Environmental Health Technician

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION.  The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year, but can be extended.

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.

Qualified bilingual persons who speak English and are also fluent in: Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Korean, Mien, Tagalog, Amharic, Farsi, Dari, Tigrigna, Russian, Romanian or Sign Languages are especially encouraged to apply. There is an additional bi weekly compensation for persons in positions designated bilingual. Qualified candidates may be tested to demonstrate language proficiency.

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.  

THE HEALTH CARE SERVICES AGENCY

Alameda County's Health Services Program is administered by the Health Care Services Agency and includes the following program areas: Behavioral Health Care, Public Health, Environmental Health, and Agency Administration/Indigent Health. The ultimate mission of the Health Care Services Agency is to provide fully integrated health care services through a comprehensive network of public and private partnerships that ensure optimal health and well-being and respect the diversity of all residents. Health Care Services Agency currently has multiple career opportunities for experienced professionals to become part of a service delivery team dedicated to the optimal health and well-being of Alameda County residents.  For more information about the Health Care Services Agency, please visit www.acgov.org/health/

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT

Alameda County Department of Environmental Health operates various programs to protect the public.  For more information about the department of Environmental Health Care Services, please visit www.acgov.org/aceh/.

THE POSITION

Under general supervision to assist the Department in its implementation of 20 different regulatory or service programs including but not limited to Recreation (pools and spas), Vector Control, Hazardous Materials, Household Hazardous Waste, and several components of the Food Protection Program such as the vehicle and special events unit. This position will assist in all aspects of these programs to the extent that other forms of professional registration are not required or specialized skills inherent to the Technician or Specialist positions are not essential.

The Environmental Health Technician class is located in the Department of Environmental Health. This position is responsible for assisting registered professionals or nonregistered professionals in the performance of their duties This class differs from the Environmental Health Specialist or Hazardous Materials Specialist in that these classifications are responsible for conducting food protection site inspections and hazardous waste field investigations and possessing special knowledge of proper interpretation of relevant Health and Safety Code and State Regulations. The higher classifications are frequently called upon to act independently and make decisions under difficult conditions.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications and knowledge and skills stated below, the ideal candidate will have demonstrated a track record of success in the following areas:

• Problem-solving with high standards for quality, attention to detail, and a strong commitment to public service. 
• Leveraging automated systems and technology to achieve efficiencies and improve program performance.
• Consistently managing time and resources to appropriately prioritize and complete goals and assignments. 
• Communicating effectively with the ability to explain program requirements and concepts to the public, and present to a diverse population.
• Collaborating; maintaining and cultivating successful working relationships with others.
• Learning and adapting to new procedures and processes successfully.

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

EITHER I

Education:
Possession of Associate Science (AS) degree in environmental or Earth sciences, including but not limited to chemistry, industrial hygiene, toxicology and hazardous materials management, geology, public health, engineering, or food science.

AND

Experience:
Minimum of three years of full-time experience in the field of environmental health or hazardous materials or vector control or other life or earth science.

OR II

Education:
Possession of a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with a major in industrial hygiene, environmental health science, physical science, engineering science or a related earth or life science.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

May be required to perform heavy lifting up to a maximum of 50 pounds moving containers and drums using manual handling equipment.
May be required to work in adverse weather conditions.
May be required to work on uneven ground.
May be required to work flexible schedules that may also include one or both weekend days and evening work hours.
May drive a motor vehicle for periods up to 1 hour on a regular basis.
Must be medically qualified/cleared to wear a half face and full face respirator.
Must be clean shaven at all times compliant with OSHA 1910.20 specifications with respect to facial hair and respirator usage.

License:

Possession of a valid California State Motor Vehicle operator’s license.
Possess and maintain a valid Class C California Motor Vehicle Operator's license. Candidate must submit evidence from DMV showing current status of their license at the time of application and must have a clean driving record for the previous 3-year period.

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

NOTE: The level and scope of the following knowledge and abilities are related to duties listed under the "Examples of Duties” section of this specification.

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of:

• General understanding of public health, industrial hygiene, environmental sanitation, and engineering practices and principles.
• General understanding of State water code, health and safety code, California code of regulations.
• General understanding of methods, techniques and practices used in the determination and elimination of health hazards.
• General understanding of basic best management practices in the handling, transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes, evaluation of field conditions for the identification of pest types. Standard water sampling protocol for swimming pool water samples.
• Computer software applications, telecommunications equipment such as smart phones and interlinkage of this equipment.
• Working knowledge of search engines, sharing, saving and using word processing programs and spreadsheets such as Excel.


Ability to:

• Investigate, accurately record observations, evaluate findings and use field-testing equipment under direction.
• Prepare comprehensive reports using pre-formatted forms.
• Interpret and apply relevant laws and regulations with the assistance of the relevant Specialist.
• Oral/written communications.
• Use of basic hand tools.
• Use of standard office equipment. Modern office practices and procedures, including data entry and standard office equipment operations.
• Computer skills such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and the Internet.

The examination will consist of the following steps: 1) A review of candidates' applications to verify possession of minimum requirements. 2) Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process which is a review of candidates' Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants to continue in the process. 3) Those candidates selected as best qualified will move on to the next step in the examination process, an oral interview examination which will be weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview examination may contain situational exercises.

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.

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: 

*updated as of 12/4/2019, ac

**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
• Group Auto/Home Insurance
• 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.

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org and alamedacountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the "My applications" button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to insure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box alamedacountyHR@acgov.org are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. If you have questions please go to our website at www.acgov.org/hrs. You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Angelica Cuevas, Human Resources Analyst

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

(510) 271-5154 • angelica.cuevas@acgov.org

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve, and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.  All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of:  race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.