Regional Public Health Veterinarian

What You’ll Do:

Looking for a transition in your veterinary career? How about a veterinary role that doesn’t require you to work every weekend, evening, or holiday? You may even be eligible for student loan forgiveness!

Yes, please!

If you don’t have a heavy background in agriculture, no problem! You’ll learn all about agriculture from our top-notch experts who dedicate their lives to a cleaner, safer, and better Ohio. ODA is looking for a licensed and accredited Veterinarian to cover Western Ohio for the Division of Meat Inspection. The ideal candidate has a basic understanding of pathology, infectious diseases, and handling livestock.

This Veterinarian position would be headquartered in one of the following counties: Adams, Allen, Auglaize, Brown, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clermont, Clinton, Darke, Defiance, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Highland, Logan, Lucas, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery, Ottawa, Paulding, Preble, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Shelby, Van Wert, Warren, Williams, or Wood.

The responsibilities of this position include:

• Administers, coordinates & enforces regulations of state & federal programs
• Reviews & implements policies & procedures established to ensure efficiency & uniformity of meat & poultry inspections for assigned geographic area
• Directs & oversees trainee inspection staff in performance of meat inspection & disease detection activities
• Monitors inspection activities (e.g., meat food products & poultry products); reviews Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP) plans, Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP), and Specified Risk Materials (SRM) programs to ensure slaughter/processing facility compliance
• Coordinates inspection activities with local, federal & other state officials & trains inspection staff on various inspector duties (e.g., disease & abnormal animal recognition on ante-mortem & post-mortem of carcasses & parts, humane handling & slaughtering, sample collection, preservation & shipment techniques & procedures, aseptic technique, chain of custody, detection of probable causes of spoiled processed meat products, tissue sampling & testing for pathogens, detection & testing of carriers of antibiotics, sulfa, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and other chemicals)
• Evaluates meat inspectors in performance of ante-mortem & post-mortem techniques & humane handling & uses In Plant Performance System (IPPS) evaluation methodology to evaluate performance and report deficiencies
• Conducts IPPS reviews & coordinates with district supervisor to evaluate performance of inspection personnel, gives input on annual evaluations and participates in constructing performance improvement plans when needed
• Prepares & submits specimens & samples of other products used in conjunction with meat/poultry products (e.g., curing agents, ingredients, packing & packaging materials)
• Monitors or conducts random & specific tissue sampling to detect chemical & biological residues
• Uses epidemiologic principles & techniques to monitor various phases of meat handling & processing operations to prevent bacteriological contamination that impacts public health
• Serves as the expert authority on animal health and food safety maintaining the obligation of providing information on a daily basis to promote and protect public health; Knowledge and understanding with the Public Health Information System (PHIS).
• Conducts & leads Food Safety Assessments (FSA) as a trained Enforcement, Investigation, Analysis Officer (EIAO) in meat & poultry establishments (e.g., performs in-depth evaluations to assess design & validity of establishment’s food safety systems)
• Makes recommendations & prepares administrative enforcement reports & acts as liaison between inspection staff & central office (CO) (e.g., recommends whether a plant is in compliance or whether regulatory control action is warranted; provides technical advice & outreach information to management personnel or owners of meat & poultry slaughtering & processing establishments regarding proposed construction projects & forwards plans to CO for review; monitors establishment actions to ensure recall effectiveness)
• Conducts Humane Handling Verification visits at livestock establishments or Good Commercial Practice correlation visits at poultry establishments to ensure compliance with all animal handling regulations.
• Conducts sanitary inspections of meat & poultry slaughtering & processing establishments & prepares & submits inspection reports to central office
• Responds to inspectors call of suspect animals entering slaughter operation to perform thorough examination of animal in order to gather information needed to make accurate final disposition
• Provides explanations to inspection personnel & plant personnel on animal disease conditions observed as a means of understanding & education
• Assists in disease eradication & surveillance programs sponsored by other departmental divisions through tissue collection, sampling & reporting as assigned
• Performs variety of administrative duties (e.g., provides animal disease control program information; reviews correspondence; recommends policy revisions; oversees implementation of district level program policies & procedures & ensures adherence to division guidelines; plans, directs, conducts & attends educational meetings, conferences & seminars; delivers lectures to plant &/or livestock owners & operators, & general public; conducts district meetings in coordination with district supervisor to discuss regulatory issuances, department performance standards, & staff expectations on a routine basis)

We Support Diversity and Inclusion:

ODA values its internal diversity and pledges to cultivate an inclusive and engaging environment for all employees where differences are embraced and celebrated. The agency commits to building a workforce that champions the advancement of these principles and initiatives. The values on which these efforts are founded are respect, empathy, transparency, equality, and equal access.

What’s in it for you:

At the State of Ohio, we take care of the team that cares for Ohioans. We provide a variety of quality, competitive benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees. For a list of all the State of Ohio Benefits, visit our Total Rewards website! Our benefits package includes:

Medical Coverage

• Quality, affordable, and competitive medical benefits are offered through multiple plan options. Find more information on the state’s benefits website.

Dental, Vision and Basic Life Insurance

• Dental, vision and basic life insurance premiums are available the following month after your hire date.

Time Away From Work and Work/Life Balance

• Paid time off, including vacation, personal, and sick leave
• 11 paid holidays per year
• Childbirth/Adoption leave

Ohio Public Employees Retirement System

• OPERS is the retirement system for State of Ohio employees. The employee contributes 10% of his/her salary towards his/her retirement. The employer contributes an amount equal to 14% of the employee’s salary. Visit the OPERS website

Deferred Compensation

• The Ohio Deferred Compensation program is a 457(b) voluntary retirement savings plan. Visit the Ohio Deferred Compensation website

Maternity Benefits

• 12 weeks paid childbirth leave at 70% with option to supplement to 100%
• Expanded maternity health care benefits available to state employees enrolled in the Ohio Med PPO and Ohio Med NN (narrow network) medical plan options. Several prenatal, childbirth, and post-childbirth services are provided at no out-of-pocket cost to employees utilizing network providers.
• Examples of services now covered by network providers at 100% include:

o Prenatal care, including physician visits and examinations.

o Home health care services designated as maternity care (for expectant members on bed rest).

o Inpatient claims for all types of delivery.

o Inpatient NICU claims, from birth through discharge.

o Postpartum care, including office visits for follow-up, and procedures/treatments directly related to maternity.

• Medications prescribed for both antepartum and postpartum conditions (e.g., morning sickness, postpartum depression). Medical services provided by non-network providers will be processed at the applicable coinsurance, deductible, and out-of-pocket limits.
• Prescription drugs that are directly related to maternity care are covered with no copay. The State of Ohio has collaborated with the prescription drug third-party administrator (OptumRx) to provide a list of covered medications that can be approved for zero copay via prior authorization from providers.

Why Work for the State of Ohio

At the State of Ohio, we take care of the team that cares for Ohioans. We provide a variety of quality, competitive benefits to eligible full-time and part-time employees*. For a list of all the State of Ohio Benefits, visit our Total Rewards website! Our benefits package includes:

• Medical Coverage

• Free Dental, Vision and Basic Life Insurance premiums after completion of eligibility period

• Paid time off, including vacation, personal, sick leave and 11 paid holidays per year

• Childbirth, Adoption, and Foster Care leave

• Education and Development Opportunities (Employee Development Funds, Public Service Loan Forgiveness, and more)

• Public Retirement Systems (such as OPERS, STRS, SERS, and HPRS) & Optional Deferred Compensation (Ohio Deferred Compensation)

• Benefits eligibility is dependent on a number of factors. The Agency Contact listed above will be able to provide specific benefits information for this position.

Qualifications

License to practice veterinary medicine issued by Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board; accreditation under CFR, Title 9, Part 161 issued by United States Department of Agriculture
AND
12 months experience working in diagnostic service laboratory identifying livestock diseases, or pathology training, or practicing veterinary medicine, or working in area of livestock disease control & eradication, or working as veterinarian in state or federal food inspection program, or as manager in area of meat & poultry inspection
AND
6 months training or 6 months experience in state & federal laws regulating practice of veterinary medicine, implementation of programs to inspect & control infectious & contagious diseases in livestock & poultry industry or meat & poultry inspection

OR
18 months experience as Veterinarian, 65915
AND
Accreditation under CFR, Title 9, Part 161 issued by United States Department of Agriculture

**Must have valid driver's license from state of residence to operate a state vehicle.

Supplemental Information

This position is overtime exempt.

If you require an accommodation for the interview process or the position, please notify the assigned recruiter.

Unusual Working Conditions**:**
Travel required with some overnight stays; exposed to diseased animals & carcasses; non-standard work weeks which may include evenings and weekends.

Training & Development Required to Remain in Classification After Employment**:**
Biannual renewal of license to practice veterinary medicine issued by Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board; retention of United States Department of Agriculture (i.e. USDA) accreditation. Foreign Animal Disease Diagnostician training, Tuberculosis training, obtain FDA credentials (requires background check and fingerprinting). Must maintain federal veterinary accreditation status under CFR, Title 9, Part 161 issued by USDA.

For Questions Regarding This Posting Please Contact:
Keary Sorgini
HR@agri.ohio.gov

The final candidate selected for the position will be required to undergo a criminal background check. Criminal convictions do not necessarily preclude an applicant from consideration for a position. An individual assessment of an applicant's prior criminal convictions will be made before excluding an applicant from consideration.

The State of Ohio is a drug-free Workplace which prohibits the use of marijuana (recreational marijuana/non-medical cannabis). T****he candidate tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to urinalysis to test for illegal drug use prior to appointments. Testing will also be performed for the presence of marijuana. An applicant with a positive test shall not be offered employment unless the applicant submits medical documentation of legally prescribed medications or a recommendation for medical marijuana. A candidate who tests positive for illegal or improperly used controlled drugs will not be hired.

ADA Statement

Ohio is a Disability Inclusion State and strives to be a model employer of individuals with disabilities. The State of Ohio is committed to providing access and inclusion and reasonable accommodation in its services, activities, programs and employment opportunities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other applicable laws.

Drug-Free Workplace

The State of Ohio is a drug-free workplace which prohibits the use of marijuana (recreational marijuana/non-medical cannabis). Please note, this position may be subject to additional restrictions pursuant to the State of Ohio Drug-Free Workplace Policy (HR-39), and as outlined in the posting.