The Supervisory Industrial Hygienist position serves as Safety Officer of the South Texas Veterans Health Care System and is the Chief of Safety Service who reports to the Director. Responsible for planning, organizing, administering, and evaluating a comprehensive Environment of Care, and Occupational Health, Fire, Life and Safety Management programs. Serve as subject matter expert in safety, ergonomics, construction, water safety, life safety, and fire protection.

Duties

Duties may include but are not limited to: Independently provide guidance and recommend action to eliminate or control industrial hygiene, safety, occupational health, environmental health, radiation safety, and fire hazards by advising management to initiate new operational or engineering procedures as in construction, research, development, and testing and evaluation efforts. Independently develops training in the form of a graphical presentation for upper management and peer groups and is periodically requested to provide updates in the areas of construction safety, asbestos management, and Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) programs to Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) and other Health Care System (HCS) Safety professionals. Serve as a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) responsible for providing professional engineering support to all construction management activities, including planning, development, design, coordination, and management of projects from original conception to completion of punch list items. Plan work to be accomplished by subordinates, set and adjust short-term priorities, and prepare schedules for completion of work; Assign work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees; Evaluate work performance of subordinates; Give advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters; Interview candidates for positions in the unit; recommend appointment, promotion, or reassignment to such positions; Hear and resolve complaints from employees, referring group grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher-level supervisor or manager; Effect minor disciplinary measures, such as warnings and reprimands, recommending other action in more serious cases; Identify developmental and training needs of employees, providing or arranging for needed development and training; Find ways to improve production or increase the quality of the work directed; Develop performance standards. Plan, organize, direct, operate, and evaluate safety and occupational health program in health care settings, including clinical, surgical, palliative care, therapeutic care, facilities support (engineering occupations), and administrative occupancies. Knowledge of NFPA, OSHA, VA, The Joint Commission (TJC), and EPA regulatory codes to apply these standards to control hazardous situations in existing facilities as well as new construction areas, which supports continued survey readiness. Knowledge of budgeting and accounting for equipment acquisition and disposition, and project funding requirements in future fiscal years through business plan preparation. Establish priority of tasks, review corrective action plans and track suspense completion. Independently determine the correct standard or regulation for unique areas and incidents, or-if the guideline is insufficient to resolve a complex or unusual problem-the incumbent must determine the most effective way to utilize research, risk assessments, root cause analyses, and critical thinking to identify, prevent, or resolve unique problems. Investigation, monitor, analyze, and assess all types of work sites found in the health care system, including inpatient /outpatient / residential care, facilities management offices, facilities support workshops, construction areas, and administrative workspaces. Assess compliance, identify needs, develop programs/delivery systems, implement programs, evaluate effectiveness, and alter and improve programs to achieve compliance and mitigate hazardous conditions generally and unsafe work practices among the employees. Identify, evaluate, and recommend control measures for any type of health hazard to which workers are exposed. Recognize, evaluate, and control potential hazards and risks, conduct accident investigations, perform inspections, write procedures, conduct safety training, and coordinate activities with other safety professionals as necessary. Provide expertise on a wide range of safety environment, occupational health, and ergonomic problems to gain compliance with and support for effective hazard prevention practices. Must have the skill to influence, motivate, train, and gain the support of Agency employees and contractors, as well as external Agency contacts such as required for work at the National Cemetery Association, and outside contractors, during off-site nursing home and adult day care inspection. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Telework: 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#: Supervisory Industrial Hygienist (Chief)/PD00766O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/22/2024. 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-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 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. Basic Requirements-Individual Occupational Requirements The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (external link) 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 (external link) (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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-12 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Developing, planning, managing, and continuously evaluating the effectiveness of the industrial hygiene, safety, occupational health, environmental health, radiation, and fire protection programs; Full evaluations, risk assessments and investigations; Determine continual compliance with occupational safety and health standards, The Joint Commission (TJC) standards; Solve systemic issues dealing with occupational health and the environment. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Standards Technical Technical Problem Solving Communications Compliance Financial Management Health Risk Analysis 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: Work requires regular and frequently recurring periods of moderate lifting/carrying (15-44 pounds), straight pulling/pushing (1 hour), reaching above shoulder, use of fingers, both hands required, standing/walking (3 hours), crawling (1 hour), repeated bending (1 hour), crouching, climbing ladders, climbing use of legs and arms, both legs required, operate a motor vehicle, ability for rapid mental and muscular coordination simultaneously, Near vision correctable at 13" to 16" to Jaeger 1 to 4, Far vision correctable in one eye to 20/20 and to 20/40 in the other, depth perception, ability to distinguish basic colors, ability to distinguish shades of colors, hearing (aid may be permitted), emotional and mental stability and prosthetic limbs permitted, working on roofs or in basements, working in chemical laboratory environments, including pushing and pulling carts to transport equipment, supplies, and/or hazardous materials. The incumbent is required to drive government vehicles to perform necessary duties in all required locations, including outside the city limits of San Antonio. The employee is exposed to all the hazards and discomfort associated with safety and occupational health activities of the agency. May be exposed to hazardous equipment, machinery, and chemicals; may work in low or high temperatures, and wet, damp, dry, hot, slippery, dirty or sterile environments. This exposure requires the use of protective clothing and equipment, including respirators, hard hats, and hearing protection. 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.

Accreditation Information: The bachelor's degree must be fully accredited by the U.S. Department of Education DAPIP | Homepage (ed.gov). 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) Name Search (abet.org) as a professional engineering curriculum.

NOTE: If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

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 Audie L Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital 7400 Merton Minter Boulevard San Antonio, TX 78229 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]