What are the responsibilities and job description for the Biologist position at Monroe County, FL?
Join a workforce where innovation and teamwork provide support to the community and citizens of Monroe County.
Compensation:
$62,866.37 - $100,586.19
Job Description:
The primary function of this position is to review plans and permits to assess the environmental impacts of current and proposed uses of land and water areas. Responsibilities include providing a full range of environmental review services to the public, such as explaining regulatory policies, procedures, and relevant government statutes to permit applicants, and recommending parcels suitable for acquisition, dedication, conservation, or land use changes. This role also involves participating in inter-agency meetings with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FLDEP), South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE) regarding dock construction and the placement of fill along nearshore waters in Monroe County. Additional duties include contributing to the environmental components of the County’s Major and Minor Conditional Use Reports by utilizing land use maps and applying land development regulations in alignment with the County’s Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code. This position may also involve conducting Permit Referral Process reviews for development applications located in habitats potentially suitable for federally endangered species, as identified by the USFWS Species Focus Area Maps.
ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS
- Conducts reviews through the permit referral process.
- Reviews permits and approves/disapproves in regard to stormwater and drainage plans and environmental compliance.
- Conducts pre-application conferences with planners and applicants on environmental matters and contributes to letters of understanding.
- Calculates Planning and Environmental Resources open space, “buildable rights” TDRs.
- Reviews and records transplant plans and conservation easements.
- Responsible for the review of habitat analysis for endangered and protected species as well as grant of conservation easement documents.
- Directs actions regarding the protection of rare and endangered flora and fauna and wetland protection.
- Conducts on-site visits for docks, habitat analysis, code compliance cases, landscape installation, and final inspections for the County.
- Conducts research, analyzes data, and prepares reports on existing condition reports/vegetation surveys and code violation cases.
- Assists the public in answering questions regarding code compliance, violations, resolving disputes, TDRs, and other agency rules and issues.
- Works with local environmental consultants and the general public in assisting with native and invasive exotic vegetation identification.
- Serves as representative to educate the general public as well as other County employees on County environmental regulations and procedures.
- Attends public hearings and meetings, panel discussions, and evening workshops to promote environmental stewardship.
- Attends Code Compliance and Planning Commission meetings as an “Expert Witness” in regard to any code violations.
- Drafts letters and memos to the public in regard to their permits for the supervisor.
- Communicates with Federal, State, and other government agencies to coordinate permitting, code compliance, and development review.
- Performs other related job duties as assigned.
- In the event of special, emergency, or disaster situations, employee may be required to work schedules other than those for which they are regularly scheduled in any capacity deemed appropriate.
QUALIFICATIONS
Education and Experience:
Bachelor’s degree in a physical science field, such as Biology, Ecology, Environmental Science, or Resource Management, is required. The minimum amount of work experience required is two (2) to three (3) years in a related field.
Special Qualifications:
None.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Ability to organize work around broad organizational goals and processes.
- Ability to perform professional-level work dealing with data, people, and technology that relates to administrative, technical, scientific, engineering, accounting, legal, or managerial skills.
- Ability to follow basic guidelines for operational activities; ability to make decisions that govern the activities and behaviors of staff members.
- Ability to work with more than ten coworkers who mostly engage in the same activities.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The work is light and requires exerting up to 20 pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force to move objects. Additionally, the following physical abilities are required:
- Hearing: Perceiving the nature of sounds at normal speaking levels with or without correction. Ability to receive detailed information through oral communication, and to make the discrimination in sound.
- Lifting: Raising objects from a lower to a higher position or moving objects horizontally from position-to-position. Occurs to a considerable degree and requires substantial use of upper extremities and back muscles.
- Manual Dexterity: Picking, pinching, typing, or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand as in handling.
- Mental Acuity: Ability to make rational decisions through sound logic and deductive processes.
- Pushing: Using upper extremities to press against something with steady force in order to thrust forward, downward or outward.
- Repetitive Motion: Substantial movements (motions) of the wrist, hands, and/or fingers.
- Speaking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including the ability to convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately and concisely.
- Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
- Talking: Expressing or exchanging ideas by means of the spoken word including those activities in which they must convey detailed or important spoken instructions to other workers accurately, loudly, or quickly.
- Visual Acuity: Have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; and/or extensive reading.
- Walking: Moving about on foot to accomplish tasks, particularly for long distances or moving from one work site to another.
WORK ENVIRONMENT
Work is performed in a dynamic environment that requires sensitivity and responsiveness to changes that include goals, priorities, and needs of the organization and position.
Monroe County has the right to revise this job description at any time. This description does not represent in any way a contract of employment.
Equal Opportunity Employer: Monroe County does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, or military service in employment or the provision of services.
Empleador de Igualdad de Oportunidades: El Condado de Monroe no discrimina por motivos de raza, color, origen nacional, género, religión, edad, discapacidad o servicio militar en el empleo o la prestación de servicios.
Veterans Preference according to Florida State Statute 295.07: Certain service members and veterans, and the spouses and family members of the servicemembers and veterans, receive preference and priority in employment by the state and are encouraged to apply for the positions being filled.
Preferencia de Veteranos de acuerdo con el Estatuto del Estado de Florida 295.07: Ciertos miembros del servicio y veteranos, y los cónyuges y familiares de los miembros del servicio y veteranos, reciben preferencia y prioridad en el empleo por parte del estado y se les alienta a solicitar los puestos que se están llenando.
Preferencia de Veteranos de acuerdo con el Estatuto del Estado de Florida 295.07: Ciertos miembros del servicio y veteranos, y los cónyuges y familiares de los miembros del servicio y veteranos, reciben preferencia y prioridad en el empleo por parte del estado y se les alienta a solicitar los puestos que se están llenando.
Salary : $62,866 - $100,586
