This position is located in the Safety Office, VA Medical Center, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C. The incumbent serves as an Industrial Hygienist at Washington VAMC and surrounding community-based clinics and is the primary industrial hygienist providing respiratory protection. The incumbent is responsible for interpreting and implementing IH policies and programs in accordance with the Veteran's Health Administration (VHA) and Washington VAMC policies and other guidance.

Duties

Major Duties and Responsibilities: Analyzes IH-related issues and problems, resulting in findings and conclusions that lead to continual improvement of industrial hygiene programs at the DCVAMC. Provides technical advice and direction to management, professionals, and technical personnel regarding the development and implementation of the facility's IH program. Plans, organizes, implements, oversees, and provides technical assistance for projects to resolve safety and industrial hygiene problems. Measures the effectiveness of existing industrial hygiene programs and makes recommendations for additions to industrial hygiene program(s) as needed to meet changing industrial hygiene requirements. Develop healthcare decontamination and respiratory protection programs. Resolves difficult and complex technical, project management, and organizational problems using innovative and original approaches. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-4:30 pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD000690 and PD513250 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized for highly qualified applicants. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 12/17/2023. Time-In-Grade Requirement: Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade at any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-12 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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 a 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 of 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. This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement - for this series the following Basic Requirement must be met in addition to the Specialized Experience. Basic Requirement: 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). AND 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. In addition to meeting the Basic Education Requirements, you must meet the following specialized experience: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience is defined as the recognition, evaluation, corrective actions, and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that cause 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 to 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. 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. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Planning and EvaluatingProject ManagementSafety EngineeringTechnical Competence 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. Work Environment: The incumbent is subjected to all the risks and discomforts associated with the VA Medical Center's industrial hygiene review activities. This exposure may require the use of protective clothing and equipment, including respirators, hardhats, and ear protectors. May encounter exposure to hazardous materials, including biological, chemical, and radioactive agents. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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.

Contacts

• Address Washington VA Medical Center 50 Irving Street, Northwest Washington, DC 20422 US
• Name: Carla White
• Phone: 1-832-316-9423
• Email: [email protected]