Introduction
Do you have professional experience in research, data analysis or economics?
If so, we invite you to check out the job opportunity with the State of Connecticut below!
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is hiring a Research Analyst to work in Hartford, CT within the Office of Equity and Environmental Justice in the Office of the Commissioner.
WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU
- NEW: Visit our State Employee Benefits Overview page!
- The opportunity to work for a Forbes top company: 'Forbes' State of Connecticut Ranked One of the Best Employers of 2023 - State of CT Receives National Recognition for Offering Job Growth, Competitive Benefits, and Flexible Schedule.
- Professional growth and development opportunities.
- A healthy work/life balance to all employees.
Our state has a lot to offer - from fun activities for all ages, to great food and shopping, to beautiful state parks and forests, to our diverse cultures and rich history. Connecticut is a great place to live! Learn more about Connecticut here.
POSITION DETAILS
This is a full-time, 40 hour per week position on a first shift, Monday-Friday schedule. Hybrid work opportunities are available for this position.
DEEP’s Office of Equity and Environmental Justice (EJ) focuses, for the agency and its partners, on (1) Environmental Justice, (2) Tribal Affairs, and (3) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within the agency. Your work within the office will support, for the state, meaningful community engagement and public participation, promote environmental justice and equity considerations in decision-making throughout the Department, support government-to-government consultation with tribes, and effectuate meaningful DEI reforms. You will report to the Office Director within the Office of the Commissioner and work with a team of environmental justice advocates.
Cumulative Impacts and Community Engagement
The Office of Equity and Environmental Justice is seeking an individual to support (1) cumulative impacts assessment work associated with environmental justice rulemaking and eventual implementation, and (2) community engagement across the agency. DEEP has statutory responsibilities to implement the state’s main Environmental Justice law that governs permitting and public participation in Environmental Justice areas, including providing guidance to regulated entities. In 2023, the Connecticut Legislature adopted Public Act 23-202, which amended the EJ law. This legislation expanded the notice requirements for certain permitting applications to provide more meaningful public participation. It also authorized the Commissioner to consider the cumulative impact of environmental and health stressors on communities where proposed permit applications would be sited.
This position will play a pivotal role in developing and implementing environmental justice regulations for cumulative impacts. As a research analyst, you will provide expert guidance on the identification of data indicators and measurements, support the justification for key indicators, and provide ongoing expertise on updated federal and state datasets for the state’s environmental justice screening and cumulative impacts tools.
After the regulations are adopted, this position will continue to focus on analyzing and interpreting cumulative impacts data, providing any technical assistance for industry and environmental justice stakeholders utilizing the cumulative impact data, and ensuring completeness of the cumulative impact assessment as a part of the environmental justice review within the permitting process. Additionally, building upon the existing community engagement work within the agency and this office, this position will implement key stakeholder and community engagement activities focused on equity and environmental justice practices. The candidate is expected to assist in project-specific data processing for the Office in collaboration with other parts of the agency in day-to-day tasks.
Responsibilities include, but not limited to:
- Provide expert guidance on the identification and measurement of public health and environmental stressors to be utilized in the cumulative impacts tool, including federal and state-level public health and environmental datasets;
- Work with EJ staff and permitting program managers to carry out the cumulative impact assessment portion of DEEP’s permitting program;
- Develop and lead the implementation of community engagement related to environmental justice rulemaking and implementation, which may include education on public health and environmental stressors;
- Support community engagement and communication in areas where EJ is a concern and priority.
DEEP is charged with conserving, improving and protecting the natural resources and the environment of the state of Connecticut as well as making cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy available for the people and businesses of the state. The agency is also committed to playing a positive role in rebuilding Connecticut’s economy and creating jobs – and to fostering a sustainable and prosperous economic future for the state.
For an inside look at how State of Connecticut employees Make an ImpaCT, watch the video below!
Selection Plan
Before you apply:
- In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on the job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.
- The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
- Ensure that your application is complete and detailed before submitting it. In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process. You will not be able to make revisions once your application is submitted into the JobAps system.
- All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.
- For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from branch to branch but it does not impact your state service credit.
- This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the questionnaire's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.
- Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.
- Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.
- For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e., Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.
- The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
PURPOSE OF JOB CLASS (NATURE OF WORK)
In a state agency this class is accountable for independently performing a full range of tasks in research design and implementation.
EXAMPLES OF DUTIES
- Develops and implements formal research projects and assists in these activities on more comprehensive and complex research assignments;
- Analyzes, interprets and prepares data in a variety of ways;
- Prepares narrative and statistical reports;
- Develops computerized databases and analyzes and interprets computer generated reports;
- Performs related duties as required.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILL AND ABILITY
- Knowledge of
- research methods and techniques;
- statistics;
- Skills
- interpersonal skills;
- oral and written communication skills;
- Ability to
- analyze data;
- develop programs and use prepackaged computer programs to perform data analysis;
- understand agency related policies and procedures as they relate to research.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - GENERAL EXPERIENCE
Six (6) years of professional experience in research, data analysis or economics.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS - SUBSTITUTIONS ALLOWED
- College training may be substituted for the General Experience on the basis of fifteen (15) semester hours equalling one-half (1/2) year of experience to a maximum of four (4) years for a Bachelor's degree.
- A Master's degree in economics, statistics or a closely related field may be substituted for one (1) additional year of the General Experience.
- Successful completion of a Connecticut Careers Trainee program approved by the Department of Administrative Services may be substituted for the General Experience.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- Experience or coursework in any of the following: biostatistics, epidemiology, risk assessment;
- Experience or coursework in any of the following: environmental justice, toxicology, health equity, public health, or environmental health;
- Experience writing technical reports, policy papers, white papers, or academic articles for a general audience that provide conclusions or recommendations supported by documented evidence;
- Experience facilitating community engagement or developing and implementing community engagement strategies;
- Experience conducting quantitative and qualitative analysis and synthesizing results;
- Experience with oral and written communication, both digitally and in person to internal and external stakeholders;
- Experience managing the development and completion of a project either with a team or individually.
Conclusion
AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
As defined by Sec. 5-196of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group ofpositions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a singletitle for administrative purposes. Assuch, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/orresponsibility.
