This position is aligned under the Occupational Safety and Health/Emergency Management (OSH/EM) service at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center and provides for the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of comprehensive industrial hygiene and environmental compliance programs.

Duties

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. Duties at the Full Performance Level include: -Supports the development of facility industrial hygiene policies, programs, and procedural documentation. -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. -Devises or works with engineers to develop control measures, such as changes in work procedures, systems, materials or the use of personal protective equipment. -Participates with national-level committees to ensure that consistent and appropriate industrial hygiene measures are followed. -Responsible for planning and implementing a comprehensive Industrial Hygiene program -Assumes a lead role in the development of industrial hygiene goals, policy, and procedural documentation for a facility. -Works closely with facility leadership to review how industrial hygiene considerations are integrated into the planning and operational activities of the facility for which he/she is responsible. -Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 7:00AM-3:30PM Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD24114A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized 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, 03/27/2024. Basic Education 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(external link) (ABIH). In addition to meeting the Basic Education Requirements: Specialized Experience GS 09: 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-7 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position consists of: professional of knowledge of industrial hygiene concepts, principles, and practices applicable to the performance of relatively routine industrial hygiene inspections, or to portions of large and complex inspections; knowledge required to identify and evaluate occupational health hazards found in industrial operations where processes are still relatively simple and literature on the hazards is, in most cases, readily available; also, knowledge required to assist in more complex inspections; written and oral communication skills are needed to exchange information with representatives of serviced organizations; experience in organizing materials and speak in front of groups sufficient to conduct training; and knowledge to recognize environmental factors and stresses associated with complex work operations and to ascertain their effects on the health and well-being of workers. OR Substitution of Education for Experience GS-9: Masters or equivalent graduate degree, or successful completion of two (2) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree if related and if such education demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university, may be substituted to qualify for this grade 9 Industrial Hygienist position. 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. Transcripts Required. OR Combination Education and Experience GS-9: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the Industrial Hygienist position, which may be substituted to meet the experience requirements of the position. For example, 6 months of appropriate specialized experience equivalent to GS-07 (50 percent of the experience requirement for GS-9) and 1 year of successfully completed graduate education (18 semester hours), as is describe above, (50 percent of the education requirement for the GS-9) would qualify for a GS-9 position. Transcripts Required. 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Professional knowledge of industrial hygiene concepts, principles, and practices applicable to the conduct of industrial hygiene inspections in health care facilities; Knowledge of medical facility operations and processes, materials and equipment used, and by-products generated; Skill in the use of a variety of sampling instrumentation, knowledge of sampling strategies, and knowledge of the types and limitations of analytical methods; Knowledge of methods of control for a wide variety of health hazards, including toxic chemicals and noise; Ability to organize material and speak in front of groups sufficient to conduct training; Knowledge required to recognize environmental factors and stresses associated with complex work operations, and to ascertain their effects on the health and wellbeing of workers 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. 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 years of successfully completed graduate level education. (50 percent of the required education, i.e., the applicant has year of graduate study beyond that required for the GS-09), would exceed the total requirement and be qualified for the GS-11 position. Transcripts Required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)Decision MakingProject ManagementPublic Safety and SecurityTechnical 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. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 820 South Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Joyce Ruffin
• Phone: 414-384-2000 X40575
• Email: [email protected]