Senior Hazardous Materials Specialist

Introduction

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.

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 Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires will only be accepted online.

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 biweekly compensation for persons in positions designated bilingual. Qualified candidates may be tested to demonstrate language proficiency.

DESCRIPTION

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

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

Hazardous Materials Division/Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA): Incumbents assigned to CUPA the Hazardous Materials Division/CUPA are responsible for conducting inspections, routine environmental surveys; permitting, enforcement and training; investigating potential community health complaints related to hazardous materials, waste tire or pollution of the waters of Alameda County; lending technical assistance during emergency response; providing regulatory oversight evaluating work sites; and ensuring compliance with applicable laws, and regulations and local ordinances; responding to emergency hazardous materials incidents within the County’s jurisdiction; documenting, identifying, assessing risk and advising on clean up.

Local Oversight Program (LOP):Incumbents assigned to the LOP Divisionare responsible for providing regulatory and technical oversight for the routine or frequently seen leaking Underground Storage Tanks and other contamination sites; Providing review and analysis of technical data and evaluates the effectiveness of corrective actions at contaminated sites; Conducting environmental oversight surveys; investigating potential community health hazards; evaluating sites based on current and future use; ensuring compliance with applicable laws and regulations and local ordinances.

Household Hazardous Waste Program (HHW): Incumbents assigned to the HHW Division will be responsible for employee safety, efficiency and compliance with applicable requirements during operations and service to the public and businesses, including during handling, accumulation, transport and disposal of hazardous waste and materials collected at a Permanent HHW Facilities and for oversight of all activities at temporary events. Duties include: train and supervise Senior Hazardous Materials (HM) Specialists, HM Specialists, Environmental Health (EH) Technicians, EH Maintenance Workers, Clerks and administrative staff and contractor employees to provide good communication and service to the public; material handling, packing and shipping, recordkeeping and reporting compliant with all relevant requirements; arrange for purchase of all needed equipment, supplies, services; determine and implement preventative measures to reduce risk of incident, injury or disruption of service to the public; coordinate on-call response to monitoring system activation and; take a leading role in response to any incident or emergency.

THE VACANCY

The vacancies are located in the above program areas h owever, the e ligible list resulting from this recruitment and selection process will be used to fill vacant positions with or without program specific specialty designations in the Senior Hazardous Materials Specialist classification. Position designation will result in the selective certification of eligibles who possess the program specific requirements as determined by the supplemental questionnaire screening. All applicants who meet the minimum qualification for the classification are encouraged to apply with a complete application and supplemental questionnaire to be considered for the vacancies in the above-mentioned programs.

THE POSITION

Under general direction conducts hazardous waste investigations and evaluates and interprets problems of environmental and public health hazards. This classification provides lead responsibility for those programs staffed by Hazardous Materials Specialists or Hazardous Materials Technicians, and is assigned the more difficult or complex tasks.

Positions in this classification are located in the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), Local Oversight Program (LOP), and the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Program, and within the Director’s Office of the Environmental Health Department, reporting to a Supervising Hazardous Materials Specialist or the appropriate program Chief. Incumbents in this position conduct investigations and site data analysis for industrial, governmental and community sites for potential health hazards, environmental impact or regulatory compliance concerns. In all assignments, the Senior Hazardous Materials Specialist assists in the development, standardization and implementation of the Department’s environmental management protocols.

The Senior Hazardous Materials Specialist is distinguished from the Senior Environmental Health Specialist in that the latter is primarily responsible for environmental and public health impacts associated with the improper use or storage of hazardous materials or has responsibility for the safe operation of Household Hazardous Waste Facilities, HHWF's. Positions in this class differ from those in the next higher class of Supervising Hazardous Materials Specialist or appropriate program Chief, as incumbents do not exercise full supervisory authority in hiring, evaluating or disciplining staff, but they do assist in these processes.

THE IDEAL CANDIDATE

In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications and knowledge and skills below, the ideal candidate will:

• Be respected as an environmental health professional trusted to develop, standardize and implement environmental management protocols.
  
• Possess a strong ability to gather, analyze and compile information and implement regulations to address compliance related issues and problems.
  
• Leverage automated systems and technology to achieve efficiencies and improve program performance.
  
• Consistently manage time and resources to appropriately plan, prioritize, and complete work for self and others.
  
• Be an effective communicator and able to explain program requirements and concepts to the public and present to a diverse population.
  
• Be a collaborator and a team player who maintains and cultivates successful working relationships with others.
  
• Be able to identify safety issues and problems; detect hazardous working conditions and safety problems; check equipment and/or work area regularly.
  
• Problem solve using good judgement with high standards for quality, attention to detail, and a strong commitment to public service.
  
• Learn and adapt to new procedures, processes, responsibilities, and/or environments - successfully maintaining effectiveness.
  

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

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

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

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 field. Eligibility for certification by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene if assigned to the CUPA Program is desirable. Professional registration as a Geologist or Engineer if part of the LOP Program is desirable.

Either I
Experience:

The equivalent of one-year full-time experience in the class of Hazardous Materials Specialist in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or II

The equivalent of three years of full-time experience in the class of Hazardous Materials Technician including some lead experience in the Alameda County classified service. (Non-classified includes District Attorney’s Office, Hospital Authority, and the Consolidated Courts.)

Or III

The equivalent of two years of full-time experience in a position equivalent to the County's class of Hazardous Materials Specialist. Work experience equivalency is not limited to public agency experience. A Master's degree in an appropriate field may be substituted for one year of the required experience. Some lead or supervisory experience is desirable.

License:

Possession of a valid California State Motor Vehicle Operator's license.

Certification:

Incumbents must be certified under applicable Occupational Health and Safety standards as established within HAZWOPER guidelines within 6 months of appointment.

Special Requirement:

May require working under adverse working conditions and in adverse weather.

When assigned to the HHW, employee may be asked to perform various physical demands such as lifting up to 50 pounds, bending, stooping, climbing and walk or stand for prolonged periods of time. When assigned to CUPA/LOP may be asked to walk on uneven surfaces or walk or stand for prolonged periods of time.

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

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

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 :

• Public Health, industrial hygiene, environmental sanitation, environmental contamination, geology and engineering practices and principles.
• Method, techniques and practices used in the determination, mitigation and elimination of health hazards.
• Pertinent Federal, State and local standards, guidelines, codes, laws and regulations governing environmental contamination.
• Practices in the transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes.
• Statistical methods and survey techniques.
• Operations of a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility.
• Categorizing and packaging hazardous wastes for shipment.
• Advanced principles and practices related to environmental contamination.
• Computer applications related to work.

Ability to :

• Perform field investigations.
• Collect samples of substances.
• Prepare comprehensive reports.
• Interpret technical data and reports related to environmental contamination.
• Exercise sound independent judgment.
• Maintain accurate records and prepare clear and concise technical and administrative correspondence.
• Interpret and apply relevant laws and regulations.
• Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing with staff and the general public.
• Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with team members.
• Direct and train staff.
• Delegate work assignments.
• Review work in progress.

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

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 classification will move on to the next step in the examination process.

2) A review of candidates' Supplemental Questionnaires to select the best qualified applicants. Those candidates selected as best qualified will move on to the next step in the examination process.

3), 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. OR 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, hrs.alamedacountyca.gov.

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PLAN

Applicants will be informed via email with reasonable noticein 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 RECRUITMENT PLAN:

Deadline For Filing:

5:00:00 p.m., Wednesday, February 5, 2025

Review of Minimum Qualifications

Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified

February 13, 2025

Week of March 3, 2025

Virtual Pre-recorded Civil Service Oral Examination:

Virtual Oral Examination Ratings:

Results Notification:

Promulgation of Eligible List:

March 14-24, 2025

March 31-April 4 , 2025

Week of April 14, 2025

April 30, 2025

TENTATIVE SELECTION PLAN:

Departmental Hiring Interviews:

April 2025

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 , https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/reasonable-accommodation/

BENEFITS

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

• 12 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.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @jobaps.com , @acgov.org , nonreplyalamedacountyhr@acgov.org , and Noreply@jobaps.com 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 ensure 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 boxes Noreply@jobaps.com and nonreplyalamedacountyhr@acgov.org , are routed to unmonitored mailboxes. If you have questions, please go to our website at hrs.alamedacountyca.gov . You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Nicole Lewis-Bolton,Human Resources Analyst

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

(510) 272-6468 • nicole.lewis-bolton@acgov.org

hrs.alamedacountyca.gov

Disaster Service Worker

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

Equal Employment Opportunity

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.

Closing Date/Time: 2/5/2025 5:00:00 PM

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• County of Alameda

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