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Water/Wastewater System Technical Advisor

The School of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill works to improve the lives of North Carolinians by engaging in practical scholarship that helps public officials and citizens understand and improve state and local government. As the largest university-based local government training, advisory, and research organization in the United States, the School of Government offers up to 200 courses, webinars, and specialized conferences for more than 12,000 public officials each year. The School of Government is also home to a nationally ranked graduate program in public administration and specialized centers focused on information technology and environmental finance.

The Environmental Finance Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC EFC) (efc.sog.unc.edu) is dedicated to enhancing the ability of governments and other organizations across the country to provide environmental programs and services in fair, effective, and financially sustainable ways. The UNC EFC is part of the University’s public service mission and works directly with environmental service providers. The UNC EFC’s work is primarily funded through grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and other awards.

The UNC EFC is currently providing technical assistance to communities to support the development of SRF applications for water and wastewater infrastructure funding. The UNC EFC seeks to hire a Water/Wastewater System Technical Advisor (“the Advisor”). The Advisor will assist the UNC EFC in assessing water/wastewater system needs and capital improvement prioritizations for up to 4 water/wastewater systems in EPA Region 4 over a 3–6-month period. The Advisor will be compensated per system and system assignments will be discussed in consultation with the Advisor. For each of the systems the Advisor is assigned to help assess, the Advisor will be expected to complete an in-person system assessment and detail the findings in a template created by the UNC EFC (see the attached “System Scoping” template). Upon completing the template, the Advisor will be expected to return the information to UNC EFC staff. After submitting the completed template to the UNC EFC, the Advisor will be expected to be on call for up to 15 hours of continued system assessment and capital improvement-related questions and advising.

The ideal candidate will have experience working in (or with) local government water and/or wastewater systems with a demonstrated understanding of water/wastewater system operations and/or engineering. The candidate is also expected to be able to communicate effectively with both local government staff and UNC EFC staff.

This position’s start and/or end dates coincide with the North Carolina state fiscal year (i.e., July 1 – June 30). As such, this position will be expected to start no earlier than July 1, 2024, and all Work must be completed by June 30, 2025. The term of the position is not expected to exceed six months. The expectation is the advisor can work off-site and is not required to conduct work onsite at the School of Government. As part of the position, we expect the Advisor to travel at least once to all assigned systems across EPA Region 4 (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky) over the contract period. Site visits may be part of a broader community visit coordinated with UNC EFC staff.

Minimum Experience Requirements
Experience working at or with a local government drinking water or wastewater system (e.g., as a utility operator, as an engineering consultant who worked with local government water systems, etc.)
Demonstrated understanding of water and wastewater system operations and/or engineering
Demonstrated understanding of drinking water and/or wastewater system regulatory requirements
Ability to assess drinking water and wastewater system conditions and needs.
Ability to prioritize system needs to meet regulatory standards, quality of service expectations, etc.
Experience developing a list of capital improvements based on system needs
Ability to work independently without a high degree of supervision
Ability to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing, with local government practitioners
Ability to solve problems as they arise

Preferred Qualifications
Broad understanding of multiple types of treatment systems
Exposure to systems of different sizes (e.g., <1,000 customers, >10,000 customers)
Exposure to decentralized solutions (e.g., wells, septic systems)
Ability to identify public health hazards for the community from system assessments

Start date: July 1, 2024

End date: June 30, 2025

Compensation: $2,500 per community assessed, inclusive of travel expenses

Interested candidates should submit a resume, cover letter to Tenika McMillan, Acting Assistant Director at the Environmental Finance Center at tmcmillan@sog.unc.edu.

Click here for the position description with system scoping template.