Assistant Program Planner and Performance Coordinator; Management Analyst

The Department of Ecology is hiring an Assistant Program Planner and Performance Coordinator (Management Analyst
3) within the Water Quality Program.

• Headquarters Office in Lacey, WA.
• Upon hire, you must live within a commutable distance from the duty station.

• This position is eligible for telework and flexible schedule options.
• A minimum of one day per week is required in the office.
• Schedules are dependent upon position needs and are subject to change.

• Apply by October 12, 2026
• Applications submitted after the date above may not be reviewed unless additional qualified applicants are needed.
• Interviews are tentatively scheduled for October 28, 2026.

The Assistant Program planner is an exciting position that supports several critical program functions. You will have the chance to develop and refine a wide range of skills and areas of knowledge: the legislative process, policy development, program planning, performance monitoring, and process improvement. You’ll regularly work with program executives and senior staff. It’s a great opportunity for someone who wants to experience a diverse set of duties and learn about environmental protection through several different lenses.

• Lead Water Quality’s (WQ) process improvement projects: identify areas where program workflows and systems can be streamlined and automated, then work with appropriate staff to implement those projects.
• Support the Water Quality Legislative Liaison: track and research bills; coordinate the development of policy analysis, development, and legislative reports; draft or edit legislative and policy documents.
• Support the WQ Program Planner: help develop program strategic and business plans; lead specific portions of the planning process. Work with large data systems and data sets to develop graphs, tables, and charts reflecting program outcomes, and report outcomes to program managers and state systems.
• Support the WQ Environmental Justice Planner:
  Coordinate and support the development of WQ’s environmental justice (EJ) workplans and EJ impact reports.

For detailed information on how we calculate experience and responses to other frequently asked questions, please visit our Recruitment website.

• Legislative and Policy Analysis – Ability to research and interpret laws, rules, and policy proposes to understand their impacts and provide clear recommendations that support program decisions.
• Analytical Thinking and Data Interpretation – Ability to examine complex information and data, identify key issues or trends, and develop practical insights to support informed decision-making.
• Project Coordination and Leadership – Ability to organize and guide small to medium-sized projects to keep activities on track, ensure alignment among participants, and achieve timely, quality results.
• Process Improvement – Ability to analyze how work is done, identify inefficiencies or gaps, and recommend improvements that make processes clearer, more efficient, and easier to use.
• Communication and Presentation – Ability to clearly communicate information in writing and visually to help staff, managers, and partners understand data, decisions, and next steps.
• Facilitation and Collaboration – Ability to bring groups together, guide discussions, and support productive teamwork to help groups make decisions and move work forward.

Involving a major study in business administration, operations management, public administration, organizational studies, health administration, law, environmental law, finance, economics, statistics, environmental management, environmental or public policy, or closely related field;
Professional…