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Industrial Hygienist

Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is location in the U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration. 

Appointee must sign a DOL Pathways Recent Graduate Program Participant Agreement.

The entire duration of the Recent Graduate Appointment constitutes a trial period.

Selectees salary will be adjusted based on location selected for if applicable.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
04/01/2022 to 04/15/2022
Salary
$44,740 to - $79,093 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 07 - 09
Locations
Few vacancies in the following locations:
Peoria, IL
Tinley Park, IL
Independence, OH
Madison, WI
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - May be required for office support, trainings or meetings.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Recent Graduates
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
12 - There is no obligation to provide future promotions to you if you are selected. Promotions are dependent on your ability to perform the duties at a higher level, the need for an employee promoted to the higher level, and supervisory approval.
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
PW-22-BOS-OSHA-381
Control number
646168600

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Eligible recent graduates from qualifying educational institutions. Refer to "Qualifications and Evaluations" section for more information. *Note: Students who are expected to graduate within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement may apply.

Duties

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  • THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION.
  • Position is inside the bargaining unit and requires pre-employment physical and a valid drivers license.
  • Additional selections may be made from this announcement if funding becomes available
  • A recruitment bonus may be available. 

Major Duties of this position: 

Duties at the GS-7 Level - 

  • Participates as a member of an inspection team and assists in planning for the inspection. May conduct a limited segment of a major inspection or a small investigation where the hazard and exposures are predictable in advance.
  • Conducts research and studies records and files covering mishaps, injuries, and illnesses.
  • Assists in the documentation of conducted portions of investigations to help support a legally sufficient case. Takes photographs and videos of apparent violations of occupational safety and health standards.
  • Responds to requests for information on OSHA policies, regulations, and programs.

Duties at the GS-9 Level -

  • Assists in assessing the quality and uniformity of inspection programs and interviews officials in order to identify real of potential problems.
  • Assists in conducting, evaluating and analyzing select portions of OSHA programs, procedures, inspections, citations, and reports to determine compliance with approved occupational safety standards and programs.
  • Evaluates inspection records, assists in conducting investigations, and prepares select reports. Participates in re-inspections of workplaces previously inspected by state compliance personnel.
  • Assists in planning and conducting portions of or limited inspections or compliance reviews of private businesses and worksites whose operations are generally characterized by the presence of moderately stable, low-risk processes and some higher hazards and unsafe working conditions.
  • Writes complete and legally sufficient case files documenting all inspection procedures, interviews, sampling, identified hazards, and corrective actions.
  • Assists in conducting or may conduct opening and closing conferences with management officials, employees, and labor representatives regarding enforcement findings and applicable occupational safety and health policies and regulations.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Appointment to this position may require a background investigation.
  • Requires a valid drivers license. Requires a medical examination.
  • U.S. Citizenship and must be at least 16 years old.
  • Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.
  • Subject to drug test prior to appointment at GS-11 and GS-12 grade levels.
  • You will be required to lift items weighing up to 25 pounds.
  • This position requires the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

This is an appointment is under the DOL Recent Graduates program. The program duration is one year.

This position requires an initial medical examination and reoccurring medical examinations throughout employment in this position, as a condition of employment. If you refuse the medical examination, do not submit required medical documentation, or do not meet the medical requirements of the position, the tentative job offer will be rescinded and you will not be extended a final job offer or may be removed from Federal service. The legal authority to conduct medical examinations is found under 5 CFR § 339.301 - Authority to require an examination.

All applicants may be required to provide a writing sample at the interview.

Appointee must be a U.S. citizen in order to be eligible for conversion to a permanent position in the competitive service upon completion of the program. Upon successful completion of the program and at the agency's discretion, the appointee may be converted to a term or permanent position in the competitive service.

Notification Concerning COVID-19 Vaccinations.  As required by Executive Order 14043, Federal executive branch employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 regardless of the employee's duty location or work arrangement (e.g., telework, remote work, etc.), subject to such exceptions as required by law.  If selected, you will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and to submit documentation of proof of vaccination or to be in the process of requesting an exception to the vaccination requirement before appointment or onboarding with the agency.  The agency will provide additional information regarding which forms of documentation can be accepted and how you can request to be considered for a legally required exception from this requirement.

Currently, implementation and enforcement of Executive Order 14043 has been suspended pursuant to an injunction pending further litigation.

Qualifications

THIS POSITION HAS A INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT. ALL APPLICANTS MUST MEET THIS REQUIREMENT IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED.

Basic Requirements:

The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. Applicants must meet one of the following requirements:

  • A bachelor’s or graduate/higher level degree in industrial hygiene, occupational health sciences, occupational and environmental health, toxicology, safety sciences, or related science; or
  • A bachelor’s degree in a branch of engineering, physical science, or life science that included 12 semester hours in chemistry, including organic chemistry, and 18 additional semester hours of courses in any combination of chemistry, physics, engineering, health physics, environmental health, biostatistics, biology, physiology, toxicology, epidemiology, or industrial hygiene; or
  • Certification from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (external link) (ABIH).

Evaluation of Education: All science or engineering courses offered in fulfillment of the above requirements must be acceptable for credit toward the completion of a standard 4-year professional curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in science or engineering at an accredited college or university.

Evaluation of Experience:

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Qualifying experience involves the recognition, evaluation, corrective actions, and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that causes sickness, impaired health, or illness. This experience must demonstrate a professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of industrial hygiene and closely related sciences such as physics and engineering controls.  Such work must have involved experience in all of the following areas: the acquisition of quantitative and qualitative data, and the measurement of exposures for a variety of chemical, physical, and biological stresses; the analysis of the data acquired and the prediction of probable effects of exposures on the health and well-being of workers; and the selection and recommendation of appropriate controls, including management, medical, engineering, education or training, and personal protective equipment.

Specialized Experience is experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the Industrial Hygienist. 


For the GS-07 level:

In addition to meeting the individual occupational requirement, applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-05, in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience in:

*Identifying occupational health and safety hazards;
*Evaluating occupational safety and/or occupational health programs and making recommendations for improvement when deficiencies are noted;
*Applying occupational safety and/or occupational health standards and criteria to unsafe working conditions;
*Interpreting and/or applying standards and/or criteria and/or operating instructions for occupational safety and/or occupational health;
*Assisting in the planning of and/or conducting basic occupational safety and/or occupational health inspections of workplaces. These inspections involve some or all of the following:

  • Health sampling;
  • Chemical exposures and/or overexposures;
  • Noise exposures and/or overexposures;
  • Equipment and/or machine operations;
  • Environmental conditions;
  • Work practices;
  • Protective devices and/or protective equipment;
  • Safety procedures

For the GS-09 level:

In addition to meeting the individual occupational requirement, applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-07, in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is defined as experience in:

*Assisting in the planning of and/or conducting occupational safety and/or occupational health inspections of workplaces where the exposures and types of hazards are predictable in advance. Examples may include the following:

  •   Health sampling;
  •  Chemical exposures and/or overexposures;
  •  Noise exposures and/or overexposures;
  •  Equipment and/or machine operations;
  •  Environmental conditions;
  •  Work practices;
  •  Protective devices and/or protective equipment;
  •  Safety procedures

*Conducting research and studies records and/or files regarding any of the following:

  • Occupational safety and/or occupational health mishaps/accidents;
  • Occupational safety and/or occupational health injuries;
  • Equipment maintenance data.

*Identifying occupational health and safety hazard;
*Assisting in developing legally sufficient occupational safety and/or occupational health investigation or inspection reports;
*Assisting in and/or knowledge of calculating penalties to be assessed based on the gravity of occupational safety and/or occupational health violations.

Education Substitution:

Some federal jobs allow you to substitute your education for the required experience in order to qualify.  For this job, you may qualify if your education meets the definitions below:

Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study - safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or degree in other related fields that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours of study from among the following (or closely related) disciplines: safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, toxicology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, and industrial psychology.

For the GS-07 level: 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement (S.A.A)

S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership.

  1. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses.
  2. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)-- Applicants must have a grade-point average of:

    1. 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or
    2. 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.
  3. Election to membership in a national scholastic honor society

For the GS-09 level: Master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree.

Education

To be eligible for an appointment, you must meet the requirement A or B:

A. Completed all requirements for Associates, Bachelors, Masters, Professional, Doctorate, Vocational, or Technical Degree or certificate from a qualifying educational institution within the previous two years;

or

B. Was released or discharged from active duty within the previous two years, where the applicant is a veteran who, due to a military service obligation, was precluded from applying for a recent graduate position during any portion of the two-year eligibility period following completion of his/her degree or certificate requirements, provided that not more than six years have transpired since the applicant completed the requirements for a degree or certificate.

You must submit an academic transcript from your academic institution showing the date that you most recently completed the academic requirements described above. See the "Required Documents" section of this announcement. To use your education as a basis for meeting the Minimum Qualification Requirements (MQR) for this position, you must submit academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements. If specific course work is required to fulfill the MQR, you must supply transcripts from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken to receive credit for that course work. See the "Qualifications and Evaluations" section of this announcement for more details.

If you do not submit sufficient academic documentation demonstrating that you meet the eligibility and MQR for this position, your application will be deemed incomplete & any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum course work requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information or you will be ineligible for further consideration.

Additional information

Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services.

DOL seeks to attract and retain a high performing and diverse workforce in which employees’ differences are respected and valued to better meet the varying needs of the diverse customers we serve. DOL fosters a diverse and inclusive work environment that promotes collaboration, flexibility and fairness so that all individuals are able to participate and contribute to their full potential.

Refer to these links for more information:

GENERAL INFORMATIONADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATIONFORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES

Additional vacancies may be filled using this announcement, if authorized.

Position Telework eligibility is determined by management based on position duties during the recruitment process. Employee participation in telework on a routine or situational basis is determined by management primarily based on business needs.  Employees participating in telework are subject to the terms and conditions of the Department of Labor’s Telework Program.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Applicants meeting the eligibility and minimum qualification requirements will be evaluated against the competencies described below and will be placed into one of the following quality categories, based on responses to the vacancy questionnaire:

Categories:

Category A (Best Qualified) - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and has successful experience in the same or similar job that has demonstrated superior proficiency in applying critical competencies required by this position to work of increased levels of difficulty and complexity.

Category B (Well Qualified) - Meets the basic qualification requirements for the vacancy and demonstrates satisfactory proficiency in the critical competencies required by this position.

Category C (Qualified) - Meets the specialized experience described in the minimum qualifications requirements section of this announcement and demonstrates proficiency in the basic competencies.

Evaluation Factors (Competencies) - All qualified applicants will be evaluated on the following key competencies:

Interpersonal Skills: Shows understanding, friendliness, courtesy, tact, empathy, concern, and politeness to others; develops and maintains effective relationships with others; may include effectively dealing with individuals who are difficult, hostile, or distressed; relates well to people from varied backgrounds and different situations; is sensitive to cultural diversity, race, gender, disabilities, and other individual differences.

Problem Solving: Identifies problems; determines accuracy and relevance of information; uses sound judgment to generate and evaluate alternatives, and to make recommendations.

Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on-the-job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues.

Self Management: Sets well-defined and realistic personal goals; displays a high level of initiative, effort, and commitment towards completing assignments in a timely manner.

Technology Application: Uses machines, tools, instruments, or equipment effectively; uses computers and computer applications to analyze and communicate information in the appropriate format./ Information Management - Identifies a need for and knows where or how to gather information; organizes and maintains information or information management systems.

The information you provide may be verified by a review of your work experience and/or education, by checking references and through other means (ex. interview). Your resume MUST provide sufficient information to substantiate your responses to the vacancy questions. If not, the Office of Human Resources (OHR) may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the level of competency indicated by the content of your resume. Your evaluation may also include a review by a Human Resources Specialist or panel and may include other assessments (ex. interview, panel review, written test, writing sample, etc.) Referrals will be made in accordance with applicable reemployment priority and/or veterans’ preference requirements. Click Application of Veterans Preference for Category Rating Jobs for more information.


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