Planner III-Environmental Review [Archeologist] (5298)

Planner III-Environmental Review [Archeologist] (5298)
Salary: $109,382 - $132,938 / Annual
Application Deadline:  April 11, 2022, 11:55 PM PST

Job Description

Appointment Type

Temporary Exempt (TEX).  TEX position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive civil service examination pursuant to San Francisco Charter Section 10.104 and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer.  

This position is being filled as TEX due to the lack of an available eligible list from which a Permanent (PCS) appointment can be made.  A 5298 Planner III-Environmental Review Civil Service examination is currently in development and will be administered within the next several months in order to produce an eligible list.  It is the intent of the Planning Department to fill this position as Permanent when the eligible list is available.  The candidate selected for this TEX position must participate and be successful in a Civil Service Examination process for this classification and be selected through an open competitive process in order to be considered for a Permanent appointment.

Decision Overview

Under the direction of the Environmental Review Officer, the Environmental Planning division reviews projects for potential environmental impacts on the City of San Francisco and its residents, a process known as environmental review. Reviews are conducted pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and Chapter 31 of the San Francisco Administrative Code, which provides guidelines for implementing the CEQA process.

The Opportunity

The Planning Department has an opening for a 5298 Planner III-Environmental Review (Archeologist) in our Environmental Planning Division to perform professional planning work to support the operations and functions of the Department.

This position requires someone who is highly organized, works effectively with others on a team, can successfully prioritize competing deadlines, thinks critically, knows when to use independent judgment, and possesses excellent written and verbal communication skills to work effectively within a multi-cultural workforce serving diverse constituents.

The archeologist would perform a variety of duties related to the environmental review of cultural resources. This position is responsible for technical review of proposed public and private development projects to determine if projects would impact archeological resources and tribal cultural resources under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and identification of appropriate mitigation measures. The archeologist fields internal inquiries about archeological and tribal cultural resources from Planning Department staff, including participating in weekly Archeology Office Hours for the benefit of Planning Department staff project-related questions. This position will assist in tribal cultural resources notification and consultation, including drafting notification letters to Native American representatives, scheduling consultation meetings with Native American representatives, and documenting the outcome of consultation. The archeologist reviews and on occasion authors archeological and tribal cultural resource sections of CEQA documents and the archeological and tribal cultural resources mitigation measures in Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program documents.

The archeologist manages implementation and performance of archeological and tribal cultural resources mitigation measures, including the following tasks: coordinating with sponsors, consultants, and the Planning Department’s Environmental Monitoring Team (who is responsible for monitoring compliance with all the project’s mitigation measures) after project approval; scoping consultant work; reviewing and approving reports and interpretive materials prepared by consultants; visits to active construction sites during archeological mitigation and occasional field work; and monitoring satisfactory completion of archeological curation requirements. This position also works with the cultural resources team as a custodian of Planning Department archeological records, archives, and spatial data, including responsibility for ensuring continuing confidentiality of resource location information. The archeologist advises other City agencies on tribal cultural resources and archeology matters and occasionally acts on behalf of the Planning Department Environmental Division or the City in consultations with other City, local, State, and/or Federal agencies on archeological matters for public projects subject to Section 106 (of the HPA) requirements.

The essential functions of this position include but are not limited to: 

• Management of numerous simultaneous archeological projects and tasks and effectively prioritizing projects and tasks to meet competing schedules. 
• Identifying and assessing whether proposed public and private developments would impact archeological resources and tribal cultural resources. May include site visits and occasional archeological field work. 
• Reviewing and directing the work of consultants and/or other internal staff in the preparation of the cultural resources section of  various environmental impact documents, including Exemptions, Negative Declarations, and Environmental Impact Reports according to CEQA and other applicable laws; maintains project schedules while meeting requirements for adequate review.
• Analyzing, evaluating and occasionally preparing cultural resources reports and cultural resources and tribal cultural resources sections of environmental impact documents on complex projects, in coordination with other Planning Department staff.
• Keeping abreast of current case law and applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations; coordinating with the City Attorney’s Office for legal advice.
• Interpreting and explaining legal, technical, and procedural aspects of cultural and tribal cultural resources review as part of the environmental review process to the public, boards and commissions (potentially in controversial situations or under a high-level of public interest) 
• Performing project management duties related to the monitoring of archeological and tribal cultural resources mitigation measures. Requires reviewing archeological reports prepared by consultants and correspondence with sponsors and consultants. May include site visits and occasional archeological field work. 
• Coordinating specific administrative functions related to case intakes, case tracking, and collections of appropriate fees.

Planner IIIs may be required to make site visits, attend meetings, or participate in other work-related activities outside of normal working hours (evenings and weekends), including in various community locations. Some positions may require possession of a valid driver license and may require specialized experience in order to perform department-specific planning duties.

Qualifications

1. Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university AND four (4) years (8000 hours) of verifiable full-time equivalent experience either:
2. performing environmental review functions OR
3. in a city/regional/urban planning environment preparing documents for entities such as California   Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

OR

1. 1. Master's degree from an accredited college or university in city/regional/urban planning, environmental studies, architecture, law, earth sciences, geography, economics, landscape architecture, civil engineering, urban studies or public administration AND two (2) years (4000 hours) of verifiable full-time equivalent experience either:
            A. performing environmental review functions OR
            B. in a city/regional/urban planning environment preparing documents for entities such as California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Regional Water Quality Control Board, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

AND

Two (2) years of recent and verifiable experience in archeological review analysis.

The above minimum qualifications reflect special conditions associated with the position to be filled. They may differ from the standard minimum qualifications associated with this classification.

Desirable Qualifications

The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Experience with archeological resources and cultural resource management in urban settings in California is preferred.  
• Master's degree from an accredited college or university in archeology, anthropology, cultural resources management, environmental studies, earth sciences, geography, landscape architecture, history, or preservation.   
• Two (2) years (4000 hours) of verifiable full-time equivalent experience managing archeological projects (e.g., archeological testing, monitoring, survey, reporting), identification of historical resources, assessment of significance of project impacts on cultural resources, and identification of appropriate cultural resource mitigation measures.
• Two years of recent and verifiable experience conducting archeological review in an urban setting

Applicants must meet the minimum qualifications requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.

How to Apply

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. 

Visit: [https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/743999813638477-planner-iii-environmental-review-archeologist-5298-] to register an account and to view this complete job announcement for application submission requirements.