Registered Environmental Health Specialist

THIS IS A REOPENING OF AN EXISTING EXAMINATION.

The scores and dispositions of candidates for this examination will be merged with previous exam participants. If you previously submitted an application for the Registered Environmental Health Specialist #18-5665-01, and choose to reapply, you must contact the analyst at: Nicole.Lewis-Bolton@acgov.org to have your previous application released back to you.  Your new score/disposition resulting from this exam will replace your current score/disposition. If you do not wish to change your score/disposition, you are not required to reapply to this examination.

Candidates who receive a qualifying score cannot participate in the examination within six (6) months of their disposition notice. Candidates who did not qualify may reapply sixty (60) days from their disposition notice.

Applications must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Applications will only be accepted on-line.

Supplemental Questionnaire: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing. Failure to submit the Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

THE COUNTY

Alameda County, located on the east side of San Francisco Bay, is California's seventh-largest county.  The County employs 9,700 full-time employees and operates on an annual budget of $3.4 billion.  Oakland, the County seat, is California's eighth-largest city.  One and a half million people call Alameda County home and live in a variety of incorporated cities, unincorporated communities, and rural areas.  As a major urban county, Alameda provides a full range of services to its citizens.  The County is a blend of culturally and ethnically diverse communities, and its mixture of cosmopolitan and suburban areas provides the perfect environment for families and their active lifestyles.  The County offers extensive cultural resources, countless recreational opportunities, and an array of fine public and private colleges and universities. 

ALAMEDA COUNTY HEALTH

Alameda County Health is the local government agency that promotes and protects the health and well-being of all who live, work, learn, and play in Alameda County. We coordinate services and cultivate partnerships with community organizations and providers to help ensure access, organize, and deliver health care and services to people with Medi-Cal and without insurance, support resilient communities, and improve health for all. We focus on health equity by developing programs and systemic solutions that reduce disparities for the people and communities we serve.

Alameda County Health’s departments and programs focus on services and support that provide care for the whole person.

·    The Behavioral Health Department provides mental health and substance use services for people with Medi-Cal and without insurance and supports people along their path to wellness, recovery, and resilience.

·    The Environmental Health Department works to keep our air, water, and food safe; it regulates, protects, and promotes the health of everyone in Alameda County by enforcing environmental health codes to reduce exposure to toxins and diseases.

·      The Public Health Department focuses on community and population-level health, preventing and addressing root causes of health inequity across a range of communicable and chronic diseases.

·   Alameda County Health also provides services through Housing and Homelessness Services, Emergency Medical Services Agency, HealthPAC, and Healthy Schools and Communities.

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT

As part of Alameda County Health, the Environmental Health Department protects and enhances people’s health and quality of life by ensuring food and recreational safety, reducing exposure to toxins and diseases, and protecting the quality of our water, air, and environment.

We are environmental protection specialists, food and recreation facilities inspectors, certified hazardous materials and waste specialists, recreational water quality technicians, land and water protection regulators, and vector control biologists.

For more information about the Department of Environmental Health, please visit www.acgov.org/aceh/. 

THE POSITION

Under general supervision, conducts inspections and investigations to enforce applicable state health and safety codes, regulations and local ordinances; and to perform related work as required.

Program responsibilities include, but are not limited to retail food facilities, consumer protection, public swimming pools/spas, public water systems, on-site sewage disposal/treatment systems, housing, recreational areas, institutions, work sites, solid waste, medical waste, hazardous materials, vector control and public health nuisances.

Incumbents in this class are typically assigned to a geographical area or a specific program, in which they are responsible for maintaining disciplinary surveillance for assigned program areas, conducting routine inspections of all facilities on inventory, investigating disease outbreaks and responding to complaints as they arise.

Under the supervision of the Supervising Environmental Health Specialist, the Section Chief, or the Director, incumbents submit all completed inspection reports, records, correspondence and daily activity reports for review. Additional responsibilities include consulting with supervisors concerning technical matters, policy interpretation and legal action.

For a detailed listing of the essential responsibilities and core competency requirements for this position, please click here for the job description.

The minimum professional requirements for admission to the competitive assessment process include:

CERTIFICATION:

Possession of a valid Certificate of Registration as an Environmental Health Specialist Issued by the California State Department of Health Services.

EDUCATION:

Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university (180 quarter units or 120 semester units) with major course work in environmental health science or a closely related field.

LICENSE:

Possession of a valid California driver’s license.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

THE EXAMINATION WILL CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING STEPS:  1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process; 2) A screening of applications and/or Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified candidates. Those selected will move on to the final step in the examination process.  3) Those candidates who have passed the Supplemental Questionnaire screening for the class will be placed on the eligible list based on an evaluation of education, training, and expertise.

CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

We reserve the right to make changes to the announced examination components.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position.  Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, www.acgov.org/hrs.

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable notice in advance of any examination process which will require their attendance.  The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on the needs of the Agency:  

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN: 

**The combined oral examination/hiring interview, in addition to establishing an eligibility list, may serve as the final selection interview for vacancies in this classification.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statues.  To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statutes.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, www.acgov.org/hrs/divisions/ps/application.htm

Alameda County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many different employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall well being.  These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Medical – HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental – HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance 
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees) 
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 11 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Employee Mortgage Loan Program
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1^st United Services Credit Union 

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement.  This provides a brief summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.