The Supervisory Industrial Hygienist is the facility Safety Manager for the Black Hills VA Health Care System. This position is the subject matter expert for occupational safety and health, advising facility staff and leaders on the design and operation of a safe Environment of Care (EOC), overseeing the design and delivery of effective safety and occupational health training programs and educational materials, manages service line budget, and supervises Safety & Emergency Management staff.

Duties

Major duties include but are not limited to: Provide technical and administrative supervision to the Safety & Emergency Management staff with complete responsibility and authority to plan, design, schedule, and carry out programs, projects, or other work independently. Develop performance standards and evaluate the work performance of subordinates. Staff out assigned projects, propose feasible means to resolve safety problems, and negotiate with staff and clients to ensure compliance. Develop, implement, and evaluate safety, health, and environmental program functions to eliminate and minimize human injury and property and productivity losses causes by harmful contact incidents. Conduct audits and inspections of HCS facilities to assure compliance. Identify hazards and determine causal relationships, developing abatement recommendations. Prepare technical documents and guidance materials to support Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) program studies. Develop and promote training programs. Provide management oversight for the Emergency Management Program. Consult for the Joint Commission Environment of Care and Life Safety accreditation standards. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. 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/PD208890 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/23/2024. 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. Basic Requirement for 0690 Series: Applicants must meet one of the following: 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). Note: Transcripts and/or certification required. Also, 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, you must also qualify based on your experience as described below: 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. Qualifying specialized experience includes what is stated above, as well as: performing various lead/supervisory duties, such as setting priorities, assigning work, providing guidance to staff; ensuring compliance with various safety and occupational health standards; developing, implementing, and/or managing a safety, health, or industrial hygiene program; identifying, evaluating, and/or controlling occupational health hazards; preparing technical documentation to support safety/industrial hygiene programs; and analyzing/validating data to minimize losses from safety concerns. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accident InvestigationHealth Risk AnalysisPublic Safety and SecuritySafety Engineering 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 involves regular and recurring walking, stooping, bending, stretching, climbing, and consideration standing; requires moderate agility and dexterity; occasional lifting of moderately heavy objects. Work Environment: The work is partially performed in an office setting, however inspection work may involve regular and recurring exposure to moderate risks and discomforts, contagious diseases, infectious materials, or toxic or irritating chemicals, carcinogenic materials, flammable liquids, and radiation. Special safety precautions, including personal protective equipment are necessary. 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

There is no educational substitution at the GS-12 grade level, however, transcripts may be required to meet the Basic Requirement for the position.

Contacts

• Address VA Black Hills Health Care System 113 Comanche Road Fort Meade, SD 57741 US
• Name: Sarah Watson
• Phone: 319-339-7183
• Email: [email protected]