Environmental Health Specialist I/Ii/Iii - Community Services

Description

WHAT WE OFFER

The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package. In addition to the salary of approximately $56,354.26 to $96,918.88 annually an employee within this position will also be eligible for the following:

• General Salary Increase- 3.5% effective December 22, 2024.

• New Hire/Retention/Referral Incentive- New hires may be eligible for a one-time New Hire incentive up to 10% of the current annual base wage. SEIU 721 MOA 2022-2025, Article 38 (Secs. 3801 - 3803).

• Merit Increases

• New employees are eligible for an initial 5% merit increase within the pay range upon completion of at least 1,040 hours (approximately 6 months) assuming work meets satisfactory standards. Subsequent merit increases within the pay range will be upon completion of each additional 2,080 hours (approximately one year) from the initial merit increase.

• Educational Incentive

• An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate's degree.

• Bilingual Incentive- Incumbents may also be eligible for bilingual Incentive depending upon operational needs and certification skills.

• Flexible Workweek/Telework Schedule

• We support work life balance by offering compressed work (e.g., 9/80 workweek) and remote hybrid telework schedules for most positions subject to organizational needs and satisfactory performance.

• Sick Leave- Full-time regular employees accrue 3.08 hours of sick leave per pay period with an advance at hire of 40.04 hours which will be balanced at the completion of 13 bi-weekly pay periods.

• Annual Leave Redemption-After 14,560 hours of continuous County service (equivalent to seven (7) years) an employee may elect to "cash in" or redeem up to 80 hours of vacation accrued in the same year after using 80 hours of vacation in the preceding 12 months.

• Deferred Compensation- Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3% match on your 401(k) contributions.

• Health Plans- Full time regular employees are afforded a flexible credit allowance for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans: Tier one for employee only is $502 per pay period, tier two for employee plus one is $730 per pay period and tier three for employee plus family is $905 per pay period.

• Flexible Spending Accounts

• Choice of participation in the Flexible Spending Accounts which increase spending power through reimbursement of pre-tax dollars for IRS approved dependent care and health care expenses.

• Pension Plan- Participation in the County's defined benefit plan.

• Holidays

• 12 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.

VENTURA COUNTY

The County's 1,873 square miles include 1,846 square miles of land with 42 miles of coastline which is home to the following cities and points of interest: Camarillo, Fillmore, Moorpark, Ojai, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, and Ventura as well as national protected areas such as parts of the Angeles National Forest, Channel Islands National Park, and the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Ventura County is a "general law" county, governed by a five-member, elected-by-district Board of Supervisors. The Supervisors appoint a County Executive Officer (CEO) to oversee the County budget, day-to-day operations, and to advise, assist, and act as an agent for the Board of Supervisors in all matters under the Board's jurisdiction. It focuses on serving its residents by promoting engagement, strategy, execution and accountability to include diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives to ensure that all employees are treated with respect and without discrimination, and to improve culturally appropriate outcomes for community members.

THE AGENCY

The primary goal of the Resource Management Agency (RMA) is to protect the health, safety and welfare of the general public through administration and enforcement of County ordinances, Board policy, and state and federal laws regarding land use, and commercial and environmental regulation. RMA includes five divisions: Environmental Health, Planning, Building &Safety, Code Compliance, and Operations/GIS.

RMA recognizes the value of having a diverse and inclusive workforce at all levels of our agency to best serve our clients and be representative of the community we serve and is committed to being an active participant in removing barriers to ensure equitable access and opportunities for success. The agency is dedicated to attracting, hiring, developing, retaining and valuing quality employees fully empowered to protect everyone's health, safety, and the environment, and committed to providing excellent customer service through the efficient, accurate, and consistent application of laws, ordinances, regulations, and policies.

THE DIVISION

The key responsibility of the Environmental Health Division is to protect public health and the environment by ensuring conformance with State laws and County ordinances pertaining to the following programs: food protection, hazardous materials, hazardous waste, individual sewage disposal systems, land use, medical waste, ocean water quality monitoring, recreational health, solid waste, underground fuel tanks, and vector control.

THE POSITION:

Under immediate supervision (I), general supervision (II), direction (III), to general direction (IV), performs progressively complex professional environmental health activities involving investigation, inspection, data collection and analysis, enforcement action, report preparation and public contact; assists in environmental health program administration; and

performs related duties as required.

Distinguishing Characteristics:

There are four levels (I - IV) in the Environmental Health Specialist series. Each level performs increasingly responsible public contact; interaction with public and private entities; conflict resolution; and a wider range of environmental health projects at a higher level of complexity (i.e., understanding concepts relating to environmental, biological, water, wastewater, etc.). Those at the Environmental Health Specialist IV level may act as project team leaders and program coordinators. Each succeeding step in the job series is expected to function at a higher level of individual initiative, creativity, self-direction, and independent judgment.

APPROXIMATE SALARY:

Environmental Health Specialist I: $27.09 - 37.92 (hourly)

Environmental Health Specialist II: $2,394.52 - $3,343.03 (biweekly)

Environmental Health Specialist III: $2,657.06 - $3,727.65 (biweekly)

Environmental Health Specialist I is represented by the Services Employees' International Union (SEIU) and is eligible for overtime compensation.

Environmental Health Specialist II/III are represented by the Services Employees' International Union (SEIU) and are not eligible for overtime compensation.

NOTE: If appointed at the lower level, incumbent may be promoted to the higher level without further examination upon meeting the minimum requirements, demonstrating satisfactory performance, and in accordance with the business needs of the department.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE

OPENING DATE:5/06/2024

CLOSING DATE:Continuous

FIRST REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS:On or around 5/28/2024. Subsequent reviews will be conducted until closing date.

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Performs inspections of various facilities and properties, including food facilities, public pools and community events to determine conformance with applicable State laws and County Ordinance Code sections.

• Prepares written reports related to food and pool facilities and makes recommendations for completion of environmental health projects.

• Researches, compiles, synthesizes, analyzes and interprets information and data necessary to meet environmental health objectives.

• Coordinates environmental health projects, defines problems and alternative solutions, and sets objectives.

• Provides general information to the public in response to questions about projects, environmental health programs, applicable ordinances, policies and procedures related to the community services, including food facilities, public pools and community events.

• Makes oral presentations to public groups and governmental bodies to provide food safety training and explain and clarify environmental health reports and recommendations.

• Coordinates and/or negotiates with other individuals, developers, groups, sections, divisions, departments and agencies on various technical or legal aspects of environmental programs, some of which may be controversial or politically sensitive.

• Conducts field investigations and complaint investigations of various sites in order to have first-hand knowledge of the location under study.

• May participate in enforcement activities which include civil or criminal cases and may involve issuance of citations, report writing, collection of evidence and court appearances.

• Performs other duties as required.

Typical Qualifications

These are entrance requirements to the examination process and assure neither continuance in the process nor placement on an eligible list.

EDUCATION, TRAINING, and EXPERIENCE

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST I:

Some experience in environmental health which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge and abilities. The required knowledge and abilities can be obtained by four (4) or more years of progressively responsible environmental health experience or the completion of a bachelor's degree in environmental health science or a related field and one of the following:

• Proof of eligibility letter (ONLY Options IV, or V), as determined by the California Department of Public Health, to take the state license examination for a Registered Environmental Health Specialist

• Proof of a bachelor's degree in environmental health from a program approved by the California Department of Public Health with the ability to obtain a letter of eligibility to take the required state license examination prior to appointment (ONLY Options IV or V accepted). The following is a list of programs approved by the California Department of Public Health:

• California State University, Fresno.