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Career Opportunity

Environmental Health Inspector (6120) All Specialties - San Francisco Department of Public Health

Recruitment: REF5944R

Published: April 17, 2023

Contact:

David Chalk - david.chalk@sfdph.org

Apply using SmartRecruiters, the City and County of San Francisco's application portal Learn More

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Department: Public Health
Job class: 6120-Environmental Health Inspector
Salary range: $122,772.00 - $149,162.00
Role type: Permanent Civil Service What does this mean?
Hours: Full-time
Exam type: Class Based Test
Rule: Contact us for more information
List type: Entrance
 

About:

The Department of Public Health is accepting applications in class 6120 Environmental Health Inspector for BOTH the Consumer Protection Specialty and the Hazardous Materials/Hazardous or Medical Waste Specialty.  You will only be considered for positions in the specialty or specialties for which you meet the Minimum Qualifications (see Qualifications section below).

  • Application Re-Opening: Friday, April 14, 2023
    If you previously applied in October-December 2022, you do not need to apply again)
  • Application Deadline: Friday, April 21, 2023
  • Annual Compensation: $117,130 - $142,324
  • Recruitment ID: CBT-6120-903274

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans.

The eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be utilized to fill future and current vacancies in this class for the duration of the eligible list.  

HOW TO APPLY

Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit careers.sf.gov and begin the application process.

Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up to date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every announcement for which they file. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.  

DPH statement of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the diversity of its workforce. All employees are required to participate in the Department of Public Health's work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity through: 

  • Commitment to providing exceptional care and services to all residents of the City and County of San Francisco service population, with heightened awareness of responsiveness to racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse members of the service population and the DPH workforce. 
  • Desire and commitment to lead and participate in anti-racism, racial justice, and equity work that improves quality of patient care and employee experiences; along with the commitment and fortitude to drive change in these areas. 
  • Desire to work with, relate to, serve, and support a diverse service population and workforce.
  • Commitment to health equity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status.

Role description

Under direction, the Environmental Health Inspector conducts inspections of housing, industrial plants and. premises, sources of noise emission, fixed and mobile food facilities, and public health and safety hazards in order to enforce established laws, ordinances and regulations pertaining to abatement of violations found; recommends appropriate actions to remedy situations; issues citations; prepares pertinent reports; implements various environmental health programs and services; and performs related duties as required.

The essential functions include, but are not limited to:

1. Enforces provisions of the health, housing, planning and air pollution codes, State health and safety, industrial relations, administrative, agricultural and penal codes, State general safety orders, and sanitary aspects of meat plant construction, local ordinances and State laws pertaining to sanitary milk production and noise abatement and other environmental hazards; may be required to specialize in any of these or other activities related to the duties of the class.

2. Investigates complaints involving all buildings; takes necessary action to abate illegal health, sanitary and safety conditions; coordinates efforts with the Department of Public Works, bureaus of building inspection, electrical inspection and plumbing inspection and with the Fire and Police Departments in the enforcement of the building, electrical, plumbing, fire and police codes; appears as witness in court litigation when required and testifies in cases involving food establishments, housing, commercial buildings, hazardous materials and waste management, and other matters.

3. Conducts complaint inspections of dwellings, hotels, apartment houses, business establishments and other multiple dwellings; checks for sanitation, general maintenance of structural and operational features, light, ventilation, use and occupancy, safety and for compliance with applicable codes; detects violations; coordinates efforts with applicable city departments in the enforcement of appropriate codes; makes follow-up inspections to assure ordered corrections have been made; makes recommendations for order of vacation or condemnation of buildings remaining in violation; prepares condemnation reports; appears and testifies at condemnation hearings.

4. Conducts complaint inspections at sites of noise sources to determine the noise source; prepares legal notices of violations of noise ordinance; recommends corrective action to be taken by the violators; prepares cases for argument before the Variance Board.

5. Conducts food and drink establishment inspections; detects violations; orders corrections to effect compliance with established requirements, advises operators, building owners, architects, contractors and others on methods related to alternative design modification and equipping to comply with applicable codes and regulations; processes applicable portions of building permit applications and plans and follows through to insure that requirements are adhered to; advises operators and employees on proper handling procedures and sanitary methods; obtains routine samples of products and submits same for laboratory analyses, examinations and tests; conducts food poisoning investigations; recommends issuance or denial of permits to operate food establishments or suspension or revocation of existing permits if violation is not corrected as ordered; appears and testifies at hearings to enforce compliance; prepares related notices to courts, records and correspondence pertaining to duties performed, observations made, violations found and actions taken.

6. Conducts miscellaneous inspections of facilities, including laundries, dry cleaning establishments, ambulatory homes for the aged, stables, kennels, pet hospitals and pet shops for compliance with pertinent regulations, and recommends issuance or denial of permit to operate; investigates growth of poison oak and other noxious weeds; investigates and adjudicates refuse removal rate disputes between scavenger companies and the public; investigates all complaints regarding the lack of required refuse collection service and/or unlawful disposal of refuse, debris and garbage accumulation on lots, streets, public places, yards; investigates industrial accidents and gives requirements for corrective action if necessary and. investigates cases of death due to poisonous gases; investigates infestations of rodents and other vermin; investigates mosquito complaints; checks applications and plans for construction of swimming pools; issues permits for small water supplies; inspects for cross connections and approves backflow prevention devices.

7. Conducts inspections and complaint investigations of hazardous materials and waste facilities to determine compliance with applicable codes, laws and regulations; conducts field tests and acquires samples for laboratory analysis; travels to and from inspection sites; manages an inspectional district in accordance with program specific standard operating procedures and performance goals; issues citations and orders corrective actions; drafts complaints for the purpose of administering administrative civil penalties; appears and testifies at hearings to enforce compliance; prepares related case documents; reviews plans and applications for the installation, repair/upgrade and/or closure of underground storage tanks; reviews and processes submittals to the California Environmental Reporting System (CERS); prepares technical, specialized reports and program plans by gathering and compiling statistical and other supporting data; performs administrative and clerical environmental health task; and provides information and education to the public, business owners and operators and/or their agents regarding proper hazardous materials and waste management, and medical waste management.

8. Performs other special and miscellaneous duties as required, including sanitation and hazardous materials surveys, domestic water supply sampling, recreational water facilities; reclaimed waste waters; attends meetings and educational conferences, giving talks to groups, conducting tours with students and groups and conducting special emergency investigation of hazards, health and unsanitary conditions.

How to qualify

This recruitment is for BOTH the Consumer Protection Specialty and the Hazardous Materials/Hazardous or Medical Waste Specialty.  You will only be considered for positions in the specialty or specialties for which you meet the Minimum Qualifications.

Minimum Qualifications

  1. EDUCATION: 

    Hazardous Materials/Hazardous or Medical Waste Specialty: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester units in, or a major in one or more of the following disciplines: Biology or microbiology; Chemistry, chemical engineering; Physics, physical science; Environmental science; Geology or soil science; Environmental health; Environmental or sanitary engineering; Toxicology; Industrial hygiene; Hazardous materials management; Fire science, fire technology.
     
  2. EXPERIENCE: 

    Hazardous Materials/Hazardous or Medical Waste Specialty:
    Requires two (2) years of experience in in hazardous materials, hazardous waste, site mitigation and/or medical waste as a technician or inspector in an environmental health agency or related regulatory/service agency, or as a professional consultant in the environmental health industry; OR
    One (1) year of experience as an inspector in a Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA)
     
  3. LICENSE and CERTIFICATION: 

    Consumer Protection specialty: Possession of a REHS* (Registered Environmental Health Specialist) certification issued by the State of California Department of Public Health Services and eligibility to be deputized as a peace officer.
     
  4. Both specialties: Possession of a valid California driver's license.

    Hazardous Materials/Hazardous or Medical Waste Specialty (Amended 12/6/22): Requires obtaining and maintaining a CA UST Inspector Certification issued by the International Code Council (ICC) within 180 days following appointment. Requires obtaining and maintaining a HAZWOPER Certification within one year following appointment.

One year of full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours of work experience (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40 hour work week). Any overtime hours that you work above 40 hours a week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Valid licensure and/or Certification must be kept current throughout length of employment. Failure to demonstrate/show proof of possession of required valid licensure and/or certification may result in dismissal and/or termination of employment.

Verification: 
Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Note: Falsifying one’s education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training, and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application.

Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

What else should I know?

SELECTION PROCEDURES

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (Weight: Qualifying): Applicants will be required to complete the Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ) at https://forms.gle/XaNE2Dzb7AE6wxxH9. Applicants will be required to respond to the MQSQ in the time frame indicated, and submit their answers as directed. 

Supplemental Questionnaire (Weight: 100%):
Qualified candidates will be sent a Supplemental Questionnaire (SQ) exam that must be completed by the set date. Candidates will be evaluated on their relative knowledge, skill and ability levels in job-related areas. A passing score must be achieved on the SQ in order to be placed/ranked on the Eligible List. Candidate responses on the Supplemental Questionnaire cannot be changed once submitted. Candidates will be placed in rank order according to their final score on the SQ.  

The department may administer additional position-specific selection procedures to make final hiring decisions.

Candidate scores on these examinations may also be applied to other announcements involving other job titles, when directed by the Human Resources Director.

Eligible List/Score Report: A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

Upon passing the exam, candidates will be placed on the eligible list for a period of 12 months.

Certification: Certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of Three.

Terms of Announcement: Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. [Note: The correction of clerical errors in an announcement will be posted on the Department of Human Resources website at careers.sf.gov.] The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 110.4. Such appeals must be submitted in writing to the Department of Human Resources, 1 S Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103-5413 by close of business on the 5th business day following the issuance date of this examination announcement. Information concerning other Civil Service Commission Rules involving announcements, applications and examination policies, including applicant appeal rights, can be found on the Civil Service Commission website at http://sfgov.org/civilservice/rules.

DPH Health Critical Requirements and Information: Please review the following policies regarding DPH employment requirements that safeguard yourself and others. 

Additional information regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the exam analyst David Chalk at david.chalk@sfdph.org.

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT:  All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.