OPEN TO PERMANENT SCIENTIST (WATER ECOLOGIST) AND THOSE WHO ARE REACHABLE ON THE CIVIL SERVICE LIST EXAM # 3060 ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY.

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 New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has an Office of Building Water Systems Oversight (BWSO) within the Bureau of Environmental Sciences and Engineering (ESE). BWSO is responsible for conducting inspections to ensure compliance with various rules and regulations aimed at improving the operating conditions of various engineering systems such as cooling towers, water tanks, evaporative condensers, internal plumbing, and waste water systems to prevent risks associated with these systems throughout New York City.

DUTIES WILL INCLUDE BUT NOT BE LIMITED TO:
Provide technical subject expertise in a wide variety of systems such as building plumbing systems, cooling towers, evaporative condensers, water tanks, and waste water, as well as emerging technologies
Manage and coordinate response activities during community investigations and building evaluations based on signals from the Department's Legionnaires' disease surveillance system
Coordinate with BWSO's Field Operation leads to provide rapid field response and mobilization during Legionella response activities.
Review and evaluate current scientific and policy documents to enhance program development
Serve as a primary customer service liaison for the Bureau in corresponding with building owners to address questions and to provide education on our regulatory program and best management practices for building water systems Implement internal and external training and public education efforts in line with BWSO's mission.
Maintain effective lines of communication between BWSO's Technical teams, Data teams, and Field Operation teams as part of ongoing programmatic development and enhancement
Utilize technical writing and analysis skills to understand and assess water management programs and plans and associated operation records, drawings, and specifications of water treatment systems to establish regulatory compliance.
Assist in the development and evaluation of Request for Proposals (RFPs) and Contract documents for BWSO's subcontractors including but not limited to environmental consulting and analytical testing services. Perform performance evaluations of subcontractors, as needed, to meet Agency requirements
Assist in development of standard operating procedures, guidelines documents and final reports including text, charts and graphs that effectively depict workflow process, programmatic decisions, research findings and investigation conclusions
Conduct regulatory public health inspections of water tanks, cooling towers and internal premise plumbing system. Inspections include examining building records for regulatory compliance with NYC regulations and following up with building owners for non-compliance and corrective actions. Inspections include accessing high altitudes (building roofs), basements and other locations where building water systems may be located. Must be able to climb stairways and ladders, carry equipment and work in tight spaces
Conduct water quality monitoring and sampling and analyze the results to evaluate public health risks. Address 311 complaints as needed including performing special inspections and environmental investigations and taking appropriate corrective action measures. Issue Notices of Violation for non-compliance with NYC regulations and appear at adjudication hearings to present evidence as needed
Maintain effective lines of communication between BWSO's Technical teams, Data teams, and Field Operation teams as part of ongoing programmatic development and enhancement

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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.

Academic or professional background in mechanical engineering, HVAC systems and/or plumbing systems. Experience in regulatory enforcement, environmental investigation and assessment related to water and/or wastewater treatment. Must pass medical clearance and FIT testing for wearing proper PPE respirators and must be able to climb stairways and ladders, carry equipment, work in tight spaces and at high altitudes (building roofs) to perform inspections and water testing. Possess strong interpersonal and customer service skills, with the ability to interact at all levels in addition to exceptional written and communication skills. Ability to prepare and present scientific and technical materials and correspondences to various audiences. Demonstrate excellent organizational and analytical skills and attention to detail. Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint).

New York City residency is generally required within 90 days of appointment. However, City Employees in certain titles who have worked for the City for 2 continuous years may also be eligible to reside in Nassau, Suffolk, Putnam, Westchester, Rockland, or Orange County. To determine if the residency requirement applies to you, please discuss with the agency representative at the time of interview.

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.