Environmental Health Specialist III - Food & Lodging

This position performs routine inspections, visits, and critical violation visits to ensure that food and lodging facilities, swimming pools, institutions, childcare centers, schools, tattoo artists, and lead investigations are meeting standards as mandated by state laws and rules in order to reduce the incidences and threat of foodborne illness, lead hazards, and other communicable disease.

This position investigates environmental health-related complaints, nuisances, and reports of food-borne illness and contaminated food in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. It also conducts plan review for new construction of swimming pools, tattoos, childcare centers, and may aid with conducting plan review in food service establishments. This position is responsible for performing lead investigations and annual monitoring activities within the childhood lead poisoning prevention program and will perform quality assurance activities in conjunction with the state QA requirements for swimming pools, childcare and schools, and tattoo facilities.

• Enforce compliance with state, local, and federal environmental and public health laws and regulations.
• Investigate environmental-related complaints, health-related nuisances, and reports of food-borne illness and contaminated food in order to prevent the spread of communicable diseases.
• Perform routine inspections, visits, and critical violation visits to ensure that food and lodging facilities, swimming pools, institutions, childcare centers, schools, tattoo artists, and lead investigations are meeting standards as mandated by state laws and rules in order to reduce the incidences and threat of foodborne illness, lead hazards, and other communicable disease.
• Conduct plan review for new construction of food service establishments.
• Conduct plan reviews for swimming pools and childcare centers.
• Perform lead investigations and annual monitoring activities within the childhood lead poisoning prevention program.
• Perform continuous quality improvement activities to achieve program standards with the Voluntary National Retail Food Regulatory Program. 
• Seek corrective actions where needed and educate managers, operators, and staff of various facilities and establishments on safe handling processes and sanitation procedures.
• Keep accurate and detailed inspection records as mandated by the state that include the violation observed, food code citation, and method of correction.
• Assist the EPI team and other staff in the event of a food-borne outbreak.
• Seek legal remedies under the advice of the program supervisor and division director to abate health nuisances or prosecute individuals for failure to comply with public health laws and rules.
• Participate in On-Call rotation to respond to Environmental/Public Health Emergencies.
• May conduct quality assurance activities for public swimming pools, children’s environmental health, and tattoo programs in alignment with Buncombe County Environmental Health policies.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

• Extensive knowledge of environmental health laws, rules, and procedures, as well as a complete understanding of the concepts of public health law.
• Extensive knowledge of regulations, inspection and investigation procedures, and applicable remediation techniques and procedures for assigned program area.
• Considerable knowledge of microbiology; biology, chemistry, food science, food sanitation, food borne diseases, communicable diseases, solid waste management, institutional sanitation, and entomology.
• Working knowledge of the design of on-site wastewater treatment systems, food sanitation, food borne diseases, communicable diseases, vector control, protection of water supplies, solid waste management, lead hazard remediation and institutional sanitation as applicable to area of assignment.
• Working knowledge of the responsibilities of other agencies involved in environmental health work.
• Ability to plan and present educational workshops and planning programs for large groups in a professional and informative manner, utilizing the latest audio-visual aids and teaching techniques available.
• Ability to analyze and comprehend a variety of technical and administrative regulation, records, and reports.
• Ability to effectively communicate potential concerns and corrective measures to business and property owners and the consuming public in matters related to protecting and promoting public health.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and deal tactfully with a wide range of the public while enforcing public health laws and regulations.

Buncombe County Government realizes the importance of a diverse professional workforce and the need to foster a responsive and innovative organizational culture, one that fully engages all of our employees, honoring and building on each employee's unique experiences, opinions, and perspective.

It is the policy of Buncombe County to provide equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all persons regardless of race, natural hair or hairstyles, ethnicity, creed, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin or ancestry, marital or familial status, pregnancy, veteran status, religious belief or non-belief, age, or disability or any other legally protected class under federal or NC State law. EEO practices and employment decisions regarding recruitment, hiring, assignment, promotion and compensation shall not be based on any of these protected classes. In addition, the County expressly prohibits any form of workplace harassment or discrimination.