The City and County of San Francisco’s Department of Public Health (DPH) strives to protect and improve health and quality of life for all San Franciscans by improving the environmental quality where they live, work, and play. The Environmental Health Branch advances this mission by implementing San Francisco's health-protective environmental policies and laws to ensure safe and nutritious food; protection from excessive noise; prevention of exposure to chemicals, polluted soil, air and water; habitable housing; and quality neighborhoods.

Under general supervision, class 3450 Agricultural Inspector performs a wide variety of inspections and investigations to ascertain compliance with agricultural quality standards and labeling, plant quarantine, pest detection, pest control, pest management, and safe use and handling of pesticides; issues permits and certificates for shipment and sales of fruits, vegetables, nursery stock, seeds, and other agricultural products; enforces codes and laws pertaining to agriculture; interprets, carries out, and enforces existing policy and methods in the inspection of agricultural products; explains legal requirements of agricultural codes and regulations to residents, business owners, agriculture workers, and others; and maintains related records and reports.

• ✅ Start with this Required Exam
  https://forms.gle/MaZ9iu54mG8W3Kwt8
• Annual Compensation
  https://careers.sf.gov/classifications/?classCode=3450
• Application Deadline
  On or after 4/16/2023

Nature of Work
Inspections are performed primarily at off-site locations and may require a moderate degree of physical exertion including lifting and carrying up to fifty (50) pounds; bending; stooping; climbing; crouching; reaching; kneeling; and manual dexterity.

Essential Duties

• Performs various inspections for enforcement of the California Food and Agricultural Code and California Code of Regulations for the City and County of San Francisco;
• Conducts plant quarantine inspections for incoming shipments of plants or plant material that are quarantined;
• Monitors pest control use by inspecting and registering pest control businesses; issues permits, investigates complaints of pesticide misuse, illnesses or injuries related to pesticide use; and prepares reports to State;
• Inspects nurseries for cleanliness and compliance; inspects incoming shipments of nursery stock for quarantined pests and enforcement of quarantine laws;
• Inspects and registers apiaries in response to complaints and for freedom of apiary diseases;
• Conducts pest surveys for insects, weeds and diseases; provides identification of insects, weeds or diseases to residents that submit same; and
• Writes daily inspection reports and investigative reports as required by State Law.
• Commitment to providing first-class care and service to all members of the DPH service population, with heightened sensitivity and awareness to racial, ethnic, and culturally diverse members of the DPH’s workforce and patient populations.
• Desire and commitment to lead and participate in antiracism, racial justice, and equity work that impacts quality of patient care, and improvements in employee experiences; along with the commitment and fortitude to push and drive change in these areas.
• Desire to work with, relate to, serve, and support a diverse workforce and patient population.
• Commitment to health equity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, and sexuality.

️Required Before Applying️

• Possession of any two (2) of the required three (3) valid Agricultural Inspector/Biologist Licenses issued by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CFDA):
  • Pesticide Regulation License;
  • Commodity Regulation License;
  • Pest Prevention and Plant Regulation License.
• Must obtain the third valid CFDA Agricultural Inspector/Biologist License within twelve (12) months of hire
• Possession of a valid California Driver's License

Desirable

• Possession of a valid Investigation and Environmental Monitoring License and/or Integrated Pest Management License issued by the California Department of Food and Agriculture
• Bilingual fluency in another language (e.g., Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese)
• Public outreach experience (e.g., cold calls)
• Microsoft Office proficiency
• Experience with regulatory inspections and enforcement actions
• Experience effectively managing conflict/confrontational situations

The stated desirable qualifications may be considered at the end of the selection process when candidates are referred for hiring.

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.

How to Get Licensed

• CDFA - County Relations Office (ca.gov)
  • CDFA - County Licensing Exam Study Materials (ca.gov)
• Welcome | CASAP

SELECTION PROCEDURES
Training and Experience Evaluation: (Weight: 100%)
The Supplemental Questionnaire/Training and Experience Evaluation measures:

• Knowledge of applicable laws, regulations and ordinances affecting agriculture including the California Food and Agricultural Code and California Code of Regulations; Federal, State, Exterior, and Interior Plant Quarantines and Regulations; State Standardization Regulations; Nursery Laws and Regulations, California Seed Law, Apiary Laws. California Pest Control Laws, and regulations;
• Knowledge of inspection techniques for agricultural commodities including incoming plant quarantine inspections, phytosanitary inspection and certification, nursery and seed regulation, fruit and vegetable quality control, direct marketing compliance and egg quality compliance. Inspect agricultural production facilities for organic certification, economic pests and pesticide use enforcement;
• Knowledge of entomology, botany, biology, plant pathology, crop diseases, weed identification, horticulture, crop production and chemistry;
• Ability to use proper investigative techniques to gather facts, analyze situations and determine compliance with applicable laws, regulations and ordinances. Based on information obtained, the Agricultural Inspector completes the investigative process by taking appropriate enforcement actions;
• Interpersonal ability in establishing and maintaining effective working relationships with department staff, merchants, managers and employees of business establishments in a diverse community. The ability to handle complaints, evaluate requests and act accordingly, inform the regulated entities of methods of compliance, and work with irate customers under stressful situations;
• Written communication ability refers to the ability to prepare clear, accurate, and logical documents such as daily inspection reports, investigative reports, notices of violation and citations. Ability to operate a personal computer to communicate via email, enter reporting data, and gather and compile crop reporting data; and
• Oral communication ability to communicate clearly and directly with department staff, merchants, managers and employees of business establishments in a diverse community.
• Physical strength and dexterity refers to the ability lift and move heavy objects (e.g. cases of produce and large plants) of up to fifty (50) lbs.

Once submitted, the Supplemental Questionnaire/Training and Experience Evaluation cannot be changed. Applicants must achieve a passing score to be ranked on the eligible list/score report. Successful applicants will be placed on the eligible list/score report, in rank order, according to their final score.

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 the 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. After passing the exam, Candidates will be on the eligible list for 12 months and can reapply afterward. After the eligible list/score report is finalized/adopted:

• The department may administer additional selection procedures to make a final hiring decision (e.g. interviews, written exercise, etc.).
• Applicants meeting the Minimum Qualifications are not guaranteed advancement through all steps of the selection process.

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

Terms of Announcement
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. The terms of this announcement may be appealed under Civil Service Rule 111A.35.1 and Appeals must be submitted directly to the Executive Officer of the Civil Service Commission within five business days of the announcement issuance date.

DPH Job Requirements
https://www.sfdph.org/dph/comupg/aboutdph/jobs/requirements.asp

DPH Health Critical Requirements and Information: Please review the following policies regarding DPH employment requirements that safeguard yourself and others.

• COVID-19 Policies
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Medical Examination Prior to Hiring
• Electronic Health Record (EHR)
• Licensure/Certification/Registration
• Note on ICARE

Important Information

• Information About the Hiring Process
• Conviction History
• Employee Benefits Overview
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Disaster Service Worker
• ADA Accommodation
• Veterans Preference
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams
• Right to Work
• Copies of Application Documents

Contact
Eliot.Watt@sfdph.org 628-271-6704

We may use text messaging to communicate with you if you include a mobile number in your application. The first message will ask you to opt in to text messaging.

#ZR1

CONDITION OF EMPLOYMENT: All City and County of San Francisco employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. Someone is fully vaccinated when 14 days have passed since they received the final dose of a two-shot vaccine or a dose of a one-shot vaccine. Any new hire must present proof of full vaccination status to be appointed. Any new hire who will be routinely assigned or occasionally enter High-Risk Settings, must provide proof of having received a COVID-19 booster vaccine by March 1, 2022, or once eligible.

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.