The Department of Public Health prioritizes equitable and inclusive access to quality healthcare for its community and values the importance of diversity in its workforce. All employees at the Department of Public Health work to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity with a specific lens and focus on race, ethnicity, gender, sex, sexuality, disability, and immigration status. 

This is a Position-Based Test conducted in accordance with CSC Rule 111A. Learn more about the City’s hiring process here: https://careers.sf.gov/knowledge/process/

• Application Opening: Friday, September 4, 2026   
• Application Deadline: Application filing will close on or after Friday, October 2, 2026. 
• Salary: $173,264 to $221,052 Annually (Range A) 
• Appointment Type: Permanent Civil Service 
• Recruitment ID: PBT-0932-167383 
• Work Arrangement: Onsite

Becoming a City employee means being a part of a team that cares about making a difference. Your work will shape both the present and future of San Francisco. When you work for the City, you’re choosing a job with purpose.  

The Mission of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) is to protect and promote the health of all San Franciscans. Fulfilling this mission requires employees working across our hospitals, clinics, programs, and offices to deliver services and support the communities we serve. Individuals interested in joining SFDPH should expect to work in person across these settings. 

The San Francisco Health Network, Population Health, Behavioral Health Services, and Administration are the core divisions of SFDPH. The San Francisco Health Network is the City’s only complete system of care and has locations throughout the City, including Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center, and over 15 primary care health centers. The Population Health Division (PHD) provides core public health services for the City and County of San Francisco: health protection, health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and disaster preparedness and response. Behavioral Health Services operates in conjunction with SFHN and provides a range of mental health and substance use treatment services. 

SFDPH is intentionally evolving toward a department-wide, performance-managed operating model, requiring senior leaders who can set direction, drive execution, and deliver results across a highly complex public health and healthcare environment. 

The eligible list resulting from this recruitment may be utilized to fill future and current vacancies in this class at other locations within the DPH for the duration of the eligible list. 

Reporting directly to the Director of Environmental Health, the Deputy Director of Environmental Health (0932 Manager IV) is responsible for ensuring effective daily operations across the Environmental Health Branch, supporting strategic priorities, and managing regulatory programs that may include Food Safety, Hazardous Materials and Waste, Healthy Housing, Water Quality, Solid Waste, Medical Cannabis Dispensary, Massage and Body Art, Tobacco Sales and Smoking, Site Mitigation and Local Oversight Program, City Hazardous Waste, Cellular Transmitter Site, and Disaster Planning. 

The Deputy Director works closely with branch managers, City partners, and community stakeholders to advance environmental health protection, regulatory compliance, public health standards, and service excellence. The Deputy Director supports the Director in building a unified vision, motivating staff, and ensuring programs meet San Francisco’s complex public health and environmental regulatory needs.  

The Deputy Director of Environmental Health (0932 Manager IV) performs the following essential job functions: 

• Develops and implements branch wide policies, procedures, strategic initiatives, and operational priorities
• Leads daily operations for major Environmental Health regulatory programs, ensuring compliance, consistent performance, and alignment with public health mandates
• Supervises Environmental Health program managers by assigning work and projects, providing operational and policy guidance, and participating in long range program planning, policy development, and the implementation of new environmental health programs
• Oversees enforcement actions and serves as the primary hearing officer for abatement conferences, resolving complex, sensitive, or high-profile cases
• Ensures quality, consistency, and continuous improvement across all regulatory programs by developing, implementing, and monitoring standard operating procedures, and by supporting environmental health assessments, data driven program development, and analysis of emerging environmental health issues
• Leads workforce planning, ensuring appropriate staffing levels, staff development, and effective resolution of personnel and labor relations issues
• Supports or leads legislative, regulatory, and policy development in coordination with SFDPH leadership, the Office of Policy and Planning, the Board of Supervisors, and other City partners
• Participates in branch budget planning and oversight, monitoring program expenditures and ensuring fees and revenues reflect cost of service requirements
• Represents the Environmental Health Branch in coordination with local, state, and federal agencies; engages with community organizations and industry groups; and communicates environmental health information at public meetings, hearings, and media or press events
• Produces briefings for SFDPH leadership and serves as Acting Director as needed

The Deputy Director of Environmental Health (0932 Manager IV) may perform other duties as assigned/required. 

REQUIRED MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS: 

• License: Possession of a license as a California Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS), AND 
• Experience: Seven (7) years of experience in an environmental health agency of which three (3) years must include supervising environmental health professionals. 

The above minimum qualifications reflect special conditions associated with the position(s) to be filled. They may differ from the standard minimum qualifications associated with this classification.  

Applicants must meet the minimum qualification requirement by the final filing date unless otherwise noted.  

One-year full-time employment is equivalent to 2,000 hours (2,000 hours of qualifying work experience is based on a 40-hour work week).  

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

• Experience in a leadership role for local California Environmental Health jurisdiction 
• Possession of a Master’s degree in Public Health, Health Science, Public Administration, or a related field 
• Experience managing budgets and developing local ordinances 
• Experience supervising a large number of staff 
• Possession of a California Driver’s License 

Verification of Education and Experience:  

Every application is reviewed to ensure that you meet the minimum qualifications as listed in the job ad. Review SF Careers Employment Applications for considerations taken when reviewing applications.   

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

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. 

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

Training and Experience (T&E) Evaluation (Weight: 100%)

Candidates that meet the minimum qualifications will be invited to participate in a Training and Experience evaluation that is designed to measure the knowledge, skills, and abilities in job related areas which may include but not be limited to:   

• Knowledge of environmental health principles, regulations, technical issues, and the environmental health branch’s programs, services, regulatory functions, and operational requirements
• Ability to interpret and apply complex environmental and public health laws and regulations 
• Ability to supervise, mentor, and provide guidance to managers and professional staff, including assigning work, supporting staff development, and addressing personnel and labor relations matters 
• Knowledge of citywide and departmental policies, procedures, and program structures that guide operational and administrative decision-making 
• Knowledge of branch budget processes, including financial planning, forecasting, resource allocation, cost of service analysis, and monitoring of expenditures 
• Ability to communicate complex environmental health concepts clearly and effectively to diverse audiences, including executive leadership, elected officials, partner agencies, community groups, and the media 
• Ability to develop, interpret, and implement policies, regulations, and strategic initiatives, including analyzing complex environmental health issues and providing high level recommendations to executive leadership 

Candidates will be placed on the confidential eligible list in rank order according to their final score. 

Additional selection processes may be conducted by the hiring department prior to making final hiring decisions.  

Certification
The certification rule for the eligible list resulting from this examination will be the Rule of the List.  

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 6 months and may be extended with the approval of the Human Resources Director.  

To find Departments which use this classification, please see the city’s Position Counts by Job Codes and Departments.  

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.sf.gov/.  

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.  

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 
• Seniority Credit in Promotional Exams 
• Right to Work 
• Copies of Application Documents 
• Diversity Statement 

Where to Apply

All job applications for the City and County of San Francisco must be submitted through our online portal. Please visit https://careers.sf.gov/ to begin your application process.   

Applicants may be contacted by email about this recruitment. Please consider using a personal email address that you check regularly rather than a work or school account.  

Computers are available for the public (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday) to file online applications in the lobby of the Dept. of Human Resources at 1 South Van Ness Avenue, 4th Floor and at the City Career Center at City Hall, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, Room 110.  

Ensure your application information is accurate, as changes may not be possible after submission. Your first and last name must match your legal ID for verification, and preferred names can be included in parentheses. Use your personal email address, not a shared or work email, to avoid unfixable issues.  

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

If you have any questions regarding this recruitment or application process, please contact the analyst, Marielle Saldajeno at [email protected] or (628) 271-6820.  

We may use text messaging to communicate with you on the phone number provided in your application. By applying, you accept the Trust and Privacy Policy and you may opt out of text messaging anytime.

POSITION #: 01095072

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.