Position Information

NY HELPNo

AgencyParks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Office of

TitleProgram Research Specialist 2 (NY HELPS) - Capital

Occupational CategoryOther Professional Careers

Salary Grade23

Bargaining UnitPS&T - Professional, Scientific, and Technical (PEF)

Salary RangeFrom $86681 to $109650 Annually

Employment Type Full-Time

Appointment Type Permanent

Jurisdictional Class Competitive Class

Travel Percentage 0%

Schedule

Workweek Mon-Fri

Hours Per Week 37.50

Workday

From 8 AM

To 4 PM

Flextime allowed? No

Mandatory overtime? No

Compressed workweek allowed? No

Telecommuting allowed? Yes

Location

County Albany

Street Address 625 Broadway

City Albany

StateNY

Zip Code12238

Job Specifics

Duties Description Under the general direction of the Executive Deputy Commissioner for Capital, and reporting to the Energy Bureau Director, this Program Research Specialist 2, SG-23 is assigned to the Albany Energy Bureau.

The Energy Bureau is a specialized team with the Capital Bureau, and is tasked with planning, supporting, and reporting on energy-related projects at OPRHP. In compliance with the State’s climate and sustainability goals and Executive Order 22 (EO22), OPRHP has and continues to implement energy efficiency measures, convert fleet vehicles to zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs), and install EV charging stations and solar at state parks across the state.

Duties include, but are not limited to:
• Collecting, analyzing, and summarizing energy data.
• Interpreting and reporting findings on current or proposed energy-related programs, policies, and legislation including, but not limited to, electric vehicle (EV) charging, solar, energy efficiency, and electrical infrastructure programs.
• Assessing visual and written options for presenting data and information to multiple audiences.
• Leading a team to create annual energy reports outlining energy usage and expenses as well as highlighting energy-related initiatives implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the Agency.
• Tracking progress in achieving energy and climate objectives and goals.
• Updating and maintaining a large, complex database of annual utility data collected from 250+ facilities at NYS OPRHP.
• Performing data manipulation tasks with quantitative data, such as data construction, merging data files, and data cleaning.
• Analyzing and interpreting statistical data to identify significant differences in relationships among sources of information.
• Assessing the statistical methods and procedures used to obtain data to ensure validity, applicability, efficiency, and accuracy.
• Identifying relationships and trends in data, and any factors that could affect the results of the research or analysis.
• Performing data extraction, data linkages, and data queries using computer software.
• Presenting results of studies, analyses, or investigations to agency executive management, covering conclusions and recommendations based on the evaluations made.
• Communicating with OPRHP staff and contractors to ensure energy data collected is accurate and complete.
• Supervising and training lower-level staff.

Minimum Qualifications If Civil Service Eligible list(s) exist, they will be canvassed. You may also apply if you are eligible for appointment or reinstatement by one of the following qualifications:

NY HELPS or 55-b/c Qualifications:
This title is part of the New York Hiring for Emergency Limited Placement Statewide Program (NY HELPS).* To be considered for appointment through NY HELPS, or 55-b/c, candidates must meet the open-competitive minimum qualifications for this position. The qualifications are:

You must have a bachelor's degree** including or supplemented by NINE semester credit hours in statistics, biostatistics, economics, econometrics, research methods, mathematics, data analysis, or data modeling PLUS THREE YEARS of professional* research experience in the collection and evaluation of quantitative data directed toward review and analysis of program operations.

Substitution: J.D. or master’s degree may substitute for one year of the experience; a doctoral degree may substitute for two years of the experience. If verifiable, we will accept and prorate part-time and volunteer experience.

**Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education (https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home). If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States or its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. This information can be found at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. Candidates are responsible for the evaluation fee.

If you are a veteran or an individual with a disability and would like to apply for the Department of Civil Service’s 55-b/c Program, please visit https://www.cs.ny.gov/rp55/ for more information.

Subsequent 55-b/c Qualifications:
A subsequent 55-b/c appointment may be considered if you have at least one year of permanent or contingent-permanent qualifying service and have a current Civil Service 55-b/c letter of eligibility.

Reassignment Qualifications:
Current NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Employees only, with at least one year of permanent or contingent-permanent qualifying service as a Program Research Specialist 2; if you have less than one year, you must be reachable on the current Open-Competitive or Promotion eligible list for this location.

Provisional Qualifications:
In the absence of an eligible list(s) with three or more candidates willing to accept a position, a temporary provisional appointment may be considered. For provisional appointment, candidates must be meet the following minimum qualifications:

1: You must be a qualified employee of New York State and have one (1) year of permanent competitive or 55-b/55-c service as a Program Research Specialist 1 (and all parenthetic), SG-18.

OR

2: A bachelor's degree** including or supplemented by nine semester credit hours in statistics, biostatistics, economics, econometrics, research methods, mathematics, data analysis, or data modeling and three years of professional research experience in the collection and evaluation of quantitative data directed toward review and analysis of program operations.

Substitution: J.D. or master’s degree may substitute for one year of the experience; a doctoral degree may substitute for two years of the experience. If verifiable, we will accept and prorate part-time and volunteer experience.

**Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education (https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/home). If your degree was awarded by an educational institution outside the United States or its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. This information can be found at http://www.cs.ny.gov/jobseeker/degrees.cfm. Candidates are responsible for the evaluation fee.

The appointed candidate would have to take, pass and be reachable on the next holding of the examination to be appointed permanently.

Reassignment Qualifications:
You must be a current New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) employee with one year of permanent, competitive or 55-b/55-c service as Program Research Specialist 2, SG-23.

52.6 Transfer Qualifications:
You must be a qualified employee of New York State and eligible for transfer under Section 52.6 of Civil Service Law which requires one year of permanent, competitive or 55-b/55-c service as in a qualifying title within two salary grades or one M grade of the grade 23 level.

Note: The transfer cannot be a second consecutive transfer resulting in an advancement of more than two salary grades.

For all transfers noted, a comprehensive list of titles approved for transfer is available through Civil Service GOT-IT at https://careermobilityoffice.cs.ny.gov/cmo/gotit/.

Additional Comments If you have previous or current employment at a NYS agency, to be considered for this position, a review of your state history is needed. Please provide the last four digits of your social security number in your email response or on your resume. If you are not comfortable providing this information in your response, a representative from our office may contact you.

The NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation offers a generous benefits package that includes but is not limited to:

Paid Time Off:
• 44 days - 13 Vacation days, 13 Sick days, and 5 Personal Leave days, 13 Holidays.
• PEF: Three (3) days of professional leave annually to participate in professional development.

Health Care Benefits:
• Eligible employees and dependents can pick from a variety of affordable health insurance programs.
• Family dental and vision benefits at no additional cost.
• Health Insurance Opt-Out: This program may be available to eligible employees who have other employer sponsored health insurance coverage.

Additional Benefits:
• New York State Employees’ Retirement System (ERS) Membership
• NYS Deferred Compensation
• Health Insurance coverage in retirement
• Health Care Spending Account (HSA)
• Dependent Care Advantage Account
• Adoption Advantage Account
• Access to NY 529 and NY ABLE College Savings Programs, as well as U.S. Savings Bonds
• Tuition Assistance programs
• Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF)
• Paid Parental Leave

To learn more about our benefits, visit: https://parks.ny.gov/employment/benefits.aspx.

*NY HELPS PROGRAM:
For the duration of the NY HELPS Program, this title may be filled via a permanent non-competitive appointment, which means no examination is required but all candidates must meet the minimum qualifications of the title for which they apply.

At a future date (within one year of permanent appointment), it is expected employees hired under NY HELPS will have their non-competitive employment status converted to competitive status, without having to compete in an examination. Employees will then be afforded with all of the same rights and privileges of competitive class employees of New York State. While serving permanently in a NY HELPS title, employees may take part in any promotion examination for which they are qualified.

Employees appointed via the NY HELPS program are restricted for promotional appointment until their position is covered-in to the competitive class by the New York State Civil Service Commission (CSC), or they otherwise obtain permanent competitive status. The CSC has covered-in employees who were appointed via NY HELPS on a permanent or contingent permanent basis between June 26, 2024 and June 11, 2025. You may wish to apply if you received a permanent NY HELPS appointment to a qualifying title within these timeframes and are interested in this opportunity. Your eligibility for promotion will be reviewed by Human Resources. Employees with a permanent NY HELPS appointment occurring effective June 12, 2025 or later will be addressed with a subsequent cover-in.

Some positions may require additional credentials or a background check to verify your identity.

How to Apply

Name Personnel Office/KW

Telephone

Fax

Email Address albany.employment@parks.ny.gov

Address

Street 625 Broadway

City Albany

State NY

Zip Code 12238

 

Notes on ApplyingAll candidates must submit a written resume and cover letter which clearly demonstrates how they meet the minimum qualifications for the position. Please submit your resume and cover letter as a Word or PDF attachment. We are unable to open documents from Google Docs, Google Drive, OneDrive, Apple Pages, and/or “the cloud”.

Your application must be received by August 5, 2026, and submitted via email to: employment@parks.ny.gov
Please use the subject line: Program Research Specialist 2 - 220362
Failure to do so may result in not being considered for the position.

It is the responsibility of each applicant to accurately describe their experience and demonstrate that they meet the minimum qualifications. Failure to demonstrate that you meet the minimum qualifications and operating needs may result in your resume not being considered for this position.

Please be advised that New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation does not use E-Verify and does not offer sponsorship for employment visas statuses (i.e. H-1B, Self-Sponsorship, STEM OPT). Candidates sponsored for employment by an organization should be aware of their sponsorship status and the relevant expiration date(s) of that sponsorship before applying to this position.

Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply. The NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to ensuring equal opportunity for persons with disabilities and workplace diversity.

New York State (NYS) is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. NYS Law prohibits discrimination because of age, race, creed, color, national origin, sexual orientation, military status, sex, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, domestic violence victim status, carrier status, gender identity or prior conviction records, or prior arrests, youthful offender adjudications or sealed records unless based on a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

Executive Order 31 commits New York State government to becoming a model employer for people with disabilities, increasing the participation of people with disabilities in state service, and ensuring equal access to opportunities. OPRHP encourages people with disabilities to apply. We provide reasonable and religious accommodations for any part of the application and hiring process. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please send a request to the Equal Opportunity Unit at ReasonableAccommodation@parks.ny.gov or (518) 486-7754.