Science Water Ecologist, Bureau of Environmental Sciences and Engineering

Job Description Established in 1805, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (the NYC Health Department) is the oldest and largest health department in the country. Our mission is to protect and improve the health of all New Yorkers, in service of a vision of a city in which all New Yorkers can realize their full health potential, regardless of who they are, how old they are, where they are from, or where they live. As a world-renowned public health agency with a history of building transformative public health programming and infrastructure, innovating in science and scholarship to advance public health knowledge, and responding to urgent public health crises from New York City’s yellow fever outbreak in 1822, to the COVID-19 pandemic we are a hub for public health innovation, expertise, and programs, and services. We serve as the population health strategist, and policy, and planning authority for the City of New York, while also having a vast impact on national and international public policy, including programs and services focused on food and nutrition, anti-tobacco support, chronic disease prevention, HIV/AIDS treatment, family and child health, environmental health, mental health, and racial and social justice work, among others. Our Agency’s five strategic priorities, building off a recently-completed strategic planning process emerging from the COVID-19 emergency, are: 1) To re-envision how the Health Department prepares for and responds to health emergencies, with a focus on building a “response-ready” organization, with faster decision-making, transparent public communications, and stronger surveillance and bridges to healthcare systems 2) Address and prevent chronic and diet-related disease, including addressing rising rates of childhood obesity and the impact of diabetes, and transforming our food systems to improve nutrition and enhance access to healthy foods 3) Address the second pandemic of mental illness including: reducing overdose deaths, strengthening our youth mental health systems, and supporting people with serious mental illness 4) Reduce black maternal mortality and make New York a model city for women’s health 5) Mobilize against and combat the health impacts of climate change Our 7,000-plus team members bring extraordinary diversity to the work of public health. True to our value of equity as a foundational element of all of our work, and a critical foundation to achieving population health impact in New York City, the NYC Health Department has been a leader in recognizing and dismantling racism’s impacts on the health of New Yorkers and beyond. In 2021, the NYC Board of Health declared racism as a public health crisis. With commitment to advance anti-racist public health practices that dismantle systems that perpetuate inequitable power, opportunity and access, the NYC Health Department continues to work in and with communities and community organizations to increase their access to health services and decrease avoidable health outcomes. PROGRAM AND JOB DESCRIPTION: The Office of Building Water System Oversight (BWSO) within the Bureau of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESE) is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure compliance with various rules and regulations aimed at improving the operating conditions of various engineered systems such as cooling towers, water tanks, evaporative condensers, internal plumbing, and wastewater systems in order to prevent risks associated with these systems. DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO: Setting performance goals, mentoring and meeting with staff, and providing performance evaluations for the staff members. Directing and planning activities to achieve annual field inspection targets for the BWSO unit including scheduling and logistical support, providing work assignments to field staff, solving issues that arise during field work, monitoring field task progress and evaluating data to measure inspection results. Supervising and leading a team of Scientist Water Ecologists II, Scientist Water Ecologists I, and Scientist Water Ecologists Trainees including organizing workflows and ensuring that employees understand their duties or delegated tasks. Managing and coordinating response activities during community investigations and building evaluations based on signals from the Department's Legionella disease surveillance system. Utilizing technical writing and analysis skills to assess and understand water management programs and plans and associated operation records, drawings and specifications of water treatment systems to establish regulatory compliance. Serving as a primary customer service liaison for the Bureau of ESE in corresponding with building owners and managers to address questions and to provide education on our regulatory program and best management practices for building water systems. Taking leadership role in identifying and performing actions to eliminate environmental health hazards promptly in accordance with Health Code and NYS Sanitary Code regulations. Representing the Department in an enforcement capacity by serving violations/summons to business owners or owners' representatives and attending Tribunal hearings to adjudicate notice of violations and summons. Will be responsible for reviewing inspection findings and preparing necessary evidence to represent the Department Organizing Bureau activities for Field Operations and implementing protocols for response to any disease surveillance signals triggered by increased case reporting of Legionnaires' disease. Conducting cooling tower inspections periodically during each inspection cycle year. **IMPORTANT NOTES TO ALL CANDIDATES: Please note: If you are called for an interview you will be required to bring to your interview copies of original documentation, such as: A document that establishes identity for employment eligibility, such as: A Valid U.S. Passport, Permanent Resident Card/Green Card, or Driver’s license. Proof of Education according to the education requirements of the civil service title. Current Resume Proof of Address/NYC Residency dated within the last 60 days, such as: Recent Utility Bill (i.e. Telephone, Cable, Mobile Phone) Additional documentation may be required to evaluate your qualification as outlined in this posting’s “Minimum Qualification Requirements” section. Examples of additional documentation may be, but not limited to: college transcript, experience verification or professional trade licenses. If after your interview you are the selected candidate you will be contacted to schedule an on-boarding appointment. By the time of this appointment you will be asked to produce the originals of the above documents along with your original Social Security card. **LOAN FORGIVENESS As a prospective employee of the City of New York, you may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs and state repayment assistance programs. For more information, please visit the U.S. Department of Education’s website at StudentAid.gov/PSLF. "FINAL APPOINTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT & BUDGET APPROVAL” “This position MAY be eligible for remote work up to two days per week, pursuant to the Remote Work Pilot Program.” Qualifications A masters degree from an accredited college or university in one of the following areas of study: environmental or chemical engineering, limnology, environmental science, marine science, geology, biology, earth science, chemistry, physics, or health science; or A baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with 24 semester credits in one or a combination of the areas of study described in ""1"" above, at least 12 of which must have been in one of these areas of study; and at least one year of satisfactory full time experience, which may not have been part of graduate or undergraduate course work, working in the field of water quality planning, management or research or performing environmental laboratory analyses, and/or environmental field sampling of water; or An associate degree from an accredited college or university including or supplemented by 24 semester credits in one or a combination of the areas of study described in "1" above, at least 12 of which must have been in one of these areas of study; and at least three years of satisfactory full time experience as described in "2" above. Additional Requirements To be assigned to Assignment Levels II or III, all candidates must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university as described in "2" above and must have one additional year of the experience described in "2" above for a total of two years of experience. Special Note A master's degree from an accredited college in one of the areas described in "1" above may be substituted for up to two years of the required experience. Additional Information The City of New York is an inclusive equal opportunity employer committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and providing a work environment that is free from discrimination and harassment based upon any legally protected status or protected characteristic, including but not limited to an individual's sex, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, veteran status, gender identity, or pregnancy.