Parks and Recreation Aide 7 (Land & Water Conservation Fund Program Compliance Aide

LWCF Program Coordinator

The New York State Park System has over 200 parks and historic sites including facilities such as Niagara Falls, Jones Beach, Letchworth and Green Lakes. Over 85 million people visit state parks each year. The State Park System also contains outstanding examples of the State's natural, cultural and scenic resources.

The Division of Environmental Stewardship & Planning, Planning & Analysis Bureau's LWCF Program Unit (the Unit) serves the State Parks Agency by overseeing, assisting and managing the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for New York State. The LWCF Act of 1965 established a national program of land acquisition and development for outdoor recreation purposes. In New York State (NYS), the program is administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP).

More than 600 sites of NY State and municipal parkland have been acquired and/or developed over the past 60 years using this fund. Completed projects are required to remain in outdoor recreation use in perpetuity and the projects must be inspected for compliance every 5 years after completion.

Supervision:
This position reports to and is supervised by the LWCF Program Coordinator (Contract Management Specialist 2, SG-23.)

Position Summary:

The primary responsibility of this position is to coordinate the compliance inspection program for LWCF funded projects.

Specific duties may include but are not limited to:

• Research files and database for previous inspection dates and identify regions and sites that have not been inspected in the past 5 years or more.
• Develop and plan inspection routes, including preparing overnight travel authorization forms.
• Under the direction of and in coordination with the LWCF Program Coordinator, ensure project sponsors (municipalities and other state agencies) have been notified that their sites are scheduled for inspections.
• Perform pre-site inspection desk reviews (reviewing previous inspections, non-compliance issues, resolutions to non-compliance issues, and identifying project elements and park boundaries).
• Conduct site inspections, collect information about the project site, and take photographs.
• Complete post-inspection reviews, document any non-compliance issues and prepare periodic reports for the LWCF Program Coordinator.
• Update AGOL inspection inventory and meta data.
• Use Geographic Information Systems (GIS) database to perform queries, data entry, metadata updates.
• Familiarity with mobile data collection applications and Microsoft Office including Excel and Access.
• Under the direction of the LWCF Program Coordinator, work with professionals from diverse backgrounds including state and municipal park and site managers, staff in DESP and other OPRHP Bureaus.
• This position involves strong organizational skills and the ability to work independently as well as with others.
• Communicate effectively with other staff and park patrons.

Minimum Qualifications:

NO MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS FOR THIS TITLE PER CIVIL SERVICE.

Additional Comments:

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Four-year college degree in Land Use Planning/Management, Geography, Geospatial Technology, Urban and/or Regional Planning, Outdoor Recreation Management/Planning, Environmental Science, GIS certificate or another related field is preferred but not required.

• Professional experience in Land Management, Land Use Planning, Outdoor Recreation Management/Planning. Environmental Science is preferred but not required.

• Proficient with computers and software such as Windows, Microsoft Access and Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, and Power Point), Android OS, Adobe Acrobat, and web-based applications is preferred but not required.

• Experience using ArcGIS, AGOL and/or Arc Pro is preferred but not required.

• Internet and library research skills are preferred but not required.

OPERATIONAL NEEDS:

• Must possess and maintain a valid driver's license that allows the candidate to legally operate a motor vehicle in New York State as a term and condition of employment.

• Must be able to work independently in the field in various weather conditions and be willing to travel long distances by car.

• Must be proficient with various software programs including Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel.

BENEFITS:

This position has the option to join the NYS Employees' Retirement System and may be eligible for health insurance, dental and vision coverage as well as the opportunity for paid time off in the form of vacation, sick, personal and holiday leave after time and service requirements have been met.