Description
The County of San Diego invites applications from qualified individuals for the position of:
County Pollution Crisis Chief
The County Pollution Crisis Chief is the central integrator for all County actions related to the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis. This executive-level role, within the Office of County Counsel, is responsible for coordinating emergency response efforts, securing funding, aligning agency actions, keeping impacted communities informed and engaged and ensuring that every County department, external partner, and regional stakeholder operates with alignment, urgency, and accountability. The Chief unites public health, infrastructure, environmental protection, emergency response, legal, communications, and advocacy efforts to ensure the County acts quickly, consistently, and effectively during this State of Emergency.
The County Pollution Crisis Chief will operate within the Office of County Counsel and will:
- Lead cross-department coordination and chair the Sewage Crisis Interdepartmental Task Force.
- Oversee epidemiological public health impact studies and integrate clinics and hospitals into surveillance and reporting systems.
- Coordinate with Behavioral Health Services to address community health impacts, such as stress, anxiety, and trauma associated with ongoing environmental hazards.
- Align public health data with environmental monitoring ensuring a feedback loop between health data and environmental conditions.
- Assess and prioritize stormwater and wastewater infrastructure upgrades, starting with the Saturn Boulevard hot spot.
- Coordinate binational infrastructure work with federal (EPA, IBWC), state, and local partners.
- Align resilience planning with the County Sustainability and Climate Action Framework.
- Expedite permitting and environmental reviews for urgent sewage mitigation projects while maintaining CEQA and legal compliance.
- Connect resilience and land-use planning with health data so environmental impacts are directly linked to health outcomes.
- Integrate sewage emergencies into the County’s All-Hazards Emergency Operations Plan and lead real-time response efforts.
- Lead liaison efforts with FEMA and CalOES if a federal or state emergency declaration is secured.
- Guide County advocacy in Sacramento and Washington D.C., preparing briefings and funding messages for sewage crisis mitigation.
- Coordinate press briefings, community meetings, and bilingual public information campaigns targeted at impacted communities to keep them informed and supported.
- Lead grant applications and maintain a funding dashboard to track County, state, federal, and external funding use.
Click here to view a detailed announcement including the duties and requirements of this position.
The ideal candidate for the Pollution Crisis Chief is a decisive, bilingual, strategic leader able to manage complex, multiagency work during an environmental emergency. The ideal candidate will possess a professional history that demonstrates the following:
- Proven success leading cross-departmental initiatives involving public health, environmental protection, infrastructure, and emergency management.
- Skilled at aligning policies, operations, and communications across multiple agencies and jurisdictions.
- Strong understanding of environmental health, wastewater systems, stormwater management, or related fields.
- Ability to interpret public health data and environmental monitoring results to guide decision-making.
- Hands-on experience directing emergency operations, coordinating real-time response, and working within the Emergency Operations Plan frameworks.
- Ability to work cross-border with Mexican agencies including but not limited to CILA, CESPT, and CEA.
- Demonstrated success working with federal, state, and regional agencies (i.e., EPA, IBWC, FEMA, CalOES).
- Experience securing government funding, preparing briefing materials, and leading advocacy efforts.
- Skilled in navigating permitting, CEQA processes, and regulatory environments. Expertise managing budgets, multiyear project timelines, and large capital or environmental programs.
- Experience preparing grants, managing appropriation requests, and tracking complex funding sources.
- Success collaborating with federal and state agencies and securing government funding.
The Department: The Office of County Counsel is a full-service law office, tasked with handling the County's civil law needs, including proactive participation
in all phases of governmental decision-making and a very active and successful trial litigation program. The Office of County Counsel is responsible for representing County departments and a staff of over 19,000 employees. The Office provides advisory and litigation support to the Board of Supervisors, County departments, County officers, boards, and commissions.
How to apply: Click here to file your application
Contact Information: You may direct any questions regarding the application and selection process to Senior Executive Recruiter, Veronica Gibson at [email protected].
Requirements
A bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. college or university or certified foreign studies equivalency AND five years of management level experience that demonstrates the ability to perform the essential functions of the classification.
Note: A master's or doctoral degree from an accredited U.S. college or university, or a certified foreign studies equivalency, may substitute for up to one (1) year of the required experience.
