About the Department

The Environmental Services Department (ESD) is a national leader in pollution prevention, watershed protection, utility service provision, and climate action. Together, ESD employees positively impact every resident and business in San Jose.

Our department is an exceptional place to start or grow your career. We have a supportive leadership team, numerous professional growth opportunities, and an inclusive workplace culture that is welcoming of your talents! We offer an array of meaningful career paths and value flexibility. Additionally, the City offers excellent health and pension benefits, as well as 15 paid holidays!

To learn more about ESD, follow @sjenvironment on X (formally Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and San Jose Environmental Services on LinkedIn.

About the Division
The open Senior Environmental Program Manager is within ESD’s Regulatory Affairs and Purified Water Division, which has four programmatic focus areas: Purified Water, Wastewater Compliance, Air Compliance, and Municipal Environmental Compliance. Division staff are environmental scientists, environmental professionals, and engineers. The Division’s responsibilities cover a broad range of initiatives including providing leadership for a Direct Potable Reuse project that is envisioned to use advanced water purification technology to boost local drinking water supply. Staff lead environmental monitoring, reporting, permitting, and compliance programs for various federal and state permits issued under the Clean Water, Clean Air, and Clean Soil regulations, lead and conduct environmental assessments, engage in regional, state, and federal scientific collaborations, and implement pollution prevention educational outreach initiatives to residents to reduce the levels of pollutants in wastewater.

Position Duties

The Senior Environmental Program Manager (SEPM) position will lead the City’s engagement in the Purified Water program in all current and unique aspects. The program is a multi-agency collaboration between the City, Valley Water, and the City of Santa Clara. Some of the current aspects of the program include ensuring regulatory compliance with recently adopted regulations for direct potable reuse (DPR) of wastewater, adherence to State approved Rules & Regulations to protect public safety, negotiating new contracts and agreements with local partners, and management and implementation of existing staff funding agreements. In addition, the SEPM will represent the potable reuse/purified water multi-agency program with local, regional, and state partners, and stakeholders.

The SEPM will also be the City’s primarily lead for the creation of a multi-agency purified water utility in unique focus areas such as supporting the Regional Wastewater Facility in long term Nutrient Removal Strategies and management of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) by identifying, promoting, and pursuing responsible, innovate management of water purification waste streams, negotiating and implementing contracts and agreements with local stakeholders to implement phases of the DPR project, and coordinating with other City Departments such as public works, planning, real estate, and City Attorney’s Office on various project elements and phases. In collaboration with other ESD staff, the SEPM will monitor and assess the risk of upcoming CEC's to determine potential impact on the DPR project, and lead implementation of studies or pilots to determine and implement mitigation impacts.

Additional responsibilities include:

• Lead formation of a new purified water utility in partnership with other local agencies that follows all Direct Potable Reuse Rules and Regulations, ensures program compliance with State Regulations, while also ensuring the Regional Wastewater Facility and the Lower South Bay environment are not compromised from liability, cost, and environmental impact perspectives.
• Manage the City’s Purified Water team who provide technical, administrative, and logistical support to the SEPM, the Division’s Deputy Director, and the multi-agency purified water team.
• Lead local and regional interagency coordination for potable reuse initiatives, seek grant and other funding opportunities, and collaborate on public outreach to promote the safety and reliability of DPR.
• Identify and support pursuit of long-term strategies for managing waste streams associated with water purification that are inherent aspects of a DPR facility, including advancing technical, feasibility, and affordability evaluations along with pursuing funding opportunities.
• Lead the purified water utility through a new complex legal and regulatory environment through close coordination with the City’s legal teams, local agency partners, as well as regional and state regulators.
• Coordinate closely with existing South Bay Water Recycling (SBWR) team and RWF operations and capital program managers to guide decisions on long term viable water supply solutions through the use of wastewater, recycled water, and purified water for potable reuse.
• Actively participate in regional recycled water and water reuse stakeholder groups and meetings.

The annual salary range for the position is presently $151,919.04 - $200,360.16.

This salary range include an approximate five percent (5%) ongoing non-pensionable compensation. Actual salary shall be determined by the final candidates’ qualifications and experience.Minimum Qualifications

Education: A Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with major course work in environmental sciences, public or business administration, or a closely related field .

Experience: Six (6) years of increasingly responsible experience in overseeing and administering complex environmental programs, including three (3) years of progressively responsible supervisory experience.

Form 700 Requirement: This position requires a disclosure of outside investments, real property interest, income, and business positions. You must complete and file an “Assuming Office Form 700” with the City Clerk’s Office within the first 30 days of employment with the office.

Other Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the following competencies, as demonstrated in past and current employment history. Desirable competencies for this position include:

• Job Expertise - Demonstrates knowledge of and experience with applicable professional/technical principles and practices, Citywide and departmental procedures/policies and federal and state rules and regulations, including but not limited to:
  • Environmental compliance and sustainability issues and the federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and guidelines that govern them;
  • Local planning and political situations/concerns that impact environmental issues.
• Fiscal Management - Understands the relationship of the budget and resources to the strategic plan; complies with administrative controls over funds, contracts, and procurements.
• Leadership - Leads by example; demonstrates high ethical standards; remains visible and approachable and interacts with others on a regular basis; promotes a cooperative work environment, allowing others to learn from mistakes; provides motivational supports and direction.
• Planning - Acts to align own unit's goals with the strategic direction of the organization; Defines tasks and milestones to achieve objectives, while ensuring the optimal use of resources to meet those objectives.
• Political Skill - In taking action, demonstrates an understanding and consideration of how it will impact stakeholders and affected areas in the organization.
• Problem Solving - Approaches a situation or problem by defining the problem or issue; determines the significance of problem(s); collects information; uses logic and intuition to arrive at decisions or solutions to problems that achieve the desired outcome.
• Project Management - Enures support for projects and implements agency goals and strategic objectives.
• Teamwork & Interpersonal Skills - Develops effective relationships with co-workers and supervisors by helping others accomplish tasks and using collaboration and conflict resolution skills.
• Communication Skills - Effectively conveys information and expresses thoughts and facts clearly, orally and in writing; demonstrates effective use of listening skills and displays openness to other people's ideas and thoughts.

Selection Process: 
The selection process will consist of an evaluation of the applicant's training and experience based on the application and responses to all the job specific questions. You must answer all questions to be considered or your application may be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses.  Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process. Only those candidates whose backgrounds best match the position will be invited to proceed in the selection process. Additional phases of the selection process will consist of one or more interviews.

If you have questions about the duties of these positions, the selection or hiring processes, please contact Angela Tea at angela.tea@sanjoseca.gov.

Additional Information:

Employment Eligibility:  Federal law requires all employees to provide verification of their eligibility to work in this country. Please be informed that the City of San Jose will NOT sponsor, represent or sign any documents related to visa applications/transfers for H1-B or any other type of visa which requires an employer application.  

You must answer all job-specific questions to be considered for this vacancy or your application will be deemed incomplete and withheld from further consideration. Applicants are expected to write their own essays/responses.  Please be advised that use of AI content in your responses may result in your removal from the hiring process.

Please note that applications are currently not accepted through CalOpps or any other third party job board application system.

This recruitment may be used to fill multiple positions in this, or other divisions or departments. If you are interested in employment in this classification, you should apply to ensure you are considered for additional opportunities that may utilize the applicants from this recruitment.

Please allow adequate time to complete the application and submit before the deadline or the system may not save your application.  If your online application was successfully submitted, you will receive an automatic confirmation email to the email address you provided.  IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE THE CONFIRMATION, please email CityCareers@sanjoseca.gov and we will research the status of your application.