This Industrial Hygienist position is within the Safety and Emergency Management service at the Bedford VA Healthcare System, located in Bedford, MA. It is full-time at 40 hours per week.

Duties

The incumbent serves in a medical center in an Industrial Hygiene program to access work practices and environmental conditions for hazards to the health and safety of workers. Duties include, but are not limited to: Conducts studies of work operations and processes, examining work environments, analyzing findings, promulgating recommendations, and preparing various reports; Inspects the medical center to identify potential occupational health hazards and the need for further investigative studies and surveys; Determines compliance with various established criteria, evaluates exposures, and advises on control measures and changes in work procedures or schedules to comply with established health requirements; Studies and tests materials associated with the work operation or work environment; Performs analysis to determine nature and degree of toxic materials present; Recommends procedures that will be suitable and effective for the environment; Receives and disposes of hazardous wastes and maintains appropriate records in accordance with existing EPA standards, state laws, and VA regulations; Prepares comprehensive and legally sufficient written reports of all monitoring activities performed which are subsequently incorporated into comprehensive reports prepared to assess the overall effectiveness of the industrial hygiene program; and Other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:00am - 3:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Not authorized. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Position Description Title/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PDSPD-03433-A, PDSPD-03432-A, and PDSPD-03431-A 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. Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation, therefor traditional veteran's preference does not apply.

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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/11/2024. Individual Occupational Requirement 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; 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. 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. GS-7 Grade Level Requirements: In addition to the basic requirements, to qualify at the GS-7 grade level, applicants must have: 1 year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement (in a related field of study - transcripts required) OR 1 year of experience equal to a GS-5 level performing recognition, evaluation, corrective actions, and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that causes sickness, impaired health, or illness. (Must be well documented in resume) OR A combination of education and experience that consists of the total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. (Transcripts must be provided to show coursework, and experience must be fully documented in the resume) GS-9 Grade Level Requirements: In addition to the basic requirements, to qualify at the GS-9 grade level, applicants must have: 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree (in a related field of study - transcripts required) OR 1 year of experience equal to a GS-7 level that demonstrates a professional knowledge of the theory and application of the principles of industrial hygiene and closely related sciences such as physics and engineering controls, as well as experience with the acquisition of quantitative and qualitative data, and the measurement of exposures for a variety of chemical, physical, and biological stresses (Must be well documented in resume) OR A combination of education and experience that consists of the total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. (Transcripts must be provided to show coursework, and experience must be fully documented in the resume) GS-11 Grade Level Requirements: In addition to the basic requirements, to qualify at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must have: 3 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree (in a related field of study - transcripts required) OR 1 year of experience equal to a GS-9 level that demonstrates 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. (Must be well documented in resume) OR A combination of education and experience that consists of the total qualifying education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; finally, add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. (Transcripts must be provided to show coursework, and experience must be fully documented in the resume) 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 performance of duties requires long periods of walking, standing, crawling, kneeling and bending. Moderate lifting and carrying of equipment, use of personal protective devices, and work in hazardous and confined spaces is required. Use of all appendages, good vision, and hearing are necessary. Emotional and mental stability are 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

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 VA Bedford Healthcare System 200 Springs Road Bedford, MA 01730 US
• Name: Samantha Roberts
• Phone: 612-978-6318
• Email: [email protected]