Summary Serve as a Industrial Hygienist for the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, assigned to the Facilities Management Service. Responsibilities As a Industrial Hygienist, you will: Advise management of methods to comply with the Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Safety standards. Conduct industrial hygiene inspections of all work areas to determine compliance with standards set by OSHA, VA and other regulatory agencies. Select analytical instruments and sampling criteria to evaluate potential hazards. Maintain a Centralized Safety Data and Hazard Communication Library for the Medical Center.. Update and advise Employee Health Physician as to medical surveillance requirements for employees working with hazardous materials as determined by OSHA. Investigate working conditions in all areas of the Medical Center to determine compliance with all occupational health/industrial hygiene/safety regulations Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm; subject to change based on the needs of the facility. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD04134A 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 Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment. Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Must pass pre-employment physical exam A current, valid state-issued Drivers License is required for this position. NOTE: We cannot accept photographs, therefore; please do not submit a copy of your license with your application package. If an interview is requested, you will be required to provide a copy of your current, valid state-issued Drivers License. Must be able to independently operate Government Vehicle. Must provide clean driving record report from the DMV during the pre-employment process. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider: your performance and conduct; the needs and interests of the agency; whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service. Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/10/2025. 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: Applicants can meet the individual occupational requirements based on education or certification: A bachelor's or graduate/higher level degree in industrial hygiene, occupational health science, occupational and environmental health, toxicology, safety sciences or related sciences. OR A bachelor's degree of engineering, physical science, or life science that included 12 semester hours in chemistry, including organic chemistry, environmental health, biostatistics, biology, physiology, toxicology, epidemiology or industrial hygiene OR Certification from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene. In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements, applicants must meet the specialized experience and/or education below. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education s 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: Identifying, analyzing, and controlling occupational health hazards, such as chemical, biological, physical, and ergonomic hazards; Conducting risk assessments to evaluate the potential health effects of exposure to hazardous materials and conditions in the workplace; Performing exposure assessments and monitoring to identify levels of exposure to hazardous materials and recommend appropriate control measures; Providing training and education to employees and management on occupational health hazards and safe work practices; Conducting industrial hygiene surveys, inspections, and audits to assess workplace conditions and recommend corrective actions; Proficiency in using industrial hygiene instruments and equipment to measure and monitor workplace contaminants; Preparing comprehensive technical reports, documenting findings, and recommending control measures to mitigate workplace hazards; Investigating occupational health incidents and near-misses to identify root causes and develop preventive measures. This experience must be supported by your resume to be creditable. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 years of graduate level education leading to a Ph.D degree or equivalent degree in a field related to the position to be filled. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED). 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 the post graduate level. Preferred Experience: Experience should include working in/with indoor air quality/sick building/odors, exposure assessment/surveillance, hazard communication/chemical inventory, Hearing Conservation Program, ergonomics, Eyewash/Shower Program calibration of IH Equipment, water sampling. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Compliance Inspection Environmental Engineering Hazardous Materials 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 performance of duties requires long periods of walking, standing, crawling, kneeling, and bending. Moderate lifting and carrying of equipment, use of personal protective devices, and work in hazardous and confined spaces is required. Use of all appendages, good vision and hearing is necessary. Emotional and mental stability are required. He/she must be physically capable of wearing/donning personal protective equipment required to enter potentially hazardous environments. 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 Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.
