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Industrial Hygienist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
This job announcement has closed

Summary

Industrial Hygienist, GS-0690, Omaha, Nebraska, the incumbent serves as the Industrial Hygienist for the Nebraska Western Iowa Health Care System. The industrial hygienist serves to recognize, evaluate and control environmental workplace conditions or stressors which may cause sickness, impaired health, significant discomfort or inefficiency to health care system staff, patients and visitors.

Overview

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Job canceled
Open & closing dates
06/30/2022 to 07/22/2022
Salary
$55,071 to - $86,615 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Location
Omaha, NE
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Announcement number
CBSY-11549676-22-MB
Control number
663073400

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.205) for this occupation.

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Duties

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Duties include but are not limited to:

  • Manage the Industrial Hygiene Program and provide safety and health services/expertise in the development of policies/procedures/training to the complex Health Care System.
  • Responsible for protecting employees/customers from exposure to toxic substances, harmful physical agents, and other safety/health hazards.
  • Develop safety/health training for the Health Care System.
  • Train employees on a variety of safety and health subjects, including chemical, biological and physical safety/health requirements.
  • Adapts various available media to fit special and unique training requirements and participates in the development of safety/health training activities.
  • Participates in process improvement projects, provides customer service and participates in training sessions for VAMC personnel.
  • Develops, plans, coordinates, administers and evaluates safety/health programs, industrial hygiene policies, programs and procedural documentation.
  • Determines compliance with published health standards and regulations and analyses procedures used to eliminate, reduce, or abate occupational health hazards.
  • Participates as the head or member of various committees to ensure consistent and appropriate industrial hygiene considerations and measures are incorporated into policy and procedures.
  • Works with various outside contractors in connection with safety and health related needs and topics.
  • Assist with review of plans and specifications to identify and create processes to improve safety and health for the Health Care System.
  • Devise control measures such as changes in work procedures, systems, materials or the use of personal protective equipment.
  • Schedules and performs surveys of patient care and non-patient care activities for the nature, magnitude and controls of hazardous exposures related to safety and health issues.
  • Performs accident investigations, injury/illness recordkeeping, safety/health complaints, sampling and takes action to resolve noted problems.
  • Advises senior level management officials, supervisors, and employees on the status of safety and occupational health programs and recommends changes in the design of work programs to meet new and existing safety and health standards.
  • Evaluate Service-specific Safety/Health Plans for completeness and compliance with Joint Commission, National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and VA standards.
  • Performs special environmental monitoring/sampling tasks, using a variety of instruments, to determine occupational exposures. Sample results will be analyzed and compared to established exposure limits.
  • Manages safety/health programs such as, but not limited to, the Respiratory Protection Program, Joint Commission Management Plans, Personal Protective Equipment, Confined Space Program and serves as the Asbestos Program Manager for the Health Cara System.
  • Responsible for respiratory protection program development, fit testing and training.
Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Mon-Fri, 8am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible:
Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD704530 and PD706120
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for highly qualified applicants
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Bargaining Unit Status: Yes
Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • You may be required to serve a probationary period
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
  • Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/22/2022.

Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09 and for GS-09 you must have 52 weeks at the GS-07. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade. Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.


You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

This position has an Individual Occupational Requirement that must be met: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 (ABIH).

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

Evaluation of 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.

In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirement, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
  • Specialized Experience GS 09: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience would typically include experience performing three of the following tasks: operate industrial hygiene monitoring equipment, perform sampling related, evaluating environmental stresses and suggest possible approaches to eliminate or reduce such stresses and utilize computers and related software. mathematical equations and analyze related data.; OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have completed 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree. OR,
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond master's level.
  • Specialized Experience GS 11: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience would typically include experience performing three of the following tasks: recommending changes to critical safety and/or industrial hygiene programs; interpreting and applying safety/health/industrial hygiene policies or laws; performing safety and industrial hygiene risk assessments; performing inspections/audits; conducting sampling tests to evaluate occupational hazards; conducting training on safety and/or industrial hygiene programs; OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. OR,
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond master's level.


  • Chemistry
  • Compliance
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Safety Engineering


Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: Inspection work requires frequent visitations to areas that are cramped, confined, noisy, or where temperature extremes or inclement weather conditions exist. Such inspection work may require long periods of standing, climbing ladders/stairs, crouching, stretching, reaching, lifting, carrying sampling equipment, wearing of personnel protective equipment and other physical movement to observe work operations, conduct inspections and investigations. Incumbent will occasionally be required to lift and move heavy or awkward objects, usually not exceeding 40 lbs. Driving between multiple facility settings is required.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.


If you are unable to apply online or need to fax a document you do not have in electronic form, view the following link for information regarding an Alternate Application.

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.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

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