Environmental Health Subject Matter Expert

About Us

Flourish and Thrive Labs is a woman-owned and led consulting firm specializing in public health solutions. Our team, composed of former public health officials, works with state and local health departments across the country, building resilient public health operating systems. We pride ourselves on being different, holding ourselves to high ethical standards, and taking care of each other.

We view our company as an urban neighborhood—a diverse group of individuals coming together to live and work, embracing the beauty in that diversity. We are a wacky bunch who are intent on spreading joy! (We just mailed out stickers to over 200 local health health professionals because we felt they could use more joy!)

As Salesforce, Microsoft, Snowflake, and AWS partners, we specialize in technology implementation with a strong people focus. We combine this with strategic planning, data analysis, coaching, and facilitation to effectively support local public health department staff.

Our Core Values Are

• People First
• Focus on Capacity Building
• Belief in Continuous Experimentation
• By Public Health; For Public Health
• We Do What Is Right. Always.

We're seeking passionate, joyful individuals who align with our ethos of being different and making a difference.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A TEAM MEMBER WITH PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERIENCE (LOCAL/ TRIBAL/ STATE/ FEDERAL).

About Consulting At Flourish & Thrive Labs

If you're new to consulting, we want to help you understand what makes Flourish & Thrive Labs different and why our approach might be perfect for you. We know transitioning from government and non-profit to consulting can be a big step, but we've designed our work environment to blend the best of both worlds.

First, let's talk about how we work. Unlike traditional consulting firms, we hire you for a role, not a specific project. This means you can contribute to various initiatives that match your expertise and interests. Think of it as bringing your public health superpowers to different challenges where they're needed most.

We believe in measuring what matters. While many consulting firms focus on billable hours, we care about the quality and impact of your work. Time sheets don't measure your success with us – it's measured by the meaningful solutions you help create for our clients and their communities.

Yes, we have utilization targets (consulting speak for how much of your time is spent on client work), but we view these as guideposts rather than strict rules. They help us ensure we're making a sustainable impact while maintaining a healthy business. These targets are meant to motivate, not to create stress.

One of the most dynamic aspects of consulting is its natural rhythm. Some weeks might be bustling with activity, while others might be quieter. We embrace these ebbs and flows because they create space for both intense, focused work and time for learning, reflection, and personal growth. This is part of our philosophy that work and life shouldn't be at odds – they should be integrated in a sustainable and energizing way.

At our core, we're built on a simple belief: when our team members flourish, our clients flourish, and ultimately, communities thrive. That's why we've created an environment that supports your growth, values your expertise, and understands that the best solutions come from people who feel empowered and energized by their work.

If you're passionate about public health and excited about the possibility of expanding your impact through consulting, we'd love to talk with you. Your experience in public health is valuable, and we're here to help you apply it in new and meaningful ways.

Environmental Health Subject Matter Expert

WE ARE LOOKING FOR A TEAM MEMBER WITH DEEP ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH EXPERTISE IN LICENSING, PERMITTING, AND INSPECTIONS, IDEALLY SOMEONE WHO HAS LED OR MANAGED THESE PROGRAMS AT A LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND HAS EXPERIENCE WITH ENTERPRISE IT IMPLEMENTATIONS. IF YOU HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE, PLEASE ENSURE IT IS CLEAR ON YOUR RESUME.

Compensation Note: If a salary range is listed for this position, please note that we will offer at the starting point of the band. We cover 100% of your health insurance!

Role Overview

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.

How You'll Work

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.

Key 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

Experience Required

• 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

Strongly Preferred

• 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

Preferred Qualifications

• 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

Key skills/competency

• Environmental Health Programs
• Licensing & Permitting
• Inspections & Compliance
• Enterprise IT Implementation
• Public Health Solutions
• Agile Methodologies (SAFe)
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Technical Translation
• Data Analysis
• Change Management