This position is responsible for the provision of consultation services to the Senior Toxicologist/Exposure Science Officer, Director of Operations, Director of Policy, Director of Epidemiology and the Chief Consultant, HOME regarding occupational and environmental exposures, toxicologic effects of various chemicals and agents and the potential for adverse health outcomes from exposures to various agents. This vacancy may be filled in Washington, DC or a location to be determined.

Duties

This announcement will close on 11/22/2024; the first 50 applications received will receive first consideration. Applications received after the initial cut-off number will not receive consideration unless otherwise requested by management in increments of 50. The Major Duties of the Industrial Hygienist include, but are not limited to: Performing analyses of survey data and data on emissions from air, waste-water, and hazardous materials stored in complex inter-relational data-basing systems maintained by DoD to determine nature and degree of toxic materials present and potential long-term impacts on human health. Identifies potential physical, biological, and chemical health hazards in military work environments; evaluates exposure to workers and prescribes potential corrective measures, which may include changing work processes/procedures, adding/modifying engineering systems, making chemical substitutions, or using personal protective equipment. Provides expert advice to HOME, senior VA leadership and other key stakeholders (e.g., DoD, NIOSH, EPA, ATSDR) on industrial hygiene and related health, safety, and environmental issues, recommends actions to prevent or minimize health hazards and contributes to the risk management decision-making process. Reviews industrial health and environmental monitoring assessments conducted on or relevant to occupational exposures on military bases to ascertain situations where service-related exposures may have increased risk of adverse health outcomes. Conducts operational activities related to industrial hygiene and other environmental health hazards scenarios in Veteran cohorts. Prepares correspondence, briefings, and reports related to health hazards identified in military work environments. Provides guidance to key stakeholders regarding applicable standards or regulations on workplace exposures and safety, such as those published by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Conducts operational activities related to industrial hygiene and other environmental health hazards scenarios in Veteran cohorts. Knowledge of a variety of chemical agents (i.e., liquids, duets, fumes, vapors, gases, etc.); physical agents (i.e., noise, temperature, pressure, and radiation); and biological agents (i.e., fungi, bacteria, and viruses). Contributes to educational programs designed by HOME to inform VA's clinical personnel of potential hazardous exposures, applicable directives, and general occupational health matters related to military service. Recommends actions to prevent or minimize health hazards and contributes to the risk management decision-making process. Performing analyses of survey data and data on emissions from air, waste-water, and hazardous materials stored in complex inter-relational data-basing systems maintained by DoD to determine nature and degree of toxic materials present and potential long-term impacts on human health. Interact effectively with other health specialists and officials and to properly prepare related correspondence and associated reports. Identifies hazards, evaluates data, conducts research, and recommends actions to prevent or minimize health hazards. Work situations involve consulting and advising on wide variety of work activities, environments, and numerous types of chemical, biological, physical, and radiological hazards. Use judgment in selecting, interpreting and applying established criteria which may not be clearly applicable to all operating situations and skilled in the identification and application of appropriate regulations as well skills in researching pertinent regulatory issues. Analyze occupational and environmental exposures, toxicologic effects of various chemicals and agents, and the potential for adverse health outcomes from exposures to various agents. Evaluate and analyze safety and occupational health problems, conditions and administrative practices to minimize or eliminate hazardous operations and conditions and devises alternative measures which decrease the risk of adverse health outcomes. Development of presentations and reports. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 08:00 AM - 04:30pm Telework: Available (applicant is required on site up to 50% of work schedule per pay period) Remote: This is not a remote position. Virtual: The employee may work at a VA facility or other VA-leased space other than the facility that is hiring the employee) and is authorized for telework up to 50%. Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD290410 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/22/2024. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived. The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. To qualify for the GS 0690 occupational series, 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 (ABIH). Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable. AND You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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: Professional knowledge and skills applicable to performance of a wide range of industrial hygiene duties, including survey analysis, detection, evaluation, and sampling/testing techniques and related control measures for a variety of potential workplace-related health hazards. Knowledge of OSHA, EPA, and other federal laws and related programs, and of DoD regulations, policies and procedures related to industrial hygiene, occupational health, and bioenvironmental engineering. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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 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 graduate level. Preferred experience: Previous work experience with DoD. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Chemistry Health Risk Analysis Communications Research Environmental Engineering Technical 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. Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary in an office environment and/or in a virtual environment. Some travel is required. No other special physical demands are required of this work. 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 VHA Central Office - Patient Care Services 810 Vermont Avenue NW Washington, DC 20420 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]