Agricultural and Standards Investigator I

Job Description:

Agricultural and Standards Investigator I

Description

Introduction

THIS IS A NEW ASSEMBLED EXAMINATION. The eligible list resulting from this examination will cancel any existing list and may last approximately one year but can be extended.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE: A properly completed Supplemental Questionnaire must be submitted with each application. Failure to submit the Application or Supplemental Questionnaire will result in disqualification.

Applications and Supplemental Questionnaires must be in the possession of the Human Resource Services Department by 5:00:00 p.m. on the Last Day for Filing.

APPLICATIONS AND SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED ONLINE.

DESCRIPTION

THE AGENCY

The Alameda County Community Development Agency's mission is to enhance the quality of life of Alameda County residents and plan for the future well-being of the County's diverse communities; to balance the physical, economic and social needs of County residents through land use planning, environmental management, neighborhood improvement, and community development, and to promote and protect agriculture, the environment, economic vitality and human health.

The Community Development Agency houses the following departments: Planning Department, Housing and Community Development, Agriculture Weights and Measures, Healthy Homes Department, and Economic and Civic Development Department.

For more information about the agency, please visit : Alameda County Community Development Agency .

THE POSITION

Under close supervision, the Agricultural and Standards Investigator I enforces state and federal laws and regulations and investigates violations of the California Food and Agricultural Code and the California Business and Professions Code. The Agricultural and Standards Investigator I assists in fruit, vegetable, honey and egg quality control inspections; inspection and testing of all commercial weighing and measuring devices; inspection of nurseries and seed dealers; inspection of pre-packaged commodities for accuracy of weight, measure, or count; inspections and investigations of point-of-sale transactions; the control and prevention of vertebrate, weed and agricultural pest infestations; pesticide use enforcement inspections and investigation to protect human health and the environment; and, performs related work as required.

For detailed information about the job classification, please click the following: Agricultural and Standards Investigator I (#8418).

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education :

Possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with specialization in agricultural or biological science, chemistry, physics, mathematics, engineering, or other job-related majors such as law enforcement, commerce, and marketing. The California Department of Food and Agriculture County Licensing Program reviews applicant college transcripts to make the final determination regarding qualifications for licensing examinations.

Special Requirements :

• All candidates must acquire at least one of the following eight County Agricultural Biologist and County Weights and Measures Inspector licenses issued by the California Department of Food and Agriculture within twelve months from date of hire: Pesticide Regulation; Investigation and Environmental Monitoring; Commodity Regulation; Integrated Pest Management; Pest Prevention and Plant Regulation; Weight Verification; Measurement Verification; and Transaction and Product Verification.
• Possession of a valid California Motor Vehicle Operator's license.

NOTE: The Civil Service Commission may modify the above Minimum Qualifications in the announcement of an examination.

KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS

The most suitably qualified candidates will possess the following competencies:

Knowledge of :

• Federal, State and local agricultural weights and measures laws, regulations, procedures, and practices, and their application.
• Record-keeping systems.
• Basic Entomology, Botany, Biology and Chemistry.
• Agricultural pests and their control.
• Elementary physics and arithmetic.
• All safety practices relating to weights and measures, and agricultural activities and their application.
• Principles, mechanics, and care of equipment and testing devices, and of methods and techniques of inspecting.
• Current agricultural and weights and measures issues.

Ability to :

• Learn, interpret, explain and enforce local, state and federal laws and regulations pertinent to the work.
• Utilize standard methods of inspection and identification.
• Use appropriate safety clothing and equipment.
• Collect and identify important pests.
• Use and maintain sensitive mechanical weighing and measuring devices.
• Develop and maintain an effective working relationship with co-workers, business contacts, and the general public.
• Communicate orally, write effectively, and prepare complete and accurate reports and records.
• Periodically perform strenuous physical tasks requiring a moderate degree of manual dexterity, which may involve lifting up to 50 pounds.
• Learn to operate specialized equipment (e.g. four-wheel drive vehicles, forklifts, all terrain vehicles, power sprayers, bait mixing and application equipment).

EXAMINATION COMPONENTS

The examination will consist of the following steps:
A review of the applicants’ application and supplemental questionnaire to verify possession of minimum requirements. Those candidates who possess the minimum requirements for the class will move on to the next step in the examination process. A review of candidates' supplemental questionnaire to select the best qualified candidates to continue in the process. Those candidates considered the best qualified will move on to the final step of the examination process. An oral examination weighted as 100% of the candidate's final examination score. The oral interview will be administered virtually and may contain situational exercises.
CANDIDATES MUST ATTAIN A QUALIFYING RATING ON EACH PORTION OF THIS EXAMINATION.

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED EXAMINATION COMPONENTS.

Alameda County utilizes a Civil Service Selection System founded on merit. Such a system is competitive and based on broad recruitment efforts and equal opportunity for qualified applicants to test in an examination process designed to determine the qualifications, fitness and ability of competitors to perform duties of the vacant position. Many of our recruitments are targeted and specific to the needs of a current vacant position, in which case, the eligible list may be exclusively used for that current vacant position. Other recruitments may be more broadly used for both current and future vacancies, or for other alternate jobs with comparable scopes of work.

To learn more about our recruitment and selection process, please visit the “What You Need to Know” section of our website, https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/ .

RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION PLAN

The County will inform applicants, via email and with reasonable notice in advance, of any examination process that will require their attendance. The following dates are tentative and subject to change based on operational needs.

RECRUITMENT PLAN

Deadline for Filing:

5:00 p.m., Thursday, December 18, 2025

Review of Applications for Minimum Qualifications:

By Friday, December 19, 2025
Review of Supplemental Questionnaire for Best Qualified : Week of January 5, 2026
Virtual Civil Service Pre-Recorded Oral Interview Examination:

January 16 - 26, 2026
Rating of Pre-Recorded Oral Interview Examination: January 28 - February 6, 2026
Notification of Results:

Week of February 9, 2026

SELECTION PLAN

Department Hiring Interviews:

Week of February 23, 2026

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES TO THE ANNOUNCED RECRUITMENT & SELECTION PLAN

Alameda County and the Human Resource Services Department will make reasonable efforts in the examination and/or selection process to accommodate qualified individuals with disabilities and/or medical conditions in accordance/compliance with the State Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), Federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Alameda County’s Reasonable Accommodation Policy and applicable statues. To request an accommodation due to a disability/medical condition during this or other phases of the examination/selection process, please contact the assigned Human Resources Representative listed on the job announcement before the last date of filing. Alameda County requires applicants to provide supporting documentation to substantiate a request for reasonable accommodation. In order to qualify for a reasonable accommodation, applicants must have a disability/medical condition pursuant to the ADA, FEHA and applicable statues.

For more information regarding our Reasonable Accommodation procedures, please visit our website, https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/.

BENEFITS

The County offers a comprehensive and competitive benefits package that affords wide-ranging health care options to meet the different needs of a diverse workforce and their families. We also sponsor many employee discount, fitness and health screening programs focused on overall wellbeing. These benefits include but are not limited to*:

For your Health & Well-Being

• Medical - HMO & PPO Plans
• Dental - HMO & PPO Plans
• Vision or Vision Reimbursement
• Share the Savings
• Basic Life Insurance
• Supplemental Life Insurance (with optional dependent coverage for eligible employees)
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
• County Allowance Credit
• Flexible Spending Accounts - Health FSA, Dependent Care and Adoption Assistance
• Short-Term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance
• Voluntary Benefits - Accident Insurance, Critical Illness, Long-Term Care, Hospital Indemnity and Legal Services
• Employee Assistance Program

For your Financial Future

• Retirement Plan - (Defined Benefit Pension Plan)
• Deferred Compensation Plan (457 Plan or Roth Plan)

For your Work/Life Balance

• 12 paid holidays
• Floating Holidays
• Vacation and sick leave accrual
• Vacation purchase program
• Catastrophic Sick Leave
• Pet Insurance
• Commuter Benefits Program
• Guaranteed Ride Home
• Employee Wellness Program (e.g. At Work Fitness, Incentive Based Programs, Gym Membership Discounts)
• Employee Discount Program (e.g. theme parks, cell phone, etc.)
• Child Care Resources
• 1 st United Services Credit Union

*Eligibility is determined by Alameda County and offerings may vary by collective bargaining agreement. This provides a summary of the benefits offered and can be subject to change.

Conclusion

All notices related to County recruitments for which you have applied will be sent/delivered via email. Please add @acgov.org, @jobaps.com, NoReply@jobaps.com, and NoReplyAlamedaCountyHR@acgov.org as accepted addresses to any email blocking or spam filtering program you may use. If you do not do this, your email blocking or spam filtering program may block receipt of the notices regarding your application for recruitments. You are also strongly advised to regularly log into your County of Alameda online application account to check for notices that may have been sent to you. All email notices that will be sent to you will also be kept in your personal online application account. You will be able to view all of your notices in your online application account by clicking on the 'My applications' button on the Current Job Openings page.

Please take the steps recommended above to ensure you do not miss any notices about a recruitment for which you have applied. The County of Alameda is not responsible for notices that are not read, received or accessed by any applicant for a County recruitment.

NOTE: All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email boxes Noreply@acgov.org and NoReplyAlamedaCountyHR@acgov.org are routed to unmonitored mailboxes. All notices are generated through an automated email notification system. Replies to the email box are routed to an unmonitored mailbox. If you have questions, please go to our website at https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/ . You may also contact the Human Resources Analyst listed on the job announcement for the recruitment for which you have applied.

Maria Tabora | Human Resources Analyst

Human Resource Services, County of Alameda

(510) 272-6463 | Maria.Tabora@acgov.org

https://hrs.alamedacountyca.gov/

DISASTER SERVICE WORKER

All Alameda County employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law. Employment with the County requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to report to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.

EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Alameda County has a diverse workforce, that is representative of the communities we serve and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All aspects of employment are based on merit, competence, performance and business need. Alameda County does not discriminate in employment on the basis of, race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or other non-merit factors protected under federal, state and local law. Alameda County celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive, and welcoming workplace environment.

Closing Date/Time: 12/18/2025 5:00:00 PM

Salary:

$38.22 - $45.88/hour; $74,529.00 - $89,466.00/year