Environmental Safety Specialist I

University of Texas at Austin•Austin, TX

1d•$47,000•Onsite

About The Position

Environmental Health and Safety Services provides healthy and safe operations on campus, to protect students, faculty, staff and visitors, and to ensure protection of the environment. Your skills will make a difference. You’ll be working for a university that is internationally recognized for our academic programs and research. Your work will contribute to operational excellence and enhance the student experience. If you’re the type of person that wants to know your work has meaning and impact, you’ll like working in our department and for UT Austin. UT Austin provides an outstanding benefits package including but not limited to: Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%) Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options Generous paid vacation, sick time, and holidays Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, with employer matching funds Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b) Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities. Tuition assistance Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets Free access to UT Austin’s libraries and museums with staff ID card Free rides on all UT shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card For more details, please see: https://hr.utexas.edu/prospective/benefits and https://hr.utexas.edu/current/services/my-total-rewards. For more information on Environmental Health and Safety, Visit the Environmental Health and Safety Website Must be authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis for any employee without sponsorship. Security sensitive; Criminal background check conducted on selected applicant. Hiring decision is contingent on applicant clearing check. This job class may contain positions that are security sensitive and thereby subject to the provisions of Texas Education Code §51.215. Applications will be reviewed online by the hiring department. Purpose To provide professional knowledge and expertise in the operation and support of environmental programs in compliance with regulatory agency guidelines and institutional policies.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in Science, Natural Science, Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences or Occupational Health and Industrial Hygiene or related field.
Experience with environmental sampling, permitting and/or compliance.
Candidates must possess working experience with the following competencies: accuracy and attention to detail, effective communication, initiative, interpersonal relationships, problem solving and service excellence.
Candidates must possess a basic understanding of critical thinking and decision making.
Relevant education and experience may be substituted as appropriate.

Nice To Haves

Two years of experience in environmental health and safety or a related field.
Two years of experience performing environmental sampling or storm water pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) inspections.
Currently certified Hazardous Waste Operator or attended Hazardous Materials training.
Has attended training to be a Department of Transportation certified shipper for Hazardous Materials.

Responsibilities

Conduct inspections, monitoring, training, and testing of various sites to ensure compliance with the permit requirements of the university’s storm water, wastewater, SPCC, PSTs/USTs and other environmental programs. Inspection frequency is determined by the senior staff.
Attend seminars and workshops to gain and maintain knowledge for environmental programs.
Conduct/present environmental training for institutional employees and students.
Perform chemical and biological waste pickups, packaging, transporting, segregating and processing of waste on University of Texas at Austin campuses and/or satellite locations. Schedules or coordinates with customers for times and locations of pickups.
Collect environmental samples for storm water and wastewater as required including discharge request to storm and sanitary sewer.
Test, inspect and calibrate equipment as needed.
Review and perform quality control of analytical results.
Assist in the preparation of reports as required by permits and determined by senior staff.
Maintain program compliance reporting systems identifying and developing both corrective actions and appropriate training for areas found to be deficient.
Communicate effectively and in a timely manner with stakeholders across UT Austin main campus and satellite locations in order to maintain compliance.
Document corrective actions as needed.
Assist in the development of standard operating procedures and other written guidelines.
Respond to environmental complaints and problems including hazardous and non-hazardous spills, odors and contamination. Analyze cause of incidents and impacts to environment, personnel and facility safety and report findings to management.
Schedule and monitor services for pretreatment devices and disposal of non-hazardous waste streams, including grease, grit, mud, and oil-water separator units. Ensure waste profiles are current. Inspect pretreatment units as needed.

Benefits

Competitive health benefits (employee premiums covered at 100%, family premiums at 50%)
Voluntary Vision, Dental, Life, and Disability insurance options
Generous paid vacation, sick time, and holidays
Teachers Retirement System of Texas, a defined benefit retirement plan, with employer matching funds
Additional Voluntary Retirement Programs: Tax Sheltered Annuity 403(b) and a Deferred Compensation program 457(b)
Flexible spending account options for medical and childcare expenses
Robust free training access through LinkedIn Learning plus professional conference opportunities.
Tuition assistance
Expansive employee discount program including athletic tickets
Free access to UT Austin’s libraries and museums with staff ID card
Free rides on all UT shuttle and Austin CapMetro buses with staff ID card