Rock Springs, WY

Position Title: Hydrologic Modeling Program Manager

Organization: Wyoming State Engineer’s Office, Interstate Stream Division

Location: Rock Springs, WY

Organization Overview: The State Engineer is charged with administering and overseeing all matters involving Wyoming’s interstate and intrastate streams and rivers. A primary objective of the agency is to safeguard the State’s current and future water supplies by preserving Wyoming’s ability to use and develop water allocations under interstate compacts and court decrees. The Interstate Streams Division provides technical and policy support for water allocation and administration issues associated with these governing compacts and decrees. The Water Planning activities of the agency are also coordinated in this Division. The rights of states to the waters of interstate streams may be settled by decrees of the Courts of the United States or by interstate compacts which are agreements negotiated between states dividing the waters of interstate streams. The rights of Colorado and Wyoming to the waters of the Laramie River and the rights of Colorado, Wyoming and Nebraska to the waters of the North Platte River have been established by decree of the United States Supreme Court. The rights of Wyoming and Idaho water users on Teton Creek and South Leigh Creek have been settled by a decree of the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming. Wyoming’s rights to the waters of the Bear River, Belle Fourche River, Colorado River (Green River, Little Snake River, and Henry’s Fork of the Green River), the Niobrara River, the Snake River, and the Yellowstone River (Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone River, Big Horn River, Tongue River and Powder River) have been settled by interstate compacts. International treaties can also affect Wyoming where some of the water that rises in Wyoming eventually finds its way to another country. This is the case with the Colorado River, of which the Green River is a major tributary.

Position Overview: Manages the Hydrologic Modeling Program for multiple river basins in Wyoming. New models will be developed, and/or existing models will be manipulated to measure specific criteria spelled out in the Compacts and Decrees Wyoming is a party to. The data obtained from these models will ensure Wyoming’s compliance with those same Compacts and Decrees. Projects will also be developed and supported to measure and better understand aspects of consumptive use, transit losses, and hydrologic forecasting. The position will open and manage a new branch office in Green River or Rock Springs.

Duties: The listed functions are illustrative only and are not intended to describe every function which may be performed at the job level.

• Conduct hydrologic modeling for ongoing efforts in the Interstate Streams Division on technical and policy-based matters primarily related to surface water modeling of each river basin.
• Perform and or manage the development of hydrologic models.
• Compile and analyze hydrologic data in several basins in Wyoming to assure compliance with the relevant Compacts and Decrees in each basin.
• While representing the State of Wyoming and the State Engineer’s Office, this person will present hydrologic data and conclusions to Federal, State, and local partners in each basin. This will also entail regular briefings of the Governor’s Office staff.
• Collection, analysis, and management of a variety of existing water use data sets while also identifying and investigating data gaps and possible sources to fill those data gaps.
• Active involvement and engagement in many intra- and interstate organizations to protect Wyoming’s interests. This will include active participation in multiple groups required by interstate compacts and decrees.
• Prepare annual scientific and hydrologic reports for multiple basins.
• Support projects that pertain to depletion/consumptive use, field-scale water balances, stream measurements, hydrologic forecasting, and stream/ditch transit losses.
• Coordinate with other state/federal agency technical staff on hydrology and water use models and update future water use projections for Wyoming’s portion of each river basin.
• Inter-agency coordination with federal, state, and local entities and public outreach to private citizens and local entities in multiple river basins. Interacts with the Bureau of Reclamation, municipalities, counties, industrial water users, regional water management boards, other Wyoming state agencies, other states, and local landowners. This will entail hosting periodic water user meetings in the area.
• Install, program, and operate measurement and control instrumentation (primarily Campbell Scientific) for monitoring climate and hydrologic resources.
• Strong willingness to learn and develop a variety of new skills and knowledge, which may include participating in training courses and learning from others within the State Engineer’s Office.
• Interacts with the public for a variety of needs.
• Closely coordinates with the Cheyenne State Engineer’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, and the Division Superintendents’ offices.

Knowledge:

• Strong knowledge and application of hydrologic modeling in water resource applications, including its usefulness, limitations, and how certain variables change the outcome, with preferred background in Riverware. The ability to explain the models and results to those without a modeling or technical background is essential.
• Knowledge relative to the analysis and calculations of evapotranspiration of water, consumptive use of water by agricultural crops, depletions associated with ground and surface water, and water balance studies. Strong ability to utilize GIS software to manipulate and process vector and raster data.
• Detailed knowledge of Wyoming water law and Wyoming’s interstate river compacts and court decrees.
• Detailed knowledge of hydrologic principles and practices and water resources planning and project evaluation techniques.
• Knowledge of western United States geography and water resources development history.
• Skill in oral and written communication and application of knowledge and data to problems and tasks at hand.
• Skill in interpersonal communication and working with multiple groups with diverse interests.
• Skill in verbally outlining policy or position in the midst of discussion.
• Restraint and ability to avoid emotive language and engaging the person rather than their position, facilitation, and mediation tendencies.
• Skill in listening and hearing others express their positions on controversial topics.
• Excellent computer skills for creating, manipulating, and updating spreadsheets and presentations.
• Skill in preparing documents on specific topics (sometimes in a very short time frame) that may have wide distribution.
• Ability to work with people of widely diverse interests and outlooks; ability to recall facts and figures relating to Wyoming’s water resources, water administration, water development, and water policy and quickly locate materials relating thereto; ability to summarize the salient points of multi-party discussions and debates; ability to follow policy directives and relate same to others; ability to organize materials and keep track of large amounts of physical and electronic correspondence and documentation.
• Ability to address multiple projects on a continual basis.
• Ability to compare data from multiple sources to assure the accuracy of technical specifications, rules, and other technical aspects, using considerable judgment and relying upon understanding and comprehension of the subject material.
• Ability to travel frequently and put in long hours to many different western United States cities. Travel on multi-day trips to attend meetings of work groups and interstate water resources and water-related management organizations.
• Ability to develop and manage a budget under state fiscal processes.
• Ability to manage consultants – including Request for Proposals, contracting, project management, and review of work products.

Qualifications:

Education: Bachelor’s Degree (typically in The Sciences)
Experience: 1-3 years of progressive work (typically in The Science) with acquired knowledge at the level of a Natural Resources Principal
OR
Education & Experience Substitution: 4-7 years of progressive work experience (typically in The Sciences) with acquired knowledge at the level of a Natural Resources Principal

Salary/Pay: $5,624.66 – $7,030.40 Monthly

Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

How to Apply: Please use the online application to view the full job description as well as how to apply.