Environmental Specialist Jobs in Virginia

Description

This City of Roanoke is seeking an Environmental Specialist to work with the Water Quality Administrator to ensure on-going compliance of municipal operations with applicable environmental laws. This job provides technical support with regard to the City of Roanoke’s MS4 Program and the Bacteria Monitoring Program. Primary responsibilities include activities associated with MCM#1 Public Education and Outreach, MCM#2 Public Involvement and Participation, MCM#3 Illicit Discharge, and MCM#6 Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping for Municipal Operations. Duties include development and implementation of effective environmental programing. Working knowledge of the Clean Water Act, MS4 Programs, and bacteria monitoring with Colilert and HF183 Human Marker are preferred. Candidate must be passionate and knowledgeable about local, regional and national environmental issues; particularly with regard to watershed health, green infrastructure, water quality, citizen science and effective environmental outreach. This position will also assist in floodplain management activities and coordinates Community Rating System (CRS) Program to implement campaigns and outreach material under the NFIP outreach. The successful applicant will manage the City of Roanoke CRS program for annual compliance and 5-Year Verification. Within one year of hire must become a certified floodplain manager and complete CRS training.
Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in environmental science or a related natural resources field. Must be able and willing to perform office and field work on a regular basis. The Environmental Specialist will be working as a part of the Stormwater Utility team to fulfill our mission to: Partner with citizens to transform the Roanoke River into a community asset, focal point, and source of pride for those that live, work, learn, and play in its watershed.

Roanoke, Virginia is a unique locality with amenities that you’d expect from a dynamic urban center, without losing the charm of a small town. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the City of Roanoke is one of the area’s largest employers offering competitive health and dental benefits, life insurance, and retirement pension plans. Employees may also choose to participate in optional benefits including a deferred compensation plan and flexible spending account through payroll deduction.

The City of Roanoke is an Equal Employment Opportunity/AA/M/F/Disability Employer.

To elevate the performance of the organization, we are committed to respecting, celebrating, and embracing the collective mixture of differences and similarities between our employees as a rich tapestry. Our behaviors will demonstrate open communication, and we will seek opportunities to learn, recognizing and rewarding actions that promote acceptance while suspending judgment. By doing this, we will foster an inclusive, open work environment that delivers excellent service and creates a more vibrant and inviting community.

This is an exempt position.

Examples of Duties

SUMMARY
Performs complex technical support work related to ensuring the on-going compliance of municipal operations with applicable environmental laws, and supports the administration of a comprehensive environmental management program.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.

Assists in creating outreach materials for stormwater and other related environmental education; including authoring and publishing Stormwater’s monthly electronic newsletter, helps create educational brochures and other outreach materials as needed.
Assists in planning, organizing, and participation at outreach events.
Implements MS4 training for municipal staff. May help train municipal staff in daily operations, new techniques, and the manner of which various environmental regulations apply to their jobs; ensure compliance with both general and function-specific employee training requirements.
Assists in writing and compiling data for MS4 Annual Report.
Coordinates Community Rating System (CRS) Program to implement campaigns, annual Prepareathon event, and outreach material under the NFIP outreach.
Utilizes computer based applications (databases, GIS, Adobe products, internet, etc.) to support development of various environmental programs, plans and projects, visual materials, social media posts and to ensure the on-going maintenance of related record keeping and reporting.
Stays current on environmental issues, with the ability to conduct, interpret data, and apply scientific research to outreach, written materials, and direct communication with the public.
Assists with bacteria monitoring and human marker fieldwork
Supervisory Responsibilities
No direct supervision required. Supervision and guidance of other employees during training or other instruction is required.

Typical Qualifications

Education and/or Experience
Bachelor's degree or equivalent from a four year college or university with major work in environmental science or related natural resources field and two to four years related experience and/or training in environmental science, computer use, research, data interpretation and management, multi-media environmental sampling; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Supplemental Information

Supplemental Information:
Language Skills
Ability to read, analyze, and interpret; journals, reports, documents, maps, laws, policies, and regulations. Ability to keep and maintain detailed and accurate records. Ability to communicate effectively (orally and in writing) with management, all levels of employees, and the general public. Ability to respond appropriately to inquiries and complaints.
Mathematical Skills
Ability to work with mathematical concepts such as percentages, units of measure, and statistics. Ability to conduct and apply basic computations and unit conversions.
Reasoning Ability
Ability to apply sound professional judgment and practices to solve problems where limited standardization or data exist. Ability to interpret a variety of technical material, guidance, and/or instructions furnished in written or oral form. Ability to appropriately assess and respond appropriately to spills, incidents, and other emergencies. Ability to explain complex technical information to a wide variety of audiences, and to adapt communications style and substance accordingly.
Certificates, Licenses, Registrations
Must possess a valid appropriate driver's permit issued by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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 use hands to manipulate, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to walk, stand, and/or sit for prolonged periods, sometimes outdoors and during inclement weather. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 50 pounds. The employee may occasionally be required to wear certain basic personal protective equipment. Specific vision abilities required by this job include ability to adjust focus in all levels of lighting.
Work Environment
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, the employee is frequently exposed to outside weather conditions. The employee is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Employee must have the ability to work overtime and on call in the event of unforeseen work demands and/or response to any emergency.
This is a job description and not an individualized position description. A job description defines the general character and scope of duties and responsibilities of all positions in a job classification, but it is not intended to describe and does not necessarily list the essential job functions for a given position in a classification.

This is a job description and not an individualized position description. A job description defines the general character and scope of duties and responsibilities of all positions in a job classification, but it is not intended to describe and does not necessarily list the essential job functions for a given position in a classification.

Overview of Benefits for Full-Time Employees:

Paid leave is time off from work available for use by an employee upon approval by supervisor. The first 24 consecutive leave hours for any illness must be charged to paid leave with additional time charged to extended illness leave. Paid leave for employees of the city shall accrue as follows:

Years of Service Hours Per Month Fire 24-hr shift Employees
0 - 4 12 19.75
5 - 9 14 22.75
10- 14 16 25.50
15 - 19 17 26.75
20 - 24 18 28.75
25 + 20 32

Extended Illness Leave: shall accrue at the rate of six (6) hours per month. Fire suppression employees shall accrue extended illness leave at nine (9) hours per month.
Funeral Leave: for family, up to three consecutive days.
Military Leave: Twenty-one work days per Federal fiscal year.
Holidays: The City provides 96 hours of annual paid holiday time.

Mental Health & Well-Being Leave: Employees receive 24 hours (Fire Suppression receives 34 hours) of Mental Health & Well-Being Leave upon hire. Certification of mental health diagnosis is not required and leave will not be paid out upon separation.

Shared Leave Bank (effective 1/1/2023): Voluntary membership for full-time Employees who will be out for an extended period of time and has exhausted all other forms of leave. Members are required to provide 8 hours of their Extended Illness per fiscal year and at least 8 hours per assessment. Assessments will be limimted to 4 times per fiscal year (max of 40 hours per fiscal year).

Health Insurance: Four coverage types are available: Employee only, Employee + 1 Child, Employee + Spouse and Family. Coverage is available through payroll deduction.

Additionally, the city offers the following three Aetna Health Plan Options:

PPO 750 – Provides 100% coverage for preventive care; lower deductible and out-of-pocket maximums than other medical plans; and has higher employee premiums. This is comparable to the current insurance program.
PPO/HRA 1500 – Provides 100% coverage for preventive care; has higher deductible and out-of-pocket maximum than the PPO 300 plan; has lower employee premiums than the PPO 300 plan; and the employer makes contributions to an account through a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). The City of Roanoke contributes $500 for employee only coverage and $1,000 for all other tiers. Contributions are pro-rated dependent upon enrollment date.
PPO/HDHP-HSA – Provides 100% coverage for preventive care; has higher deductible and out-of-pocket maximum than other medical plans; has lower employee premiums; and both the employer and the employee make contributions to a Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for medical expenses which apply to the deductible. The City of Roanoke contributes towards the Health Savings Account (HSA), $1,600 for employee only coverage and $3,100 for all other tiers. Contributions are pro-rated dependent upon enrollment date.

Optum RX (Pharmaceutical Benefits Manager) - Manages pharmacy benefits, processes employee pharmacy claims and answers employee pharmacy benefit questions.

Aetna Health Plan 2026 Monthly Rates
PPO 750
Employee Only: $81.94
Employee + Child: $306.26
Employee + Spouse: $718.38
Family: $785.44

PPO/HRA 1500
Employee Only: $53.06
Employee + Child: $260.06
Employee + Spouse: $660.64
Family: $669.94

PPO/HDHP-HSA
Employee Only: $25.10
Employee + Child: $195.72
Employee + Spouse $547.88
Family: $550.56

Dental Insurance: Four coverage types are available: Family, Employee and Spouse, Employee and Child, and Employee only. Coverage is available through payroll deduction.

Delta Dental 2026 Monthly Rates
Employee: $2.80
Employee/Child: $18.88
Employee/Spouse: $18.88
Family: $49.36

Life Insurance: Paid by the City at no cost to employees. Coverage is equal to the annual salary rounded to the next highest thousand and then doubled. For an accidental death, the coverage would be twice this amount.

Optional Life Insurance: Paid by the employee. Various amounts of coverage, including family members, available through payroll deduction.

Long Term Disability Insurance: Designed to provide a monthly benefit to assist employees with bills and maintaining a standard of living when disabled as a result of a covered sickness or injury. Coverage is available through payroll deduction. Annual cost is your annual salary multiplied by .00255. This amount is half of the total premium and the City pays the other half.

Retirement: Employees contribute 5% of salary and choose between participating in a traditional defined benefit plan or a hybrid program. Employees vest in the employer component of either plan upon completing five (5) years of service.

Defined Benefit Pension Plan: Normal retirement after 55th birthday, and when combination of age and creditable service equals 85; or, 65th birthday if completed at least five years of creditable service. For sworn officers in Police and Fire/EMS, normal retirement after 50th birthday, and when combination of age and service equals 75; or, 65th birthday or older with 5 years of creditable service. An annual retirement benefit equals 2.0% of salary (based on an average of the highest five years) times the number of creditable years with a maximum of 63%. Early retirement options are available and reductions may apply based on age and service.

Hybrid Program: Provides the characteristics of the traditional pension plan with that of a deferred compensation plan. The pension plan provides an annual benefit equaling 1% of salary (based on an average of the highest five years) times the number of creditable years with a maximum of 63%. The deferred compensation component provides for the employee contribution to be deposited in an account directed by the member. The combination of the two components is structured to provide approximately the same actuarial benefit as the Defined Benefit Pension Plan. International City Management Association - Retirement Corporation (ICMA-RC) provides the third party administration of this deferred compensation plan for participating employees.

Sheriff's Department Employees are covered b the Virginia Retirement System (VRS). Previous service covered by VRS may be portable to the Roanoke Retirement System.

Retirement Health Savings Plan: All employees contribute 1% of salary to a 401(h) health savings account. Employees vest in the City match of 1% upon completing five (5) years of service. International City Management Association - Retirement Corporation (ICMA-RC) provides the third party administration of this plan for participating employees.
Deferred Compensation: Employees may voluntarily contribute salary deferred dollars into a City Sponsored 457 Plan. International City Management Association - Empower provides the third party administration of this deferred compensation plan for participating employees.

Flexible Spending Account: Allows employees to set aside pre-tax dollars from their pay checks to pay for child care and/or medical and dental expenses not covered by the City's health care or dental plans. You may also set aside pre-tax dollars to cover certain transit or parking expenses. Keep in mind only transit or parking expenses may be rolled over from year to year.

Virginia College Savings Plan: Two plans to choose from at a reduced application fee, Virginia Prepaid Education Program and the Virginia Education Savings Trust.

Employee Health Services: The City employee health services provides medical care for employees, retirees, and eligible spouses.

Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Support services available to assist employees facing life challenges.

Pay Days: Direct deposit is required for all new employees. Paid bi-weekly, 26 pay periods per year.

Vision Insurance: Paid by the Employee. Includes annual routine eye exam, discounts on eyeglass frames, eyeglass lenses and contact lenses.
CEC 2026 Monthly Rates
Employee: $6.68
Employee/Spouse: $12.69
Employee/Child(ren): $13.36
Family: $19.71

Voluntary Benefits: Critical Illness, Accident Insurance and Hospital Indemnity Insurance is offered by The Hartford. CHUBB offers Cancer Advocacy, Life Insurance and Long-Term Care. Identity Protection if offered through LegalShield and IDShield. Personal loans are offered through Purchasing Power and Kashable. Pet Insurance is offered through PetPartners. All voluntary benefits may be payroll deducted.