Environmental Health & Sanitarian

Orleans Parish Sheriff'; New Orleans (LA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 78,000; Full time

Job summary

Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office is seeking a Facility Sanitarian to oversee sanitation and environmental-health inspections across OPSO facilities. You will identify hazards, monitor compliance with public-health regulations, and coordinate corrective actions with custody, medical, and support personnel.

The role requires a Louisiana Registered Sanitarian license, a high school diploma or GED, and at least two years of related experience.

Qualifications

• High school diploma or GED equivalent.
• Louisiana Registered Sanitarian license required.
• Minimum of two years in sanitation, environmental services, or related field.
• Knowledge of sanitation, infection prevention, environmental health, and workplace safety.

Responsibilities

• Conduct routine sanitation and environmental-health inspections throughout the facility.
• Evaluate facility conditions for cleanliness, sanitation, safety, pest activity, and hazards.
• Coordinate with custody, medical, maintenance, food-service and admin staff.

Skills

Environmental health

Food safety

Infection prevention

Pest-control monitoring

Hazard identification

Regulatory compliance

Inspection reporting

Communication

Safety training

Education

High school diploma

Associate degree in environmental health

Bachelor degree related field (preferred)

Job description

The OPSO Facility Sanitarian is responsible for maintaining and monitoring a safe, sanitary, and environmentally healthy correctional facility. The Facility Sanitarian performs and oversees sanitation and environmental-health inspections, identifies health and safety hazards, monitors compliance with applicable regulations and institutional policies, and coordinates corrective actions. Their responsibilities include sanitation, infection prevention, food safety, waste management, pest control, chemical safety, environmental inspections, documentation, and coordination with custody, medical, maintenance, food-service, and administrative personnel.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Conduct routine sanitation and environmental-health inspections throughout the correctional facility, including housing units, cells, bathrooms, showers, kitchens, dining areas, medical areas, laundry facilities, storage areas, offices, and common areas.
• Evaluate facility conditions for cleanliness, sanitation, safety, pest activity, contamination risks, and potential environmental-health hazards.
• Support the sanitation and environmental-health documentation and reporting required under the Consent Judgment.
• Monitor compliance with applicable public-health regulations, environmental-health standards, institutional policies, and sanitation procedures.
• Identify, document, and report sanitation deficiencies, health hazards, unsafe conditions, and potential sources of contamination.
• Prepare inspection reports, maintain accurate records, and track corrective actions through completion.
• Recommend corrective measures and conduct follow-up inspections to verify that deficiencies have been resolved.
• Monitor cleaning, disinfecting, and infection-prevention practices.
• Inspect food-service operations for proper food handling, preparation, storage, temperature control, personal hygiene, equipment sanitation, and prevention of cross-contamination.
• Monitor kitchens, dining areas, food-storage areas, and food-service equipment for sanitation and food-safety compliance.
• Inspect drinking-water, wastewater, sewage, drainage, trash-disposal, and other environmental-health conditions.
• Monitor pest-control activities and identify conditions that may contribute to pest infestations.
• Inspect chemical storage and use to ensure proper labeling, storage, handling, PPE use, and availability of Safety Data Sheets (SDS).
• Monitor laundry and linen-handling procedures for appropriate sanitation and infection-control practices.
• Respond to sanitation emergencies, including sewage backups, spills, contamination incidents, pest infestations, and other environmental-health hazards.
• Investigate complaints concerning sanitation, food safety, odors, pests, water quality, waste disposal, and other environmental-health conditions.
• Assist medical and public-health personnel with environmental controls during communicable-disease concerns or outbreaks.
• Coordinate with correctional officers, medical staff, maintenance, food-service personnel, housekeeping, administration, and regulatory agencies as necessary.
• Provide sanitation, hygiene, food-safety, and environmental-health education when appropriate.
• Maintain inspection schedules, sanitation logs, corrective-action records, chemical inventories, environmental-health records, and other required documentation.
• Assist with regulatory, accreditation, public-health, and environmental inspections.
• Maintain security awareness and follow all correctional-facility security procedures while conducting inspections or sanitation activities.

Minimum Requirements

• Current Louisiana Registered Sanitarian license issued by the Louisiana State Board of Examiners for Sanitarians.
• High school diploma or GED equivalent.
• Minimum of two years of experience in sanitation, environmental services, environmental health, public health, food safety, custodial operations, healthcare sanitation, institutional sanitation, or a closely related field.
• Knowledge of basic sanitation, infection prevention, environmental health, food-safety, and workplace-safety principles.
• Ability to inspect facilities, recognize sanitation and environmental-health deficiencies, and recommend appropriate corrective actions.
• Ability to read, understand, and follow policies, procedures, regulations, labels, SDS information, and written instructions.
• Ability to prepare clear and accurate inspection reports, logs, and other documentation.
• Ability to communicate effectively with correctional staff, incarcerated individuals, contractors, healthcare personnel, and other facility employees.
• Ability to work independently and exercise sound judgment while following established policies and chain-of-command requirements.
• Ability to safely handle cleaning chemicals, disinfectants, waste, PPE, and sanitation equipment.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality and professional boundaries in a correctional environment.
• Ability to successfully complete required correctional-facility security screening, background investigation, and pre-employment requirements.
• Ability to successfully complete required facility orientation, security training, and job-specific safety training.
• Ability to perform the essential physical functions of the position, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Associate degree or higher in environmental health, public health, sanitation, biology, occupational health and safety, health sciences, or a related field.
• Previous experience as a Sanitarian, Environmental Health Specialist, Environmental Services Supervisor, Food Safety Inspector, or Public Health Inspector.
• Experience working in a correctional facility, hospital, nursing facility, school, food-service operation, or other institutional environment.
• Training or certification in food safety, environmental health, OSHA-related safety practices, infection prevention, hazardous-material handling, or related areas.
• Experience conducting inspections, writing corrective-action reports, maintaining compliance records, or coordinating regulatory inspections.
• Familiarity with state and local health regulations and institutional sanitation standards.

Core Competencies

• Environmental health and sanitation
• Food safety and inspection
• Infection prevention
• Hazard identification and corrective action
• Regulatory compliance
• Chemical and PPE safety
• Waste and wastewater management
• Pest-control monitoring
• Inspection and documentation
• Communication and teamwork
• Security awareness
• Professional judgment and integrity

Why Join OPSO?

The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office is undertaking a comprehensive modernization of its operational, administrative, and facility management infrastructure. The Facility Sanitarian will play a critical role in promoting a safe, sanitary, and healthy environment across OPSO facilities by strengthening environmental health and sanitation practices, ensuring regulatory compliance, identifying and mitigating health and sanitation risks, and supporting continuous improvement in facility operations.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to recruiting, developing, and retaining a highly qualified workforce dedicated to public service. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other status protected by applicable law.