Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (COVID-19 - VA 004) in-accordance with 5 U.S.C. 3304(a)(3) and 5 CFR 337.205(b)(1)-(4). If you are a current permanent employee of the VA nationwide, you should apply to IM-11625285-22-RF

Duties Include:

• Assists in Occupational Safety and Health training for OGJVAMC personnel.
• Serves as an expert on issues related to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requirements, as well as for new or enhanced information system software related to occupational safety and health.
• Participates with national-level committees to ensure that consistent and appropriate industrial hygiene measures are followed. This includes interpretation of new or revised technical or management guidance material provided by VHA organizations, regulatory and advisory agencies and reviewing and commenting on technical reports or studies that relate to or impact the operation and maintenance of the OGJVAMC.
• Conducts surveys of working conditions to determine the nature and magnitude of hazardous exposures and the effectiveness of existing control measures.
• Applies appropriate sampling techniques and procedures and may oversee the work of contractors engaged to perform specific monitoring.
• Based on sampling results, observe operations regarding toxic or hazardous materials, prepares a technical report citing health hazards and setting forth recommended action for their control or elimination.
• Develop, implements, and maintains a robust Respiratory Protection Program in compliance with agency policy, regulatory standards, and current best practices. This involves subjects related to the management of respirator programs for occupation health especially in the healthcare setting including selection of appropriate protective devices, user training and evaluation of new devices, and leading OGJVAMC training and exercises.
• Keeps abreast of latest development in the field of industrial hygiene by review of technical publications, attending technical conferences or professional society meetings and discussions with industry representative as necessary.
• Develops, evaluates, and maintains corrective and preventive actions for respirator programs at OGJVAMC and recommends remedial actions to management for approval.
• Coordinates with engineers to develop control measures, such as changes in work procedures, systems, materials, or the use of personal protective equipment where hazardous exposures are discovered.
• Serves as a technical and program management expert and for the OGJVAMC with responsibility for providing leadership guidance, technical assistance and evaluation for matters involving industrial hygiene and respiratory protection.
• Supports the development of facility industrial hygiene policies, programs, and procedural documentation.
• Plans, conducts, or directs special studies concerned with occupational health problems which require the development or modification of air sampling equipment or protective devices or the evaluation of control measures for a specific operation.
• Performs work that requires knowledge of the organization of the facility, as well as the construction, operation, and maintenance of healthcare facilities.
• Cooperatively works with federal, state, and local environmental and occupational safety and health organizations in areas of mutual interest.
• Supports the Safety Management System (SMS) in providing industrial hygiene expertise in identification and remediation of occupational health concerns.
• Supports the Green Environmental Management Systems (GEMS) in managing hazardous waste and hazardous materials.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC 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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)
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. (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED)
OR
Certification from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (external link) (ABIH). (Proof of Certification Required)

NOTE: Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable.

NOTE: 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. For engineering degrees to be acceptable, the curriculum must be in a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) as a professional engineering curriculum.


In addition to meeting the Basic Education Requirements you must meet the following specialized experience and/or education to qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level.

Specialized Experience GS 11: At least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Industrial Hygienist position, and that is typically in or related to the duties of this position. To be credible, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the Federal service. 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.
OR
Substitution of Education for Experience GS-11: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, obtained in an accredited college or university, with a major field of study directly related to the position being filled. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. NOTE: Transcripts Required.
OR
Combination Education and Experience GS-11: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the Industrial Hygienist position may be used to meet the experience requirements for this position. For example, nine (9) months of appropriate specialized experience equivalent to GS-09 (75 percent of the experience requirement for GS-11) and 2.5 years of successfully completed graduate level education. (50 percent of the required education, i.e., the applicant has one half year of graduate study beyond that required for the GS-09), would exceed the total requirement and be qualified for the GS-11 position. NOTE: Only education in excess of 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education may be used to qualify at the grade 11 level. Transcripts Required.

Physical Requirements: Duties of the position require physical exertion and considerable walking, climbing, prolonged standing, and crouching, while carrying sampling equipment and measuring devices. Personal protective equipment must often be worn. The employee serving in this position is required to drive motor vehicles. Occasional travel is required.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.