Town of Wilton

TOWN OF WILTON

Position Description

Date: August 3, 1992

Revision Date: July 20, 2012

POSITION TITLE: Public Health Director/Sanitarian

UNION: Non-Union

DEPARTMENT: Environmental Heath

REPORTS TO: Director of Planning and Land Use Management

SUPERVISION EXERCISED: One full-time Assistant Sanitarian and one full-time clerical position. Supervises additional personnel serving under contractual agreement, including two part-time Assistant Sanitarians and one part-time Emergency Preparedness Response Coordinator.

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES: Under the general direction of the First Selectman and the immediate supervision of the Director of Planning and Land Use Management, plans, directs, and administers a comprehensive public health program including the enforcement of laws and regulations relating to communicable disease control, public health, food service establishments, food stores, private and semi-private drinking water supplies and on-site sewerage disposal systems. Promulgates and executes Health Department emergency operations plans and advises, coordinates, and participates with other emergency response agencies in the implementation of emergency preparedness operations; including necessary and warranted responses to bio-terrorism and pandemic health events. Individual participates with representatives from other departments in the investigation and enforcement of blighted property complaints. Solicits and administers various state and federal public health grants critical to advancing the community’s public health program initiatives. Works and maintains collaborative working relationships with other governmental and private agencies involved in the delivery of public health services.

JOB LOCATION AND EQUIPMENT USED:

Work is performed in both an office and in the field. Field work often requires inspections of sites accessible only by traversing rough terrain on foot while carrying sampling kits. Equipment normally used, include a calculator, computer, soil and water sampling kits, and temperature sensing devices. Because access to inspection sites is often over unpaved and uneven surfaces, this position also requires driving a four wheel drive vehicle, possibly equipped with a manual transmission. Other equipment includes use of various computer software programs; including financial spread sheets, word processing, financial management software and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. Field work may also entail working off-site locations under emergency or response-specific conditions for the management and disbursement of public health-related services.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

·  Interprets, enforces, and assures Town’s compliance with public health laws, regulations and codes;

·  Drafts and recommends policies and plans for public health related goals and objectives;

·  Investigates and takes appropriate action on complaints of violations of public health laws and regulations;

·  Reviews and considers for approval applications and building plans for: food stores and other food service establishments, sub-surface sewage disposal systems, private and semi-private drinking water supplies, swimming pool, and other installations subject to state and local health laws, regulations and codes. The review and consideration for approval process will require on-site visits.

·  Investigates and takes appropriate action on reports of outbreaks of contagious diseases.

·  Serves collaboratively as one of three blight prevention officers in the enforcement of the Town’s Blighted and Unsafe Premises Ordinance.

·  Conducts periodic on-site inspections and re-inspections of food stores and all other food establishments; prepares reports, issues corrective orders, and takes appropriate follow-up and enforcement actions;

·  Takes soil samples for laboratory analysis and percolation tests of proposed building sites to determine suitability for on-site compliance sewage disposal systems;

·  Collects various water samples, reviews and interprets laboratory reports of potable water supplies, and makes recommendations for corrections of deficiencies;

·  Investigates conditions constituting public nuisances and takes appropriate enforcement action;

·  Examines all nuisances and sources of filth and unsanitary conditions injurious to the public health and pursues necessary actions for abatement as provided in Section 19a-206 of the Connecticut General Statutes;

·  Organizes and runs meetings of the Town’s Public Health Preparedness Committee, participates in public health preparedness and other types of emergency drills (local, regional and statewide) requiring the Health Director’s involvement, and develops public health preparedness policies;

·  Assists in shelter operation, such as helping the shelter director arrange for a nurse to provide limited but essential medical services at the shelter;

·  Oversees, inspects and signs-off on daycare centers as authorized by State statute;

·  Investigates food-borne outbreaks;

·  Provides public with information and advice as appropriate on water filtration systems, Lyme disease, radon, lead exposure, pesticides, asbestos, international travel, immunizations, hazardous materials, etc.;

·  Oversees submission of tick and rabies specimens for testing and follow-up;

·  Solicits and administers various state and federal public health grants critical to advancing the community’s public health program initiatives.

·  Supervises the staff of the Health Department;

·  Works collaboratively with the Medical Advisor whose agreement with the Town specifies that he is to provide consultative services addressing communicable disease control protocols and advisement, health care planning and Public Health Preparedness services;

·  Serves on and attends meetings of inter- and intra-local ad hoc and standing committees dealing with matters such as public health, emergency and disaster planning and response, and hazardous waste with some meetings being held before or after the Town’s normal business hours and on weekends; and

·  Maintains strong leadership and communicative skills with respect to matters of public health and possesses an appropriate level of judgment, decision making skills and command capabilities; essential to successfully functioning under emergency conditions;

·  Prepares and administers the operating and capital budgets of the Health Department, initiates and approves all expenditures;

·  Establishes and revises as necessary fee schedules for services provided by the Health Department;

·  Composes and signs official correspondence of the Health Department;

·  Prepares narrative and statistical reports for the Town and State of Connecticut, both manually and through computer data input, retrieval and analysis; and

·  Performs related duties as necessary or required.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, ABILITIES, AND SKILLS:

·  Thorough knowledge of and ability to interpret state and local public health and environmental health codes and other laws, regulations and standards relating to environmental health and sanitation;

·  Thorough knowledge of and ability to apply the principles and practices of environmental health and public health administration;

·  Thorough knowledge of and ability to apply environmental health and sanitation practices;

·  Knowledge of and ability to apply biological sciences including bacteriology and biochemistry;

·  Ability to perform effective field inspections and to enforce orders promptly, firmly and courteously;

·  Ability to interpret technical blueprints, architectural, and engineering drawings;

·  Ability to inspect and evaluate environmental conditions;

·  Ability to evaluate and provide recommendations regarding community health problems;

·  Ability to identify, secure, and successfully manage appropriate grants; including the ability to meet timelines and execute all necessary paperwork, documentation and reporting on a timely basis, so as to fulfill requirements of compliance;

·  Ability to prioritize and manage successfully multiple, simultaneous projects of varying complexity, keeping projects on schedule and completing assignments in a timely manner;

·  Ability to plan, direct, coordinate and evaluate the work of professional and other subordinates;

·  Possess and exercise leadership and judgment skills required to motivate, organize, and mobilize individuals to achieve identified public health objective(s), particularly in an emergency setting;

·  Ability to express ideas and effectively prepare reports in oral and written form;

·  Ability to give presentations to the Board of Selectmen and/or the general public on a variety of department topics, including policy, technical and financial matters;

·  Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with Town staff, local and state officials, other health agencies and the general public;

·  Ability to respond promptly and in person to public health emergencies; and

·  Physical ability to reach job sites for inspections and taking water and soil samples which may include bending, lifting, stretching and climbing.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

·  Masters Degree in Public Health;

·  Minimum four (4) years of increasingly responsible professional experience in the field of public and environmental health administration;

·  Registered Sanitarian in the State of Connecticut;

·  Certification by the State of Connecticut to perform food service inspections and subsurface sewage disposal inspections, Level I and II;

·  Be trained and certified in Incident Command System (ICS) with successful completion of IS 100, 200, 300 and 400 classes or commit to achieving the training and certification in IS 100 and 200 classes in the first six (6) months of employment and in IS 300 and 400 classes in the second six (6) months of employment;

·  Compliance with Section 19a-200 and Chapter 395 of the Connecticut General Statutes; and

·  Valid motor vehicle operator’s license;

SPECIAL CONDITIONS:

·  Appointment is made by the Board of Selectmen of the Town of Wilton and subject to approval by the Connecticut Commissioner of Public Health as required by State statute;

·  Successful passage of a post-offer, pre-employment physical examination and drug test and a background investigation will be required as a condition of employment with the Town of Wilton; and

·  The employee shall not constitute a threat to his/her own health or safety or that of others in the workplace.

Note: The qualifications set forth above are the optimal ones for this position. The Town of Wilton reserves the right to select any applicant who we, in our sole discretion, feel can most suitably perform the functions notwithstanding the absence of the optimal qualifications.

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