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Summary The primary purpose of this position is to serve as the Industrial Hygienist for the VA Illiana Health Care System with secondary duties as a Safety Specialist. The employee serving in this position is under the supervision of the Safety Manager, who provides administrative direction by defining program objectives, priorities and deadlines as well as overall program guidance and technical input concerning program assessment and the Industrial Hygienist's performance. Responsibilities Eligible applications received will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Serves as a technical and program management expert and for the VAIHCS with responsibility for providing leadership guidance, technical assistance and evaluation for matters involving industrial hygiene, decontamination, and respiratory protection. Supports the development of facility industrial hygiene policies, programs, and procedural documentation. Plans, conducts or directs special studies concerned with occupational health problems which require the development or modification of air sampling equipment or protective devices or the evaluation of control measures for a specific operation. Conducts surveys of working conditions to determine the nature and magnitude of hazardous exposures and the effectiveness of existing control measures. Develops facility decontamination programs in compliance with agency policy, regulatory standards and current best practices. Leads facility training sessions and exercises for VAIHCS personnel. Supports the Environmental and Safety Section in managing hazardous materials and chemicals program. Performs work that requires knowledge of the organization of the facility, as well as the construction, operation and maintenance of healthcare facilities Cooperatively works with federal, state and local environmental and occupational safety and health organizations in areas of mutual interest. Work Schedule: 7:30am - 4:00pm Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD241400 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/31/2024. 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. 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 (ABIH). 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. 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: 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, specialized experience also includes providing leadership guidance, technical assistance and evaluation for matters involving industrial hygiene, decontamination, and respiratory protection; planning, conducting or directing special studies concerned with occupational health problems; conducting surveys of working conditions; and performing sampling techniques of hazardous materials. (To be creditable, experience must be clearly detailed on your resume). OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the Industrial Hygienist position. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) This graduate education must have provided you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of an Industrial Hygienist.. 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 education (beyond a Master's or equivalent graduate degree) the second year o) as described above, which may be used to meet total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses that provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the Industrial Hygienist position. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Information Management Manages and Organizes Information Planning and Evaluating Safety Engineering Writing 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: Duties of the position require physical exertion and considerable walking, climbing, prolonged standing, and crouching, while carrying sampling equipment and measuring devices. Personal protective equipment must often be worn. The employee serving in this position is required to drive motor vehicles. Occasional travel is 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 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/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer (TJO). Please visit the Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP), va.gov/EMPLOYEE/docs/The-Fair-Chance-to-Compete-Act.pdf for more information.