Environmental Health Officer

PLEASE NOTE - This position may require temporarily relocation to other TONHC Facilities: Sells Hospital, Santa Rosa Health Center, San Simon Health Center, and San Xavier Health Center.

Position Summary:

The Environmental Health Officer (EHO) serves as a public health consultant to Tohono O'odham Nation Health Care to prevent and recommend corrective interventions to minimize illness and injury impacted by environmental health matters and provide recommendations for remediation and disciplinary actions where needed. The EHO is supervised directly by the Director of Environmental Health Services.

Scope of Work: The environmental health practice includes facility and community-based work. Program components include General Environmental Health (GEH), Institutional EH (IEH), Environmental Sustainability (ES), and community Injury Prevention (IP). The program emphasizes the provision of 1) routine and follow-up surveys of the built environment (homes and tribal facilities), including evaluation and remediation of environmental exposures, 2) professional advice and technical consultation; 3) assistance in investigations of emergent/emergency issues including foodborne illness, communicable diseases, acute and chronic exposures, and vector control; 4) policy evaluation and development; and 5) staff and community training.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: (Depending on the area of assignment, an incumbent may not be required to perform some of the duties listed below):

• Conducts environmental health investigations and inspections of complex institutional facilities (e.g., health care, Head Start and Senior Centers, schools, jails, casinos, hotels) to protect the health and safety of facility employees and visitors.
• Teaches courses related to food safety, bloodborne pathogen avoidance, community injury prevention, and other environmental safety-related topics.
• Builds tribal capacity to manage environmental health hazards through public health policy development and environmental health training.
• Provides direct Environmental Health services to the Nation, including commercial, tribal, and federal surveys (food service operations, healthcare facilities, casinos, schools, Head Starts/daycare).
• Collaborates and consults with multidisciplinary teams, including District staff, to address or conduct special investigations and projects, e.g., communicable disease outbreaks, rabies vaccination clinics.
• Develops a holistic approach to environmental health practice through training and incorporating principles of ecological sustainability.
• Assists with plans to implement an Environmental Health Services Program.
• Assists with written policies, programs, and procedures for administering projects or programs concerned with eliminating and preventing environmental hazards.
• Plans and conducts environmental health education, reviews analyses of morbidity and mortality data associated with environmentally-related diseases and unintentional injuries, and develops new (and revises existing) standards, methods, and procedures to develop, improve, and maintain environmental health programs.
• Responds to problems related to environmental health services, investigation of complaints, and other incidents. Determines and takes corrective action and necessary measures to assure the availability of resources to meet program needs.
• Maintains current, professional knowledge and experience in training principles, concepts, practices, and procedures to design, implement, and evaluate training provided by internal and external sources related to environmental health and emergency management.
• Assists with plans, evaluations, development, and implementation of Injury Prevention and Institutional Health Programs.
• Serves as a technical authority for the surveillance and control of foodborne, waterborne, and vector-borne diseases.
• Collaborates program activities with other staff and officials of the city, state, Tribal, and federal agencies to achieve a total comprehensive health program.
• Ensures that remediation and corrective actions recommendations comply with Federal, State, and Tribal standards and regulations.
• Develops courses related to food safety, bloodborne pathogen avoidance, community injury prevention.
• Builds tribal capacity to manage environmental health hazards through public health policy development and environmental health training.
• Performs other duties as assigned within their scope.
• May supervise EHS technicians with the Environmental Health Services Director.
• May assign work to Technical and Administrative staff as necessary.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Knowledge of the Tohono O'odham culture, customs, and traditions.
• Knowledge of federal codes and standards relating to environmental health and protection (water quality, wastewater, air quality, hazardous materials).
• Knowledge of the agency's policies, procedures, and program goals related to the provision of Environmental Health Services.
• Knowledge of public health and disease prevention with specifics of environmental health practices and the environmental health program necessary to plan, organize, and implement a comprehensive environmental health program including children's, special needs populations, and issues unique to Native American communities.
• Knowledge to interpret and apply Tribal, Federal, State, and local codes, standards, ordinances, guidelines.
• Knowledge in conducting environmental health facility surveys, special environmental health investigations, developing efficient environmental health training resources, and environmental health/injury prevention data analysis.
• Skill in operating computer programs for word processing, spreadsheet, database and PowerPoint presentation, statistical analysis, GPS, and other software used in the Environmental Health field.
• Ability to communicate environmental health findings, recommendations, and principles orally and in writing to a broad audience of professional disciplines.
• Ability to recommend and provide technical advice regarding organizational objectives, environmental health, safety compliance, and policy development.
• Ability to perform outdoor work in various terrain and weather conditions.
• Ability to travel within the interior/exterior boundaries of the Tohono O'odham Nation.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Environmental Health accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council.
• Two (2) years of experience serving as an environmental health professional.

Licenses, Certifications, Special Requirements:

• Possession and maintain a current/valid professional registration as a Registered Sanitarian (RS) or Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) by any State or the National Environmental Health Association (NEHA) or a state with reciprocal registration.
• Desired/beneficial training includes Master of Public Health degree or course work and knowledge of basic epidemiology and statistics, or;
• Certification in Industrial Hygiene, Safety Management, or Hazardous Materials.
• Master's degree in Environmental Health accredited by the National Environmental Health Science and Protection Accreditation Council or above preferred.
• Upon recommendation for hire, a criminal background and a National FBI fingerprint check are required to determine suitability for employment, including a 39-month driving record.
• May require possessing and maintaining a valid driver's license (no DUIs or major traffic citations within the last three years).
• If required, must meet the Tohono O'odham Nation tribal employer's insurance requirements to receive a driver's permit to operate program vehicles.
• Based on the department's needs, incumbents may be required to demonstrate fluency in both the Tohono O'odham language and English as a condition of employment.