Environmental Health Specialist; Hybrid

Environmental Health Specialist

The Anoka County Public Health and Environmental Services (PHES) department has an immediate opening for an Environmental Health Specialist. The Environmental Health Specialist performs daily activities involving investigation, inspection, data collection and analysis, enforcement action, report preparation and public contact. The Environmental Health Specialist is responsible for ensuring applicable health, safety, and environmental regulations are being met.

This is a full-time, non-exempt, hybrid position. Interviews will take place the week of July 20, 2026, for those selected to move forward in the hiring process.

Job Duties and Responsibilities These examples are not all inclusive and are intended to be illustrative of primary responsibilities of an Anoka County Environmental Health Specialist.

• Perform inspections of various facilities and properties, including but not limited to food and lodging facilities, public pools, body art establishments, solid and hazardous waste facilities, management of the delegated non-community drinking water protection program, and community events to determine conformance with applicable health, safety, and environmental regulations.
• Research, compile, synthesize, analyze, and interpret information and data necessary to meet environmental health objectives. Prepare written reports.
• Participate in environmental health projects, define problems and alternative solutions, and set objectives.
• Provide general information to the public in response to questions about projects, environmental health programs, applicable ordinances, policies, and procedures related to the community services, including food and lodging facilities, public pools body art establishments, solid and hazardous waste facilities, management of the delegated non-community drinking water protection program and community events.
• Interact with other individuals, developers, groups, sections, divisions, departments, and agencies.
• Conduct field investigations and complaint investigations of various sites in order to have first-hand knowledge of the location under study.
• Support enforcement activities. Issue citations, write reports and collect evidence.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and/or mentoring to a subordinate group as assigned.

Qualifications and Requirements:

Minimum Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Needed

• Bachelor's degree in environmental health, food science, natural science, or a closely related field as defined under MN Rule .
• At least 2 years (2,080 annual hours) of job-related experience.
• Possess or able to obtain within two years registration as an Environmental Health Specialist.
• Successfully pass driver's license background check.
• Must have valid driver's license and vehicle available for business use.

Preferred Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Needed

• Registered as an Environmental Health Specialist.
• Possess one or more of the following certifications:
  Standardized Food Inspection Officer, Certified Hazardous Waste Site Worker, Licensed Subsurface Treatment System Designer/Inspector, Licensed Solid Waste Inspector, or Certified Pool Operator.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.

Physical Demands and Work Conditions

• Standard office environment, travel to various county work sites both indoor and outdoor, may include emergency or disaster response sites in uncontrolled environments depending on assignment.
• Work activities may require contact with uncooperative, angry, and sometimes hostile clients depending on assignment.
• Vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, and the ability to adjust focus, such as to work on computers. Ability to see colors, shades and brightness.
• Hearing abilities required for general and phone communication, signals, and machine sounds.
• Ability to detect, discern, and tolerate a wide range of scents required for safety and performance of essential duties.
• Cognitive abilities required include problem solving, prioritization of tasks, short- and long-term memory, interpreting and understanding written documents, and general mathematical skills.
• Assignments require several hours of varied physical activity in addition to viewing a computer screen, sitting at a desk, or walking/standing.
• Physical activity may include repeated bending, stooping, reaching, twisting, walking on sloped or uneven terrain, and handling/carrying equipment.
• Regular lifting of 0-25 lbs., occasional lifting of up to 75 lbs.
• Equipment used includes computers, phones, and standard office equipment in addition to public safety equipment depending on assignment.
• Public safety equipment may include but is not limited to radios, cameras, GPS devices, radiological testing equipment such as portal monitors and Geiger counters depending on assignment, and personal protective equipment.
• Travel between work sites may require driving a county vehicle and/or a personal vehicle.
• Additional physical/mental requirements that occur may not be listed above, but are inherent…