EPS I – SWAP Data/Program Coordinator

Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment

Water Resources
Environmental Data Science
Run the statewide program that helps communities protect the rivers and aquifers their drinking water comes from, including the data and maps behind it.

Colorado Dept. of Public Health & Environment · Denver, CO (10–15% statewide travel) · $66,400 – $79,680

Based on a real posting (view original, posted November 3, 2026 (closes November 17, 2026), accessed November 3, 2026). Postings close. Interview for it anyway.

The role

  • Coordinate Colorado’s Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) program, which helps communities protect the source waters behind their drinking-water supplies.
  • Do outreach, training, and technical support for public water systems, local health departments, and grant recipients.
  • Manage grant tracking, contracting, and reporting, including work tied to new PFAS requirements.
  • Maintain the SWAP database and maps, and respond to data and GIS requests.
  • Write program materials, procedures, and web content.

What they’re looking for

  • Minimum: a bachelor’s in environmental science, natural resources, hydrology, or a related field, plus 1 year of experience managing water-quality projects.
  • Preferred: a master’s degree.
  • Preferred: watershed or source-water project experience, plus mapping, data analysis, and reporting skills (ArcGIS, spreadsheets).
  • Preferred: familiarity with the Safe Drinking Water Act or the Colorado Water Quality Control Act, and experience working across agencies and communities.
  • The position is open to Colorado residents only.

Know the employer

CDPHE’s Water Quality Control Division regulates drinking water and water quality statewide. The SWAP program is voluntary and partnership-based, so much of the job is persuading people rather than enforcing rules.

Interview room

Candidate: stop reading here. Everything below is for the panel.

Panelists: open only your own seat. Each seat’s questions were written for this job. Ask one of them, then follow up in your character’s style.

Every round, each panelist draws a mood card. Keep it secret and play it lightly.

Tap to draw. Draw again each round.

Here, you are: The unit’s GIS and data lead. You inherited the SWAP database and its decades of inconsistent records.

Ask one of these:

  1. “A legislator’s office wants a map of every source water protection area by Friday. Our database has records entered by many different people over decades. What do you check before you send it?”
  2. “How would you prioritize which source water areas are most at risk from PFAS? What data would you combine?”

Then follow up: when they use a buzzword (modeled, analyzed, managed, data-driven), ask “What specifically did you do?” or “How would you know if that was wrong?”

More about Riley

Story. A data feed your team depends on broke again last week, and you’ve been patching it ever since. You’ve been burned by hires who listed “R” and “GIS” on their résumé and then couldn’t clean a messy spreadsheet.

Quirks. Friendly but literal. You ask for numbers (“How many sites? How many years?”) and take notes.

Listen for: specific tools and steps, real QA/QC habits, and honesty about gaps.

Here, you are: Unit Manager. You own the grant budget and the federal reporting deadlines.

Ask one of these:

  1. “We have grant money for about 15 communities and 40 are interested. How do you decide who gets it, and how do you tell the rest?”
  2. “Federal reporting, two grant deadlines, and a statewide training workshop all land in the same month. How do you plan it?”

Then follow up: politely interrupt idealistic answers with “That sounds great in a seminar. What’s the version we can deliver by Friday?” If an answer runs past about 90 seconds: “Give me the headline.”

More about Pat

Story. You chair this search committee. Your puppy chewed up a corner of the carpet overnight, so the morning started early, and you have a budget meeting right after this. You love good science that ships on time.

Quirks. You keep an eye on the clock.

Listen for: prioritization, concrete deliverables, and concise answers.

Here, you are: Outreach lead who works with local health departments and small water systems.

Ask one of these:

  1. “A small mountain town with one part-time water operator wants to join SWAP but says they don’t have time for a ‘plan.’ How do you get them started?”
  2. “Explain what ‘source water protection’ means to me like I’m a town council member who’s never heard the term.”

Then follow up: “What would the other person say happened?” or “What did that teach you about how you work?” After each answer, pause for a few seconds before speaking.

More about Morgan

Story. Last week you ran a field day for a group of ninth-graders, and it reminded you how hard it is to explain this work simply. You’ve seen strong scientists struggle because they couldn’t explain their work to a non-scientist or get along with the person at the next desk.

Quirks. Warm, and comfortable with silence.

Listen for: a real story (STAR), empathy, self-awareness, and plain language.

Here, you are: The only operator of a small-town water system, who also plows the roads in winter.

Ask one of these:

  1. “I’m the only operator here. What exactly do you need from me, and how long will it take?”
  2. “The state keeps adding rules. Is this program going to turn into another regulation we have to pay for?”

Then follow up: say “Huh?” every time they use an acronym or jargon without explaining it.

More about Dale

Story. You’re not on staff. You drove a couple of hours to sit in on this panel because this hire will be working with you.

Quirks. Plainspoken and skeptical, but not hostile. If they actually listen, you warm up.

Listen for: plain language, respect, and whether they ask you questions.

Pods of 3 only. You’re both Riley and Pat. Ask one Seat A question and one Seat B question from this job, and use both follow-ups: “What specifically did you do?” and “What’s the version we can deliver by Friday?”