Environmental Health SME

Flourish & Thrive Labs

14d

About The Position

We're seeking an Environmental Health Subject Matter Expert who brings deep, practiced knowledge of licensing, permitting, and inspection programs at the local health department level. You've lived the work. You've managed inspection schedules, built out permitting workflows, processed license applications, enforced compliance, and reported outcomes to boards and state agencies. You also understand what happens when a health department implements enterprise software to manage these programs. You've participated in, led, or been deeply affected by a major IT implementation and you know what makes them succeed or fail in a government environment. Now you'll channel that combined expertise into shaping technology solutions that actually work for the people doing this work every day. This role focuses on our environmental health software implementation efforts. You'll serve as the authoritative voice on how licensing, permitting, and inspection programs function, ensuring that every feature, workflow, and configuration reflects the realities of the field. You won't just review requirements. You'll define what right looks like, drawing from years of hands-on program experience and IT implementation knowledge to guide our technical teams toward solutions that environmental health professionals will trust and adopt. You're the person who knows why an inspection workflow breaks down, what data fields actually matter on a permit application, how license renewals get bottlenecked, and what reporting looks like when a board of health asks hard questions. You also know what happens when a new software system rolls out without enough input from the people who use it. You've seen the training gaps, the data migration headaches, and the workarounds staff create when a system doesn't match their process. You'll work alongside solutions analysts, developers, and client teams to ensure our PH360 platform and client implementations meet the specific, nuanced demands of environmental health licensing, permitting, and inspection practice. Your expertise will directly influence product direction, client engagement strategy, and implementation quality. As a consulting firm, we value candidates who are passionate and eager to dive into the work. While this role focuses on environmental health expertise, you may also contribute your unique talents to other firm initiatives. You'll join an Agile Release Train (ART) that follows SAFe principles. This means: Program Increment (PI) Planning: You'll participate in quarterly planning sessions, grounding the roadmap in real-world environmental health licensing, permitting, and inspection practice. Sprint Collaboration: You'll work in two-week sprints with daily standups, regular backlog refinement, and sprint retrospectives, providing subject matter guidance throughout. Cross-functional Teams: You'll collaborate closely with solutions analysts, developers, architects, and QA analysts to ensure every solution reflects how environmental health licensing, permitting, and inspections actually happen. Continuous Discovery: You'll maintain ongoing conversations with clients and stakeholders, validating assumptions and surfacing emerging needs from the field.

Requirements

5+ years working in environmental health at a local, state, tribal, or federal health department with direct responsibility for licensing, permitting, or inspection programs
Hands-on experience processing licenses, managing permits, conducting or overseeing inspections, and enforcing compliance
Direct participation in at least one enterprise IT implementation, software migration, or major system rollout in a government setting (as a program lead, subject matter expert, super user, or implementation team member)
Deep understanding of inspection workflows, permitting processes, license lifecycle management, and environmental health reporting requirements
Demonstrated ability to communicate complex program knowledge to technical and non-technical audiences
Strong facilitation and stakeholder engagement skills
Self-motivated with strong initiative
Adaptability in dynamic environments
Comfort working with AI tools and large language models

Nice To Haves

Master's degree or PhD in Environmental Health, Public Health, Environmental Science, or a related field
Experience at a local health department in a leadership or senior programmatic role overseeing licensing, permitting, and inspections
Direct experience with environmental health data systems, inspection management platforms, or permitting software (e.g., Hedgehog, Envision Connect, HealthSpace, or similar)
Experience serving as a subject matter expert or product owner during an enterprise software implementation
Experience with Salesforce or similar CRM/platform-based solutions
Familiarity with agile methodologies
Background in system configuration, requirements gathering, or user acceptance testing
Experience developing or refining standard operating procedures for licensing, permitting, or inspection programs
Knowledge of state and federal regulatory frameworks affecting local environmental health practice (e.g., FDA Food Code, state sanitary codes, EPA standards)
Experience with discovery techniques (journey mapping, interviews, observation)
Registered Environmental Health Specialist (REHS) or equivalent credential
Experience with change management, staff training, or technology adoption strategies in government environments

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary subject matter authority on environmental health licensing, permitting, and inspection programs, including food safety, body art, pools and bathing, septic and well systems, housing, and related program areas
Define and validate licensing workflows, permitting processes, inspection protocols, and associated business rules for software implementations
Guide solutions analysts and developers with contextual expertise so they build features that align with how environmental health staff actually process licenses, issue permits, and conduct inspections
Draw on enterprise IT implementation experience to anticipate adoption challenges, data migration risks, and change management needs
Lead and participate in discovery sessions with health department environmental health teams, earning trust through shared professional experience
Review and shape user stories, acceptance criteria, and process documentation for accuracy and completeness
Identify gaps between proposed technical solutions and on-the-ground operational realities
Advise on regulatory and compliance considerations that affect system design and configuration for licensing and permitting
Contribute to product strategy for PH360's environmental health capabilities
Support client-facing engagements, including demonstrations, workshops, and implementation planning
Translate environmental health program knowledge into clear, actionable direction for technical team members