Environmental Health Specialist IV - Community Services Program

Description

WHAT WE OFFER

• General Salary Increase

• 3.5% effective December 22, 2024.

• Educational Incentive

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

• Bilingual incentive

• Proficiency levels by exam are $.69 per hour (Level 1), $1.00 per hour (Level II), or $1.32 per hour (Level III).

• 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.

• Vacation Accrual- New regular, full-time employees shall accrue approximately 14 days of vacation a year for the first 10,400 hours or 5 years of service; vacation accruals increase at 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 20 years of service topping out at 26 days a year and 400 hours of vacation hours banked. SEIU 721 MOA 2022-2025, Article 12 (Sec 1202)
• Annual Leave Redemption

• After 14,560 hours of continuous service an employee may elected 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.

• 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.

• 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 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 biweekly pay period, tier two for employee plus one is $730 per biweekly pay period and tier three for employee plus family is $905 per biweekly 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

• Both the County and employees contribute to the County's Retirement Plan and to Social Security. If eligible, reciprocity may be established with other public retirement systems, such as PERS.

• Holidays

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

• Additional Benefits

• Tuition Reimbursement, Disability Plans, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Wellness Program.

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 POSITION

Acts as the Environmental Health Division's lead foodborne illness investigator and liaison between state agencies and local public health officials; acts as training coordinator for environmental health professionals and program administrative staff; under general direction, performs complex professional environmental health activities involving investigation, inspection, data collection and analysis, enforcement action, report preparation and public contact; assists in program administration; and performs related duties as required.

The successful candidate will have the ability to effectively coordinate with local and state agencies when investigating foodborne illnesses. The successful candidate will demonstrate experience and knowledge of food safety principles and foodborne pathogens, including an understanding of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point principles and application guidelines. In addition, the successful candidate will possess great communication and organizational skills to effectively coordinate training for new and existing employees.

The ideal candidate demonstrates increasingly responsible experience in the field of environmental health; the ability to act as a project team leader and program coordinator; and function at a high-level of individual initiative, self-direction, and independent judgement.

The Environmental Health Specialist IV is represented by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and is not eligible for overtime compensation.

The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary, Fixed Term), Intermittent, and Extra Help and similar vacancies within the Resource Management Agency. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy within the Environmental Health Division, Community Services Program.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE:

OPENING DATE: Monday, June 3, 2024

CLOSING DATE: Friday, June 17, 2024

Examples Of Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to the following:

• Researches, compiles, synthesizes, analyzes, and interprets information and data related to foodborne illness reports.

• Works as the liaison with Public Health and the California Department of Public Health when investigating foodborne illnesses reports that implicate retail food facilities.

• Performs inspections of various types of food facilities when investigating reports of foodborne illness.

• Provides training to staff on foodborne illness investigation procedures and protocols.

• Reviews and analyzes Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point plans submitted to the Environmental Health Division for review and approval.

• Coordinates onboarding and training.

• Prepares written reports and makes recommendations for completion of environmental health projects.

• Acts as a program lead for the foodborne illness investigation program.

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

• Performs other duties as assigned.

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:

Extensive experience in environmental health which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge and abilities. The required knowledge and abilities also can be obtained by completion of a Bachelor's degree in environmental health science or a related field andfive (5) or more years of progressively responsible environmental health experience.

Substitution: A Master's degree in Environmental Health Science or a related field, and/or a REHS (Registered Environmental Health Specialist) in California may each substitute for one year of experience.

Working Conditions: Work is performed in an office environment and in the field and may require occasional exposure to hazardous conditions and moderate physical demands while making inspections.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Experience in Retail Food Inspection Program.

• Must possess and maintain a valid California driver license.

• Registered Environmental Health Specialist from the State of California Department of Public Health.

• Excellent written communications skills must be demonstrated in the completion of the employment application and supplemental questionnaire.

• Ability and willingness to work in Ventura and Simi Valley.

• Ability and willingness to lift and carry 10 lbs. unassisted.

DESIRED:

• Experience collecting and analyzing information related to foodborne illness reports.

• Experience making independent decisions with minimal supervision with limited timeframes.

• Experience as project manager/lead Environmental Health Specialist is.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES:

Knowledge of:

• Chemistry, microbiology and environmental health science to identify potential food borne illness hazards.

• Federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to the Community Events program and functions related to food borne illness hazards.

Thorough knowledge of:

• Interagency relationships and program area for coordination on permitting.

• Investigative techniques and sample collection related to the operation of food facilities.

Working Ability to:

• Perform foodborne illness investigations by collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data related to reports of foodborne illnesses.

• Solve problems at increasingly complex levels and formulate recommendations while working with a variety of stakeholders in limited timeframes.

• Effectively communicate orally including speaking clearly and concisely.

• Write clearly and concisely, including preparation of technical reports.

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with the public and staff of other agencies.

• Act as a program lead by coordinating with other local and state agencies when investigating foodborne illness reports.

• Train staff on foodborne illness investigations.

• Effectively manage high volume workload.

• Make decisions and effectively articulate reasons for the decisions.

• Handle customer service issues related to program areas.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

Work is performed in an office environment and in the field and may require occasional exposure to hazardous conditions and moderate physical demands while making inspections.

Recruitment Process

FINAL FILING DATE: Applications must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 17, 2024.

To apply on-line, please refer to our website at www.ventura.org/jobs . If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call (805) 654-5129 for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another "merit" or "civil service" public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a "merit" or "civil service" style examination, then appointment by "Lateral Transfer" may be possible. If interested, please clickherefor additional information.

Note to Applicants: It is essential that you complete all sections of your application and supplemental questionnaire thoroughly and accurately to demonstrate your qualifications. A resume and/or other related documents may be attached to supplement the information in your application and supplemental questionnaire; however, it/they may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE - qualifying: All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination AT THE TIME OF FILING. The supplemental questionnaire may be used throughout the examination process to assist in determining each applicant's qualifications and acceptability for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in removal of the application from further consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION - qualifying: All applications will be reviewed to determine whether or not the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to continue to the next step in the screening and selection process.

TRAINING and EXPERIENCE EVALUATION

• A Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E) is a structured evaluation of the job application materials submitted by a candidate, including the written responses to the supplemental questionnaire.The T&E is NOT a determination of whether the candidate meets the stated requirements; rather, the T&E is one method for determining who are the better qualified among those who have shown that they meet the stated requirements. In a T&E, applications are either scored or rank ordered according to criteria that most closely meet the business needs of the department. Candidates are typically scored/ranked in relation to one another; consequently, when the pool of candidates is exceptionally strong, many qualified candidates may receive a score or rank which is moderate or even low resulting in them not being advanced in the process.

NOTE: The selection process will likely consist of an Oral Exam, which may be preceded or replaced with the score from a Training and Experience Evaluation (T&E), contingent upon the size and quality of the candidate pool. In a typical T&E, your training and experience are evaluated in relation to the background, experience and factors identified for successful job performance during a job analysis. For this reason, it is recommended that your application materials clearly show your relevant background and specialized knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is also highly recommended that the supplemental questions within the application are completed with care and diligence.

ORAL EXAMINATION - 100%:A job-related Oral Examination will be conducted to evaluate and compare participating candidates' knowledge, skills, and abilities in relation to those factors which job analysis has determined to be essential for successful performance of the job. Applicants must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

ELIGIBLE LIST

If there are three (3) or fewer qualified applicants, an examination will not be conducted. Instead, a score of seventy percent (70%) will be assigned to each application, and each applicant will be placed on the eligible list. Candidates successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year. The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed-Term), Intermittent and Extra Help vacancies for this and similar positions within the Resource Management Agency. There is currently one (1) Regular vacancy within the Environmental Health Division, Community Services Program.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, criminal background information, and driving record may be required for this position.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Daisy Silva by e-mail at Daisy.Silva@ventura.org or telephone at (805) 654-2479.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

The County of Ventura is an equal opportunity employer to all, regardless of age, ancestry, color, disability (mental and physical), exercising the right to family care and medical leave, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, medical condition, military or veteran status, national origin, political affiliation, race, religious creed, sex (includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, and related medical conditions), and sexual orientation.