Environmental Protection Officer

Role Responsibilities

Are you looking for an opportunity to advance your career using your education and experience in the environmental sector to ensure that Alberta’s environment and public safety is not at risk? Do you have experience related to environmental, regulatory inspections and/or compliance activities? This might be the opportunity for you!

We are hiring two Environmental Protection Officer (EPO) for our northeast Alberta location  Lac La Biche.  Lac La Biche is a community of choice in northeastern Alberta. Rolling farmland, panoramic lake views and tranquil forests are all right in our backyard.

The community has all of the amenities you need to live, learn, work, and raise a family. The same qualities that made this region attractive in the olden days still apply in modern times: we have abundant resources, a pristine environment and room to grow.

You will provide informed advice to regulated parties and members of the public regarding their actions to protect Alberta's environment and public health. Working within Alberta's environmental legislation, you will take a solutions-oriented approach in addressing and managing environmental challenges. You will consult, provide advice/direction, and take steps to enforce legislation when required. In your role you will respond to environmental incidents including public complaints on a variety of issues, and assess compliance with the applicable legislation, collect evidence to determine if a contravention has occurred, and conduct reactive inspections to assess regulatory compliance.

As an EPO working as part of the Compliance Team reporting to the Compliance Assurance Lead, you will: 
•    Apply the principles of Education, Prevention and Enforcement as identified in the Government of Alberta’s compliance assurance management framework to achieve legislative compliance.
•    Conduct proactive and reactive inspections to assess regulatory compliance in regulated sectors such as drinking water, contaminated sites, industrial, agricultural, and municipal sectors; and
•    Deal with the resolution of a wide variety of environmental issues.

You may also be required to act as an Emergency Regional Responder serving on an on-call rotational basis expected to receive, prioritize, and respond to environmental emergencies.

In the north, you’ll enjoy independence, adventure, and the challenge of managing a vast natural resource. You will see the value your work provides to our environment. In the north, you’ll find a prosperous and sustainable future for you and your family for years to come. 
The abundance of natural areas and resources requires dedicated professionals working together as a team to ensure their protection, preservation, and responsible use.

Come and be a part of that team… Opportunity awaits.

APS Competencies

Competencies are behaviors that are essential to reach our goals in serving Albertans. We encourage you to have an in depth understanding of the competencies that are required for this opportunity and to be prepared to demonstrate them during the recruitment process.

This link will assist you with understanding competencies: https://www.alberta.ca/system/files/custom_downloaded_images/psc-alberta-public-service-competency-model.pdf.

How Competencies will apply to this role:

DRIVE FOR RESULTS: You will use your drive for results to engage stakeholders proactively using educational and prevention tools to ensure the rules were understood and followed. As a representative of the Ministry, you will conduct yourself in a professional and respectful manner when conducting compliance inspections and investigations and when responding to environmental incidents.

CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING: You will use your ability to understand and apply the regulatory tools in the compliance assurance framework effectively in a variety of different regulated sectors and situations.

SYSTEMS THINKING: By using a system thinking approach, you take a broad view of regulating the environment to ensure that the actions you take to address compliance issues are impactful and result in long-term benefits to the environment.

DEVELOP NETWORKS: You will use your excellent interpersonal skills to build trust and credibility with a wide variety of stakeholders to ensure complex and potentially contentious situations reach compliant outcomes.

DEVELOP SELF AND OTHERS: You take your personal and professional development seriously and implement continuous improvement strategies. You share your passion and dedication to excellence to improve the team outcomes.

Qualifications

Minimum Educational and Experience Requirements:
•    A two-year technical diploma in a related field, preferably Environmental Science, Agriculture studies, Environmental Enforcement, or a related field.
•    A minimum of six years of direct compliance, regulatory and/or enforcement experience. 
•    Equivalencies will be considered based on:
o    1 year of education for 1 year experience.

Additional requirements: 
•    Valid Driver’s License.
•    Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite.

Assets:
•    Experience in the direct application of the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, Water Act and the Public Lands Act.
•    Experience with working in or with the regulated sectors such as drinking water, contaminated sites, industrial, agricultural, and municipal.
•    Experience in regulatory inspection and/or investigation processes and techniques.
•    Transferable skills, experience, education, and alignment with Government of Alberta values may be considered.

Candidates that may not meet the minimum qualifications are encouraged to apply and may be consider for a lower level.

Minimum recruitment standards outline the minimum education and experience required for appointment to a job classification. Refer to https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-minimum-recruitment-standards.

Notes

•    Hours of Work: 7.25 hours per day, Monday to Friday, 36.25 hours per week.
•    Some on-call may be required in case of environmental emergency situations.
•    Travel and field work within the Region may be required.
•    Final candidates will be required to undergo a security screening.
•    Qualified candidates from this competition may be considered for future Environment Protection Officers (EPO) vacancies in other areas of the province requiring EPOs.

Any costs associated with obtaining the required documents/checks as noted or interview travel expenses, will be the responsibility of the candidate. Out-of-province applicants can obtain the required documents/checks from the province they currently reside in. 

Links and information on what the GoA has to offer to prospective employees.
•    Working for the Alberta Public Service - https://www.alberta.ca/advantages- working-for-alberta-public-service.aspx
•    Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) - https://www.pspp.ca
•    Alberta Public Service Benefit Information - https://www.alberta.ca/alberta-public-service-benefits
•    Professional learning and development - https://www.alberta.ca/professional-development-support-directive
•    Research Alberta Public Service Careers tool – https://researchapscareers.alberta.ca
•     Positive workplace culture and work-life balance.
•    Leadership and mentorship programs.