Erie County is an Equal Opportunity Employer and committed to workplace diversity.

Residence Requirements:

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE BEEN LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY FOR AT LEAST ONE MONTH IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE DATE OF THE WRITTEN TEST AND MUST BE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF ERIE COUNTY AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT. There is one present vacancy at the Erie Department of Health.

Examples of Duties:

A Junior Education Specialist Environmental Health assists in promoting public awareness and positive action regarding environmental health issues; 

Provides assistance and information to citizens’ organizations regarding environmental health issues, including indoor air quality, lead poisoning, injury prevention and sanitation;

Assists in coordinating presentations and public meetings to create community awareness of environmental health concerns, such as lead poisoning, injury prevention, in-home asthma triggers, carbon monoxide poisoning and vector/pest control;

Makes presentations and /or teaches community classes from prepared materials, such as ‘Lead Safe Work Practices;’

Performs environmental visual assessments of individual dwelling units for conditions that represent a health or safety risk to children and families;

Provides education to families regarding mitigation or avoidance techniques of in-home environmental health and safety hazards such as CO poisoning, prevention of asthma exacerbation, prevention of lead poisoning and other environmental concerns;

Makes referrals for code enforcement and community services as needed to reduce health and safety risks;

Provides assistance to families in making behavior modifications to reduce health and safety risks in the home;

Maintains documentation of in-home visits, attendance at classes, referrals and other paperwork;

Maintains inventory of promotional items, brochures, audio visual equipment, tools and displays;

Produces simple informational flyers and signs as needed;

Distributes educational materials at outreach events and to community groups and public venues, such as libraries;

Prepares short informational posts for publication in local newspapers and on social media to publicize program activities, such as ‘Lead Safe Work Practices’ classes.

Qualifications:

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  Candidates must meet one of the following requirements on or before the date of the written test:

Graduation from a regionally accredited or New York State registered college or university with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science, Education or Communication and one (1) year of experience which included community outreach and /or interaction with the public in a variety of settings such as home visits, health clinics and community events.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: Possession of a valid New York State Drivers License and automotive transportation available for use at the time of appointment.

Notes:

1. Verifiable part-time and/or volunteer experience will be pro-rated toward meeting the experience requirements.

2. Your degree and/or college credit must have been awarded by a regionally accredited college or university or one recognized by the New York State Education Department as following acceptable educational practices. A grade of "D" or better is necessary for a course to be credited as successfully completed. If your degree and/or college credit was awarded by an educational institution outside of the United States and its territories, you must provide independent verification of equivalency. You can write to this Department for a list of acceptable companies providing this service; you must pay the required evaluation fee.

Notice to Candidates: Transcripts will now be accepted by the Department of Personnel ONLY at time of application.
All subsequent transcripts must be submitted at time of interview.

The New York State Department of Civil Service has not prepared a test guide for this examination. However, candidates may find information in the publication 'General Guide to Written Tests' helpful in preparing for this test. This publication is available on line at:https://www.cs.ny.gov/testing/testguides.cfm.

Subjects of Examination:

Scopes / Subjects of examination: A test designed to evaluate knowledge, skills and /or abilities in the following areas.

Educating and interacting with the public

These questions test for knowledge of techniques used to interact effectively with individuals and/or community groups, to educate or inform them about topics of concern, to publicize or clarify agency programs or policies, to negotiate conflicts or resolve complaints, and to represent one's agency or program in a manner in keeping with good public relations practices. Questions may also cover interacting with others in cooperative efforts of public outreach or service.

Preparing written material

These questions test for the ability to present information clearly and accurately, and to organize paragraphs logically and comprehensibly. For some questions, you will be given information in two or three sentences followed by four restatements of the information. You must then choose the best version. For other questions, you will be given paragraphs with their sentences out of order. You must then choose, from four suggestions, the best order for the sentences.

Understanding and interpreting written material

These questions test for the ability to understand and interpret written material. You will be presented with brief reading passages and will be asked questions about the passages. You should base your answers to the questions only on what is presented in the passages and not on what you may happen to know about the topic.

Principles of educating and training

These questions test for the knowledge and abilities used to provide instruction to individuals and groups in settings typically outside the workplace. Instruction of this sort may be given to members of the public or groups with a specialized interest or concern. The questions address issues such as determining what is to be taught; developing and evaluating instructional plans; developing, using, and evaluating training methods and materials; motivation; learning; interacting with learners; and evaluating the success of instruction.

NOTICE TO CANDIDATES:  It is recommended that candidates use a quiet, hand held, solar or battery powered calculator.  Devices with typewriter keyboards, "Spell Checkers", “Personal Digital Assistants", "Address Books", "Language Translators", "Dictionaries", or any similar devices are prohibited.  You may not bring books or other reference materials.

**IMPORTANT APPLICATION FEE - READ CAREFULLY**

A $20.00 filing fee is required for this exam. The required fee must accompany your application. Send or bring check or money order made payable to Erie County Personnel Department and write the examination number(s) on your check or money order. Do not send or bring cash, as the County cannot be responsible for cash payment. As no refund will be made, you are urged to compare your qualifications carefully with the requirements for admission and file only for those examinations for which you are clearly qualified.