Water Quality Regional Manager; Natural Resource Protection and Sustainability Manager

Initial Posting Date: 07/21/2026

Final date to receive applications: 08/04/2026

Agency: Department of Environmental Quality

Salary Range: $7,537 - $11,657

Position Type: Employee

Position Title: Water Quality Regional Manager (Natural Resource Protection and Sustainability Manager
2)

Job Description:

Are you interested in applying your leadership skills to protect and enhance Oregon's environment? If so, please consider a career with the State of Oregon at the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). At DEQ, employees have the opportunity to work with a dynamic and supportive team of mission-focused individuals tasked with maintaining, restoring, and enhancing the quality of Oregon’s air, land, and water.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality strives to build and sustain an inclusive and equitable environment that embraces and values diversity. Employees at all levels of the agency work together to foster fairness, equity, inclusion, and belonging. We strive to be a workplace where we share our authentic identities, while advancing our individual professional goals, and while collaborating to protect, preserve, and enhance the environment for current and future generations.

We celebrate and appreciate diversity, champion equity, and treat each other with respect and dignity.

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate based on race, color, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, age, or physical or mental disability in the administration of our programs and activities. Visit DEQ's Civil Rights and Environmental Justice page.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has a full-time opportunity available for a Water Quality Regional Manager (Natural Resource Protection and Sustainability Manager
2). This position is based out of Bend, Klamath Falls, or Pendleton, Oregon (finalist may choose work location).

Please consider joining an innovative team, and work to advance our agency’s mission to protect and improve Oregon’s environmental quality.

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is the primary regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. State of Oregon responsible for protecting and enhancing the state's natural resources. At DEQ, employees have the opportunity to work with a dynamic and supportive team of mission-focused individuals tasked with maintaining, restoring, and enhancing the quality of Oregon’s air, land, and water.

The Water Quality Division has a critical role in achieving the Department's mission by developing policy, implementation tools, and implementation priorities for improving and protecting the quality of water in Oregon’s waterways. The Water Quality Division works cooperatively with the Department’s three regional offices and the Laboratory to deliver programs and services that protect and enhance the quality of the waters of the state to protect public health and the environment.

The Regional Divisions are responsible for implementation of Water Quality, Air Quality, and Waste Management and Cleanup Programs. The Regions provide the following services: compliance inspection of regulated entities; enforcement of permit requirements and administrative rules; issuance of air, water, and solid waste permits; investigation of complaints; issuance of subsurface permits; response to spills or other incidents with environmental impacts; direct contact and liaison with other governmental entities, industries, and the public;

and technical assistance to regulated entities and the public. The Regions consist of Northwest, Eastern, and Western Region. This position is in Eastern Region and focuses on the Water Quality Program.

For a visual representation of DEQ's offices and their locations, view our DEQ Offices and Vehicle Inspection Testing Stations map.

You will lead and manage the Eastern Region’s environmental programs related primarily to TMDL and nonpoint source water quality activities, 401 Water Quality Certification Dredge and Fill and Hydro programs, the statewide Water Integration Team, and regional stormwater permitting…