Municipal Toxics Reduction Program Assistant - SF Environment Department (Job Class 5638)

Would you like to make a real impact on environmental pollution, public health, and climate change? Are you a people-person who is enthusiastic about using your scientific background to engage with diverse partners and stakeholders? Do you have a passion for changemaking that benefits the health and sustainability of people and the planet? If so, we invite you to apply to use your skills and passion to build a healthier future for San Francisco - and beyond!

This is a Position-Based Recruitment conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A.Specific information regarding this process is listed below:

• Application Opening: January 7, 2025
• Application Deadline: January 27, 2025
• Exam Type: Position Based Test
• Eligible List Type: Entrance
• Rule: Rule of the List What does this mean?
• Recruitment ID: PBT-5638-152926
• Salary range: $84,916-$103,1940

To Apply: Submit your application online by clicking on "I'm Interested" and completing the application. Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.  

Who We Are
The San Francisco Environment Department (SF Environment) provides solutions that advance climate protection and enhance quality of life for all San Franciscans. SF Environment is a department within the City and County of San Francisco, a local government committed to innovation, leadership, and collaboration in creating environmental change. SF Environment is recognized worldwide for its environmental policies and programs, which center on achieving zero waste, reducing environmental pollution, advancing environmental justice, promoting sustainable transportation modes, expanding clean energy infrastructure, greening our built environment, and protecting our urban forest. We’re a passionate, mission-driven team that values credibility, collaboration, impact, innovation, and equity. SF Environment is also a great place to work, offering an attractive benefits package that includes healthcare and retirement.

SF Environment - Statement on Racial Equity
For over 20 years, SF Environment has worked with San Francisco’s Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities to mitigate environmental burdens, increase accessibility of environmental programs and benefits, engage community members, and improve health outcomes. BIPOC communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental stressors that include air and soil pollution, illegal dumping of toxics and other materials, industrial land uses, and transportation impacts. They are more likely to live in housing conditions with limited access to green space and where poor indoor air quality from pests, mold, and the use of toxic products contributes to the prevalence of asthma and other health disparities. They are more likely to be employed in areas with high levels of exposure to toxics. Now, they are the first communities feeling the impacts of climate change, with the fewest resources to respond. SF Environment has a longstanding commitment to the principles of environmental justice, whereby communities most impacted by environmental stressors and climate change are prioritized and the long-time work of community leaders is recognized and supported. We are committed to uplifting the contributions of local environmental leaders of diverse racial backgrounds and ensuring that racial equity is the cornerstone of all of our programs, policies, and services.

The Toxics Reduction and Healthy Communities team is hiring a 5638 Municipal Toxics Reduction Program Assistant. This is the entry-level position in the environmental job classification series. The Municipal Toxics Reduction Program Assistant will work as part of the Municipal Toxics Reduction Team, under the supervision of the 5642 Senior Coordinator.

The position will focus on implementing two program areas through technical support and outreach, training, and policy:

1. The Buy Green Program, which promotes environmentally preferable purchasing, and
2. The Integrated Pest Management Program, which reduces the use of harmful pesticides through prevention strategies.

The Municipal Toxics Reduction Program Environmental Assistant is responsible for implementing environmental ordinances, assisting in data analysis and report writing, working to develop and improve online dashboards, and researching the environmental attributes of products. This role provides support with coordination and implementation of the Buy Green and Integrated Pest Management Programs, and will help support the development of new municipal toxics reduction projects.

The Municipal Toxics Reduction team is one of several teams housed within the Toxics Reduction and Healthy Communities Program. The Buy Green Program and the Integrated Pest Management Program lead by example- many of the projects we undertake in San Francisco City departments are replicated in our Toxics Reduction and Healthy Communities Program’s commercial and residential work, as well as by jurisdictions beyond San Francisco.

What You’ll Do
According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109, the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to this class and are not intended to be an all-inclusive list.

• Respond to written and verbal inquiries from stakeholders and other City departments.
• Review and develop green purchasing criteria language for inclusion in City contracts.
• Assist in the planning, organizing, logistics, and evaluation of recurring and ad hoc stakeholder meetings related to San Francisco’s Buy Green Program and Integrated Pest Management Program.
• Manage data cleaning, analysis, and processing for Buy Green and Integrated Pest Management Programs, including:
  • Research the environmental attributes of products to evaluate compliance with green purchasing criteria.
  • Review pesticide application data.
• Maintain and improve online dashboards for the Buy Green and Integrated Pest Management programs.
• Draft presentations, correspondence, reports, and memos summarizing Municipal Toxics Reduction Program progress and for informing higher level decision-making.
• Conduct product research, identifying chemicals of concern and safer solutions.
• Assist in the planning, creation, and distribution of materials for outreach and educational campaigns.
• Maintain online content for various webpages.
• Assist with stakeholder outreach/education and marketing efforts, including staffing special events and making presentations to City staff and the public about toxics reduction.
• Perform administrative support and other duties and tasks as requested. 

Education - Possession of a baccalaureate degree in environmental sciences, environmental studies, public health, ecology, biology, chemistry, geography, public or business administration, urban planning, social sciences, or a field related to toxics reduction (including but not limited to pollution prevention, sustainability, green chemistry, environmentally preferable purchasing, or integrated pest management) from an accredited college or university; AND

Experience - One (1) year of professional experience* in planning, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating environmental programs, within the specialty area of toxics reduction, pollution prevention, environmental health, environmentally preferable purchasing, integrated pest management, and/or sustainability; AND

Other Requirements - Possession of a valid driver's license.

*One (1) year of professional experience is defined as 2,000 hours of work experience performing duties that require interpretation, independence of judgment and application of defined principles, practices and regulations. (2000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week.) Any overtime hours that you work above forty (40) hours per week are not included in the calculation to determine full-time employment.

Desirable Qualifications
The stated desirable qualifications may be used to identify job finalists at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

• Demonstrated ability to organize people and projects related to environmental issues
• Superior interpersonal skills, supportive collaborator, and experience performing different responsibilities on a team
• Motivated to identify and communicate safer alternatives to conventional products and practices that rely on toxic chemicals
• Demonstrated experience in written and oral public communication
• College courses in environmental sciences, environmental land management, ecology, chemistry, toxicology, and/or sustainability
• Course work or work experience involving: data monitoring, analysis, and reporting; stakeholder engagement; the creation and/or implementation of environmental purchasing requirements; integrated pest management; and/or other pollution prevention topics
• A commitment to applying diversity, equity, and inclusion in program implementation

Verification: Applicants may be required to submit verification of qualifying education and experience at any point during the recruitment and selection process. If education verification is required, information on how to verify education requirements, including verifying foreign education credits or degree equivalency, can be found at https://sfdhr.org/how-verify-education-requirements.

Note: Falsifying one's education, training, or work experience or attempted deception on the application may result in disqualification for this and future job opportunities with the City and County of San Francisco.

All work experience, education, training and other information substantiating how you meet the minimum qualifications must be included on your application by the filing deadline. Information submitted after the filing deadline will not be considered in determining whether you meet the minimum qualifications.

How to Apply: Applications for City and County of San Francisco jobs are only accepted through an online process. Visit https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/ and begin the application process.

• Select the “I’m Interested” button and follow instructions on the screen

Resumes will not be accepted in lieu of a completed City and County of San Francisco application. Applications completed improperly may be cause for ineligibility, disqualification or may lead to lower scores.

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment and, therefore, it is their responsibility to ensure that their registered email address is accurate and kept up-to-date. Also, applicants must ensure that email from CCSF is not blocked on their computer by a spam filter. To prevent blocking, applicants should set up their email to accept CCSF mail from the following addresses (@sfgov.org, @sfdpw.org, @sfport.com, @flysfo.com, @sfwater.org, @sfdph.org, @asianart.org, @sfmta.com, @sfpl.org, @dcyf.org, @first5sf.org, @famsf.org, @ccsf.edu, @smartalerts.info, and @smartrecruiters.com).

Applicants will receive a confirmation email that their online application has been received in response to every position to which they apply. Applicants should retain this confirmation email for their records. Failure to receive this email means that the online application was not submitted or received.

Selection Procedures - After application submission, candidates deemed qualified must complete all subsequent steps to advance in this selection process, which includes the following:

Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (Weight: Qualifying) - After submitting your application, you will receive an email with a link to the Minimum Qualification Supplemental Questionnaire (MQSQ). Candidates will be required to complete a MQSQ as part of the employment application. The MQSQ will be used to evaluate if the applicant possesses the required minimum qualifications.

Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation (Weight: 100%): Qualified candidates will be emailed a Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation. In order to advance, candidates must complete the Supplemental Questionnaire and it must be submitted before the provided deadline. Once submitted, applicant responses on the Supplemental Questionnaire cannot be changed. Applicants must achieve a passing score on the Supplemental Questionnaire Evaluation in order to be ranked on the eligible list.

Knowledge of: toxics reduction, pollution prevention, resource conservation, sustainability, alternatives assessment, and/or circular economy principles; quantitative and qualitative data tracking, analysis, and reporting; community outreach and stakeholder engagement techniques; program planning, implementation, outreach, coordination, and administration; and local, state, federal and environmental issues, laws and regulations relating to toxic substances.

Skills and/or Ability to: proficiently use a computer, including word processing programs, spreadsheets, presentation software, databases, email distribution software, and internet research; develop and foster working relationships with a variety of individuals; organize people and projects; work independently and as part of diverse cross-disciplinary teams; read and summarize legal, scientific, and/or technical documents; evaluate compliance with toxics reduction policies and develop compliance guidelines; provide technical assistance and training, including creating training and outreach materials; communicate effectively, both orally and in written format, including making presentations; and analyze research and make recommendations in support of human and environmental health.

For any questions regarding the position or hiring process- please contact the recruitment analyst, Sana Ahmed at [email protected]

Eligible List/Score Report: A confidential eligible list of applicant names that have passed the civil service examination process will be created, and used for certification purposes only. An examination score report will be established, so applicants can view the ranks, final scores and number of eligible candidates. Applicant information, including names of applicants on the eligible list, shall not be made public unless required by law. However, an eligible list shall be made available for public inspection, upon request, once the eligible list is exhausted or expired and referrals resolved. The eligible list/score report resulting from this civil service examination process is subject to change after adoption (e.g., as a result of appeals), as directed by the Human Resources Director or the Civil Service Commission.

The duration of the eligible list resulting from this examination process will be twelve (12) months, and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.

Certification - The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be Rule of the List Scores. Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.

To find Departments which use this classification, please see https://sfdhr.org/sites/default/files/documents/Forms-Documents/Position-Counts-by-Job-Codes-and-Department-FY-2023-24.pdf.

Terms of Announcement and Appeal Rights: Applicants must be guided solely by the provisions of this announcement, including requirements, time periods and other particulars, except when superseded by federal, state or local laws, rules or regulations. Clerical errors may be corrected by the posting the correction on the Department of Human Resources website at https://careers.smartrecruiters.com/CityAndCountyOfSanFrancisco1/.

Additional Information Regarding Employment with the City and County of San Francisco:

• Information About The Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview  
• Equal Employment Opportunity 
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents
• Diversity Statement

The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1. The standard for the review of such appeals is ‘abuse of discretion’ or ‘no rational basis for establishing the position description, the minimum qualifications and/or the certification rule. Appeals must include a written statement of the item(s) being contested and the specific reason(s) why the cited item(s) constitute(s) abuse of discretion by the Human Resources Director. Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

The City and County of San Francisco encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.