Industrial hygienists in the VA perform a variety of functions related to the identification, evaluation, and control of occupational health hazards and to the promotion of healthful and safe working conditions. Their work includes surveys; coordination with other health and safety specialists; administration of industrial hygiene programs; review of design plans for hazard control, investigation of causative agents for occupational illness; and the provision of education and training programs.

Duties

Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• 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

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): To meet the basic qualification of the 0690 Industrial Hygienist Occupational Series: A bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree in industrial hygiene, occupational health sciences, occupational and environmental health, toxicology, safety sciences, or related; 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). In addition to the IOR listed above, applicants must meet the specific grade level requirements. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below for each grade level: GS-09: Specialized Experience: 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: the recognition, evaluation, corrective actions, and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that causes sickness, impaired health, or illness; performing portions of industrial hygiene inspections which are being conducted by a higher-grade industrial hygienist; reviewing company's required recordkeeping, interviews employees, takes photographs and collects environmental samples using a variety of sampling equipment; presenting data and makes recommendations to higher-grade industrial hygienist on actions to be taken; drafting reports or portions of reports on industrial hygiene investigation; and performing field calibration of equipment; OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.B. or J.D., if related to the work of this position; 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 beyond the first 18 semester hours (i.e. beyond the first year of graduate level education). This can be determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the required experience and education as a percentage of the total required. The total percentage must equal 100 percent. Only education in excess of the first 18 semester hours (i.e. beyond the first year of graduate level education) is creditable towards meeting the specialized experience requirement.. GS-11: Specialized Experience: 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: performing industrial hygiene inspections with the assistance of higher grade industrial hygienists; participating in industrial hygiene inspections, working alongside other industrial hygienists and safety staff; presenting data and makes recommendations to higher grade industrial hygienists on actions to be taken; preparing sections of reports on industrial hygiene investigations and prepares portions of industrial hygiene program documentation; assisting with training employees and lower-grade safety staff in specific program requirements; and providing support for the Safety Committee, Accident Review Board, and/or Environment of Care (EOC) Committee; OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related to the work of the position; 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 the first 36 semester hours (i.e. beyond the first two years of graduate level education). This can be determined by adding total qualifying experience as a percentage of the required experience and education as a percentage of the total required. The total percentage must equal 100 percent. Only education in excess of the first two years is creditable towards meeting the specialized experience requirement at this grade level. 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: The work includes frequent inspections or surveys of industrial workplaces, requiring the employee to carry a considerable amount of equipment, and involve a good deal of walking, standing, bending, and climbing. 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.If you are basing your qualifications on education (or a combination of education and experience) or if the position requires a college education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application. Your official or unofficial transcript must reflect: name of the college or university, full address of the college or university, your name, class title(s) with the number of credits earned/completed, the degree received, if applicable, and date degree conferred. A copy of your certificate/degree or screenshot of your current classes are not a replacement of your transcript and they will not be used in the qualifying process.

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.

Contacts

• Address John D Dingell Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 4646 John R Street Detroit, MI 48201 US
• Name: Sandra Barber
• Phone: 313-310-9915
• Email: [email protected]