Requisition No: 850488
Agency: Environmental Protection
Working Title: OPS GRANTS SPECIALIST III - 37940254
Pay Plan: Temp
Position Number: 37940254
Salary: $20-22 commensurate with experience
Posting Closing Date: 04/22/2025
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OPS Grant Specialist III - 37940254
State of Florida
Department of Environmental Protection
Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection
Coral Protection and Restoration Program
Open Competitive
PAN is pending to modify this position to OPS Grant Specialist II
Our Organization and Mission:
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is the state’s lead agency for environmental management and stewardship - protecting our air, water and land. The vision of DEP is to create strong community partnerships, safeguard Florida’s natural resources and enhance its ecosystem.
The Work You Will Do:
The Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection’s (ORCP) Coral Protection and Restoration (CPR) Program is seeking to hire a full-time OPS Grant Specialist III (working title: Grant Assistant). This position is a member of the CPR Program and will assist in initiating and managing contract and grant agreements. The CPR Program is primarily responsible for guiding national and state coral reef policy to ensure effective state-wide coral reef-related authorities, policies and procedures; providing leadership for disease and bleaching response, restoration of Florida’s Coral Reef, and regional water quality priorities; and effectively administering state funding for Florida’s Coral Reef priorities.
The Difference You Will Make:
The Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection CPR Program strives to achieve a more synergized and unified goal of protecting and restoring Florida’s Coral Reef by ensuring optimal quality, longevity, and health of these resources over time.
How You Will Grow:
DEP encourages its leaders to constantly innovate and seek efficiencies. We believe in supporting and encouraging you as you take on important and often complex projects while offering you the opportunity to gain valuable experience quickly.
Where You Will Work:
West Palm Beach is Palm Beach County's capital city and its cultural center. Its active downtown stretches from a scenic pier on the Lake Worth Lagoon to a waterfront Great Lawn, which hosts a weekly green market, outdoor concerts and this season a 35-foot-tall holiday sandcastle. Dozens of local beaches provide easy access to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway. Several State Parks as well as National Parks are in the immediate area as well.
The Benefits of Working for the State of Florida:
Working for the State of Florida is more than a paycheck. The State’s benefits package for eligible OPS employees includes:
For a more benefits information, visit www.mybenefits.myflorida.com.
Pay: $20.00-22.00 hourly (40 hours/week)
Your Specific Responsibilities:
In carrying out the duties of this position, the incumbent is expected at all times to be aware of and abide by the Department’s Standards of Conduct, as well as any and all departmental and/or work unit rules, directives, policies, procedures, and/or general orders applicable to performing the duties of this position.
The Grant Assistant position is a core member of the Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection’s (ORCP) Coral Protection and Restoration (CPR) Program and will assist in initiating and managing contract and grant agreements. In consultation with the Program Administrator, Operations and Budget Manager, and Grant Coordinator, performs the following:
Task 1 (75%): Grant Support and Coordination: Support the programmatic and administrative activities of the program by managing assigned grant agreements under the Florida's Coral Reef Restoration and Recovery (FCR3) Initiative, and any other future fudning area. Provide comprehensive grant management and coordination services that follow the Standard Operating Procedures for the Coral Protection and Restoration Program, as well as the Department's Grant Resources Guides. Activities include, but are not limited to:
- Developing Grant Work Plans (GWP) and preparation of other supporting grant documentation needed in collaboration with grantees and principal investigators.
- Reviewing Budget Cost Analyses (BCA) to determine if budgets are allowable, reasonable, and necessary.
- Ensuring compliance with Florida’s grant and expenditure laws, policies and requirements and ensuring grantees remain in compliance with terms and conditions of the grant award.
- Routing agreement documents for execution and processing amendments and/or change orders, as needed.
- Liaising with grantees and various Department divisions through periodic communication.
- Reviewing and approving deliverables.
- Reviewing, approving, and submitting invoices – track expenditures/disbursements for both cost reimbursement and fixed-cost agreements.
- Ensuring grantees submit quarterly reports, deliverables, and other documentation in a timely manner
- Actively updating information and tracking the progress of grant activities in the CPR Program Grant Tracking Log, Salesforce enterprise grant management database, as well as the Florida Accountability Contract Tracking System (FACTS).
- Maintaining project/grant files in both Sharepoint and the Program’s shared drive by ensuring documentation follows folder structure and remains organized.
- Conducting site visits for project compliance, as needed.
- Analyzing data, research information, review documents, and use such data and information to develop reports and presentations for the State Legislature as requested by the Department.
- Assist in the management of other grant agreements, as needed.
Task 2 (20%): Information Management and Sharing: Represent the DEP CPR Program. Work collaboratively and exchange information with CPR, ORCP Southeast Region, agency and non-agency representatives, leadership, and all other interested partners and stakeholders. Information and updates may be in the form of presentations, one-pagers, written or verbal updates, or other products as requested.
- Attend weekly CPR Grant Check-In Calls and participate in ORCP, CPR, and SE Region meetings, as appropriate.
- Maintain and update, as appropriate, the CPR Grants Standard Operating Procedure document.
- Develop Salesforce procedural reports and how-to guides; provide trainings to staff, as needed.
- Attend external meetings and functions related to the CPR, SCTLD, water quality, restoration, and other regional coral reef issues in Florida, as needed.
- Contribute to the development of CPR-related communications products as well as the DEP/ORCP Weekly and Quarterly Measures Reports.
- Travel locally and throughout Florida and occasional long-distance travel as needed to attend meetings, conferences, and trainings.
- Maintain partnerships with a variety of stakeholder groups including resource users, NGO’s, educational institutions, and government agencies.
- Prepare meeting summaries and track action items, as needed/appropriate.
Task 3 (5%): Other:
- Coordinates and submits weekly and quarterly program progress reports.
- Reviews and edits documents to ensure Section 508 compliance, as assigned.
- Maintain electronic files of all resources, information compiled, and reports generated.
- May aid in the event of an emergency at DEP field offices, including pre-storm preparation, post-storm clean-up and replacement of stored goods to ready field office for operation after a storm; or other services assigned.
- Other duties, as assigned.
Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Knowledge or ability to interpret concepts, principles, and practices of contract/grant management, invoice review, processing and submittal.
- Skilled in organization and time management.
- Skilled in the use of computer applications, particularly Microsoft Office Suite and Adobe Acrobat.
- Ability to compile, proofread, and route contracts and grant agreements/amendments for review and execution.
- Ability to use internet based contract/grant management systems.
- Ability to perform accurately in a detail-oriented environment.
- Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
- Ability to review and monitor policies and procedures for compliance with applicable requirements.
- Ability to analyze and solve problems.
- Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
- Ability to plan, organize, prioritize work assignments for successful, timely completion.
- Ability to use a database and spreadsheets to analyze information and generate reports, charts and graphs.
- Florida Certified Contract Manager Certification or ability to obtain within 1 year of hire.
Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
- Knowledge of the state of Florida’s grant/contract management and procurement procedures, policies, and accounting principles.
- Knowledge of and experience with invoice processing.
- Knowledge of environmental issues and laws especially as it relates to coral reef ecosystem and water quality issues in Florida.
Required Qualifications:
- Bachelor’s degree in environmental, engineering, biological sciences, natural sciences, accounting, bookkeeping, or business/finance from an accredited university or college and one year of verifiable related experience; or any combination of post-secondary education or verifiable related experience for a total of five years.
- Valid Driver License.
- Local travel throughout Southeast Florida and occasional long-distance travel.
DEP is committed to successfully recruiting and onboarding talented and skilled individuals into its workforce. We recognize the extensive training, experience, and transferrable skills that veterans and individuals with disabilities bring to the workforce. Veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to contact our recruiter for guidance and answers to questions through the following email addresses:
HR_VeteransPreference@dep.state.fl.us
HR_Recruitment@FloridaDEP.gov
The State of Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Affirmative Action Employer, and does not tolerate discrimination or violence in the workplace.
Candidates requiring a reasonable accommodation, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, must notify the agency hiring authority and/or People First Service Center (1-866-663-4735). Notification to the hiring authority must be made in advance to allow sufficient time to provide the accommodation.
The State of Florida supports a Drug-Free workplace. All employees are subject to reasonable suspicion drug testing in accordance with Section 112.0455, F.S., Drug-Free Workplace Act.
