ages about water systems including wastewater, stormwater, water quality, etc.
Daily program onsite coordination - act as site coordinate for daily programs at teaching sites located in Renton, Woodinville and Seattle (Georgetown); direct on-the-ground coordination with educators, operations, and maintenance staff at these sites as needed.
Education program development - planning and development of diverse education programs and curriculum focused on water topics in coordination with education program managers.
Education program coordination - supporting administrative tasks such as support for program registration, staff scheduling, communications, and logistics necessary for successful education programs.
Program leadership - support and/or lead one or more of the following program areas - family programs, adult workshops, community tours, teen intern program, City Soil Farm education programs, resource recovery programs, high school program, elementary school program and/or career programs.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

Qualifications You Bring:

Minimum of 3 years of experience in teaching about environmental issues to diverse age groups; with specific experience in K-12.
Experience in developing diverse education programs and curriculum focused on environmental topics.
Experience overseeing daily delivery of education programs; including coordinating safety, site logistics, and daily program needs.
Experience working with diverse communities and commitment to Equity and Social Justice (ESJ) in the planning and delivery of education and engagement programs.
Demonstrated experience and skill in working with external partners and the public.
Established ability to manage administrative logistics needed to run successful education programs.

Competencies you bring:

Manages Complexity - Asks the right questions to accurately analyze situations. Acquires data from multiple and diverse sources when solving problems. Uncovers root causes to difficult problems. Evaluates pros and cons, risks and benefits of different solution options.
Decision Quality - Makes sound decisions, even in the absence of complete information. Relies on a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and judgment when making decision. Considers all relevant factors and uses appropriate decision-making criteria and principles. Recognizes when a quick 80% solution will suffice.
Builds Effective Teams - Forms teams with appropriate and diverse mix of styles, perspectives, and experience. Establishes common objectives and a shared mindset. Creates a feeling of belonging and strong team morale. Shares wins and rewards team efforts. Fosters open dialogue and collaboration among the team.
Ensures Accountability - Holds self and others accountable to meet commitments. Follow through on commitments and make sure others do the same. Acts with a clear sense of ownership. Takes personal responsibility for decisions, actions, and failures. Establishes clear responsibilities and processes for monitoring work and measuring results. Designs feedback loop into work.
Drives Engagement - Structures the work so it aligns with people's goals and motivators. Empowers others. Makes each person feel their contributions are important. Invites input and shares ownership and visibility. Shows a clear connection between people's motivators and organizational goals.

It Would Be Great if You Also Bring:

Experience in teaching informal education in the field.
Knowledge of wastewater systems and/or experience in teaching about water (ie. water quality, wastewater, stormwater, water ecosystems, etc.)

Supplemental Information

Working Conditions:

Remote and Onsite Work Details: Employees in this role work primarily onsite with some remote work when not supporting programs onsite. Onsite reporting locations may be at various King County worksites, including South Treatment Plant in Renton, Brightwater, Center in Woodinville and Georgetown Treatment Station in Seattle.
Remote Work Location Requirement: Employees must reside in Washington State and be within a reasonable distance to King County worksites to meet onsite reporting requirements.
Work Schedule: This full-time position works a 40-hour work week with flexible schedules. This position is Exempt and not covered under the provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and is not overtime eligible.
Union Representation: This position is represented by Technical Employees' Association (TEA-WTD).

Application and Selection Process:
We welcome applications from all qualified applicants. We value diversity, diverse perspectives and life experience and encourage people of all backgrounds to apply.
Application materials will be screened for clarity, completeness and alignment with the experience, qualifications, knowledge, and skills essential for this role to determine which candidates may be invited to participate in one or more panel interviews.

To apply, submit a:

Complete Application
Resume
Cover Letter - Detailing your experience that makes you a good fit for this position.

Note: Additional documents won't be considered during minimum qualification screening.

Who to Contact: For more information regarding this recruitment, please contact Delores Venters at dventers@kingcounty.gov

Discover More About DNRP: Visit our website, explore an interactive map of our recent accomplishments and check us out atFacebook, X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, TikTok, Instagram, YouTubeand Keeping King County Green News.

Sign up for Job Alerts to be notified of additional career opportunities with King County. Select the Natural Resources category for DNRP opportunities and explore other categories of interest.

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.
Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer
No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

To Apply
If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions, please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.

Forbes named King County as one of Washington State's best employers.

Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We value diversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles - we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.

To Apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact the recruiter listed on this job announcement.