Environmental Health Specialist III

Salary : $82,659.20 - $111,384.00 Annually
Location : Santa Ana
Job Type: Full-Time Regular
Job Number: 5116HP-0426-042 (O)
Department: Health Care Agency
Division/Service Area: Public Health Services
Opening Date: 04/24/2026
Closing Date: Continuous

CAREER DESCRIPTION
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SPECIALIST III
Salary may be negotiable within the range listed above, based on position requirements and successful candidate's qualifications, subject to appropriate authorization.

DEADLINE TO APPLY

This recruitment is open to the public for a minimum of five (5) business days and will remain open on a continuous basis until 11:59p.m. (PST) on the day the County's needs are met. Qualified applicants are encouraged to apply immediately.

The eligible list established through this recruitment will be used to fill current and future Environmental Health Specialist III positions. This eligible list may also be used to fill positions in similar and/or lower classifications throughout the County of Orange.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DIVISION

The Environmental Health Division (EH) is comprised of various programs aimed toward protecting the health and safety of Orange County residents and visitors from harmful conditions in the environment. Staff enforce laws and regulations and emphasize education to assist businesses with providing healthy and safe communities. Services include retail and wholesale food protection, foodborne illness investigations, public pool inspections, childhood lead exposure prevention, water quality, ocean water protection, solid waste facility oversight, hazardous materials surveillance and mitigation oversight, underground and aboveground storage tank oversight, body art facility and practitioner oversight, medical waste management inspections and a used oil recycling education program.
THE OPPORTUNITY
The Environmental Health Specialist III (EHS III) is the advanced level in the Environmental Health Specialist series and works independently on complex assignments and handles unusual, sensitive, and/or difficult inspections and investigations. The EHS III is the lead of a unit or team and provides technical direction, assistance, and training to other environmental health staff. Incumbents may be assigned to a specialized environmental health program and may act in the absence of the Supervising Environmental Health Specialist.
Essential job duties and functions include, but are not limited to:

• Implement skills training and professional development designed to provide environmental health staff with current information on environmental health procedures and public health laws, and to improve the quality of environmental health inspections, investigations, and services to the public
• Demonstrate advanced skills and knowledge of public health laws and regulations to effectively enforce public health laws and regulations which include conducting complex assignments and handling unusual, sensitive, and/or difficult inspections and investigations in, for example, restaurants, mobile food facilities, public pools and spas, water, and body art facilities to ensure public health and safety
• Reviews data and relevant information to prioritize and direct work assignments to appropriate team members including assessing and triaging public inquiries and complaints, organizing upcoming tasks and inspections to ensure that team is aware and appropriately assigned next phase of work
• Builds relationships and maintains rapport with food facility operators, pool operators, business owners, and members of the public that support compliance efforts and contribute to the overall mission of public health and safety
• Handle challenging and complex situations in a professional manner with facility operators to address non-compliance and enforce regulations, including delivering corrective action plans that may be met with resistance or confrontation

IMPORTANT - REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION

Environmental Health Specialist (EHS) III applicants must attach a certificate as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Applications submitted without this certificate will not be processed.

Information on how to obtain the certificate as a REHS can be found by visiting the
CORE COMPETENCIES

The Ideal candidate will also possess the following core competencies:
Job Knowledge/Technical Expertise

• Demonstrates advanced skills and knowledge in safety and environmental health concepts to perform as a lead on specialized technical field inspections and investigations
• Proficient and knowledgeable in environmental health principles and practices, including understanding of environmental risk assessment, public health safety, and disease prevention to implement staff development and training and/or meet with concerned parties and the public to provide education on complex environmental health procedures and laws
• Demonstrates strong attention to detail to identify potential violations, ensure accuracy, and support through inspections and documentation
• Proficiency navigating modern technologies, including word processing and database systems with confidence and efficiency

Adaptability/Flexibility

• Maintain composure in high-pressure situations and approaches challenges with solution-oriented mindset, effectively managing reactions, emotions, and decision-making in a professional and productive manner
• Ability to quickly adjust to changes in work processes and team dynamics, reassess situations, and develop effective strategies when faced with challenging or evolving circumstances
• Effectively establishes goals and priorities, follows through on commitments and deadlines, and adapts to shifting priorities with focus and composure, maintain productivity without becoming overwhelmed
• Demonstrates openness to learning and adaptability by actively seeking guidance, feedback, and direction from supervisors, and applying coaching to enhance performance

Communication/Customer Service

• Engage with clients and stakeholders in a professional and courteous manner, utilizing effective business communication to support enforcement activities
• Actively listen to concerns, addresses and resolves issues, and helps prevent potential public health hazards and safety risks
• Collects information and produces clear, concise, and detailed written documents and reports
• Displays confidence with public speaking and tailors communication to clearly convey complex and/or technical information in a manner that is easily understood by a variety of stakeholders including the public, public officials, community partners/agencies, and County leadership
• Demonstrates collaborative and adaptive communication skills to effectively build positive relationships with Establishments/Operators educate, guide, and work together on correcting health and safety issues

Critical Thinking/Judgement

• Uses common sense and exercises good judgement in decision-making; understands the limits of decision-making capabilities
• Identifies potential problems and analyzes relevant facts and possible solutions/alternatives before taking action; considers the impact of decision(s) on others
• Asks effective questions and gathers adequate information to make quality recommendations and credible decisions

Leadership

• Handles the unavoidable crisis effectively; tackles difficult challenges and competently troubleshoots
• Ability to develop novel guidance and directives, based on environmental health principles, to a variety of situations
• Effectively plans and organizes appropriate priorities team situations; gives responsibility, authority and autonomy in the right amount to match team developmental readiness and delegates to stimulate staff growth and development
• Gives importance to critical work and department objectives; develops and coaches team to ensure sufficient skills and knowledge to perform key components of the job

SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS/REQUIREMENTS

Required licenses, certifications, and registration must be maintained throughout employment in this class.
A valid California Class C Driver's License, which must be maintained throughout employment in this class, is required. Employees in this class will be required to use their own personal vehicle.
A valid certificate of registration as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) issued by the State of California.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Please click here to view the minimum qualifications for the Environmental Health Specialist III as well as the physical, mental, environmental, and working conditions.

RECRUITMENT PROCESS

Human Resource Services (HRS) will screen all application materials to identify qualified candidates. After screening, qualified candidates will be referred to the next step and notified of all further procedures applicable to their status in the competition.

Veterans Employment Preference

The County is committed to providing a mechanism to give preferential consideration in the employment process to veterans and their eligible spouses and will provide eligible participants with the opportunity to receive interviews in the selection process for employment and paid internship openings. Please click here to review the policy.

Application Screening| (Refer/Non-Refer):

Applications and supplemental responses will be screened for qualifications that are highly desirable and most needed to successfully perform the duties of this job. Only those candidates that meet the qualifications listed in the job bulletin will be referred to the next step.

Based on the Department's needs, the selection procedures listed above may be modified. All candidates will be notified of any changes in the selection procedure.

Eligible List

Once all assessments have been completed, HRS will establish an eligible list of candidates. Candidates placed on the eligible list may be referred to a selection interview to be considered for present and future vacancies.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Email is the primary form of notification during the recruitment process. Please ensure your correct email address is included in our application and use only one email account.

NOTE: User accounts are established for one person only and should not be shared with another person. Multiple applications with multiple users may jeopardize your status in the recruitment process for any positions for which you apply.

Candidates will be notified regarding their status as the recruitment proceeds via email through the GovernmentJobs.com site. Please check your email folders, including spam/junk folders, and/or accept emails ending with "governmentjobs.com" and "ocgov.com." If your email address should change, please update your profile at www.governmentjobs.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for additional Frequently Asked Questions.

For specific information pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Rosemary Donis at 714-834-6761 or rdonis@ochca.com.