Summary The incumbent serves as Industrial Hygienist for the VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS), assigned to the Facility Safety and Fire Protection Section in Engineering Service and is responsible for planning, developing, implementing and evaluating the Industrial Hygiene Program for TVHS facilities that include Nashville VAMC, the Alvin C. York VAMC(Murfreesboro, TN) and all TVHS outpatient clinics, including contract clinics. Responsibilities The duties for the Industrial Hygienist include but are not limited to: Administrative and managerial practices applicable to planning, implementing, and evaluating an Occupational Health/Industrial Hygiene Program for the Medical Canter. Investigate occupational health problems which arise to determine probable cause, and recommend measures to protect employees from a re-occurrence. Perform job hazard analysis and the other analytical techniques sufficient to perform accident investigation, determine causal factors, recommend procedures for elimination of confinement of the hazard. Review Occupational Health, Industrial Hygiene, and Occupational Safety Standards as received form VA, OSHA, the Joint Commission and other regulatory agencies, and advises the VA Medical Center management of methods to comply with the standards. Conduct Industrial Hygiene Inspections of all work areas to identify potential environmental health hazards and to determine compliance with standards set by OSHA, VA and other regulatory agencies. Updates and advises Occupational health staff as to medical surveillance requirements for employees working with hazardous materials as determined by OSHA. Designs, prepares, and conducts employee training necessary to comply with all required Industrial Hygiene programs. Areas include, but are not limited to, asbestos, ETO, respirators, hazardous waste management and disposal, hearing conservation, and other safety related subjects. Furnishes technical guidance to management, supervisors and employees concerning occupational health and industrial hygiene programs. Assists facility managers and construction project section in the development and review of industrial hygiene requirements. Maintains and/or reviews Industrial Hygiene record keeping as required by federal, state and local regulations. Work Schedule: 7:00AM - 3:30PM Monday - Friday Position Description Title/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD70082A Physical Requirements: Duties of the position require considerable walking, climbing, prolonged standing, and crouching, while carrying sampling equipment and measuring devices. Personal protective equipment must often times be worn. The incumbent is required to drive motor vehicles. Occasional travel is required. Work Environment: The incumbent is exposed to a variety of potential health hazards and uncomfortable work situations which may be physically taxing. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job Subject to a background/suitability investigation Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc. is required 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 identification 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) Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest. As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary 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. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement. Individual Occupation Requirement: 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). 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. 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. Transcripts and/or a legible copy of your certification must be submitted with your application in order to be considered. Transcripts must reflect degree as conferred and/or coursework along with grades received. In addition to the above basic requirements, applicants must also meet the below specialized experience requirements: GRADE LEVEL QUALIFICATION: GS-11 grade level: One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the federal service); experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA's) and other characteristics to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled, in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Specialized experience includes: Use of industrial hygiene principles, procedures, standards, equipment, techniques, and methods; developing and implementing an industrial hygiene program; performing analysis to determine nature and degree of toxic materials; use of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards (such as hazardous waste, drinking water, medical waste, etc.); conducting surveys/studies of work operations regarding hazardous conditions; and developing industrial hygiene policies, procedures, and reports. Such work must have involved experience in all of the following areas: 1) the acquisition of quantitative and qualitative data, and the measurement of exposures for a variety of chemical, physical, and biological stresses; 2) the analysis of the data acquired and the prediction of probable effects of exposures on the health and well-being of workers; and 3) the selection and recommendation of appropriate controls, including management, medical, engineering, education or training, and personal protective equipment. OR Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-11 level. 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level. To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 60 semester hours that you earned). Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-11. For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e. 50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. 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. 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 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. Additional Information 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. A 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. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at https://www.opm.gov/. Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.
