Hazardous Materials Program Supervisor (20651013)

The Environmental Health Services Division of San Mateo County Health is seeking a well-qualified candidate for the position of Environmental Health Program Supervisor – Hazardous Materials Program.

The Position

Working under general supervision, the successful candidate will supervise, direct, organize, manage, evaluate, audit, and provide accountability for one or more Environmental Health programs in areas encompassing hazardous materials/hazardous waste and environmental health program outreach for pollution prevention, public health protection, and environmental health operations.

The current vacancy supervises staff in the Environmental Health Services Division's hazardous materials/hazardous waste areas and Pollution Prevention programs. This position is located in San Mateo, but will require some travel/driving throughout the county to perform the duties of the job.

The Hazardous Materials Program Supervisor will work in the Certified Unified Program Agencies (CUPA) program and additionally oversee the Pollution Prevention Program. In addition to supervising Pollution Prevention Program work, this position will supervise CUPA regulatory programs, including the Hazardous Materials Business Plan Program, Hazardous Waste Generator (HWG) Program, California Accidental Release Prevention Program, Hazardous Materials Program Fees, Underground Storage Tanks (UST) Program, and Above Ground Petroleum Storage Tank Program.

Key responsibilities include providing subject matter expertise on the Hazardous Waste Generator program and supervising a team of nine specialists across multiple programs. Additionally, the supervisor will also serve in a leadership capacity with the District Attorney's office, political leaders, and county management, and will ensure compliance with all inspection and reporting requirements. Additionally, the incumbent will provide programmatic supervision around website management, messaging, and outreach services for grant work and to other programs within the Division, and ensure messaging and branding alignment with County Health.

Ideal Candidate

The successful candidate will bring enthusiasm and a strong commitment to public service. More specifically, the ideal candidate will demonstrate:

• Proficient in all CUPA regulatory program areas and possess a valid ICC (International Code Council) certification as an underground tank inspector.
• Knowledgeable of the division's enforcement options, such as the Hazardous Materials Administrative Enforcement Orders (AEO) and the District Attorney referral processes.
• Experienced with at least four years of journey level experience in hazardous materials management in the areas of storage, transportation, handling and disposal of hazardous materials and/or hazardous waste; underground tank construction, monitoring and removal; or underground tank site remediation.
• Knowledgeable of hazardous materials management, including its scientific background, technology, principles, methods, investigative techniques and problems; laws, regulations and codes governing hazardous materials; emergency response procedures and protocols; government agencies, community organizations and business establishments as they relate to environmental health and hazardous materials management; basic practices in the transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes.
• Knowledgeable of contract and grant monitoring and expenditures, grant applications, RFP processes.
• Approachable and politically astute with a supervisory style that quickly fosters trust, loyalty, respect and commitment from employees.
• An experienced hazardous materials management professional with a thorough understanding of the full range of issues, practices and regulations related to the CUPA programs.
• An innovative leader who has collaborated with other agencies with positive outcomes that benefited public health and public education.
• Technologically savvy and knowledgeable of electronic field inspection systems and other computer-based technologies utilized by regulatory agencies.
• Highly focused and organized, capable of establishing and implementing program budgets.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively manage time, prioritize tasks, and meet deadlines in a fast-paced regulatory environment.
• An excellent problem-solver with superior oral and written communication skills.
• Enthusiastic for and dedicated to public service.
• Possess of a four- year degree from an accredited university and any combination of graduate-level education and experience that would provide the required knowledge, skills and abilities, demonstrating an increasing level of responsibility is desirable.
• Possession of a California certificate as a Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) is preferred, but not required.

In addition, the ideal candidate will have four years of progressively responsible experience in an environmental health field, such as hazardous materials management, infectious waste, or food sanitation, including at least two years of experience with a regulatory agency.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This position requires a valid International Code Council (ICC) certification as an underground tank inspector. If you do not have the ICC certification, you will be required to acquire it within six months of being hired. The California Code of Regulations (CCR) requires local agency inspectors conducting underground storage tank (UST) inspections to have a current inspector certificate from the International Code Council (ICC).

NOTE: The eligible list generated from this recruitment may be used to fill future extra-help, term, unclassified, and regular classified vacancies.

TENTATIVE RECRUITMENT SCHEDULE

Final Filing Date: Monday, August 25, 2025, by 11:59 P.M. PST

Application Screening: Thursday, August 28 and Friday, August 29, 2025

Panel Interviews: Wednesday, September 10 and/or Thursday, September 11, 2025