Industrial Hygienist - Direct Hire Authority

Description:

The incumbent serves as the Industrial Hygienist at the VA Saginaw Healthcare System and works directly under the Chief, Facilities Management Service. Assures the Industrial Hygiene program is in compliance with standards set by VHA, TJC, OSHA, and· other regulatory agencies. Consults and reviews VA publications, guidebooks, OSHA documents and regulations, the Federal Register, EPA regulations, and other pertinent documents to ensure compliance with all government mandates.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

BASIC 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 (Transcripts Required) ; 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 (Transcripts Required) ; OR
• Certification from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene(external link) (ABIH).

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.

GS-11 GRADE LEVEL REQUIREMENTS:

• Specialized Experience: 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:
  • Able to perform job hazard analysis and other analytical techniques sufficient to perform accident investigation, ergonomics, determine causal factors, and recommend procedures for elimination or confinement of the hazards.
  • Experience with Industrial Hygiene sampling equipment and methods of obtaining required analysis.
  • Experience in investigating occupational health problems that arise to determine probable cause and recommend measures to protect employees from recurrence.
  • Experience in healthcare work processes, procedures, equipment, facilities, materials, and activities sufficient to anticipate and control hazards, to evaluate and determine causal factors contributing to accidents and resulting hazardous working conditions.
  • Management of Industrial Hygiene programs, such as asbestos, hearing conservation, hazard communication, waste anesthetic gases, emergency eyewash and shower, indoor air quality, lead, water intrusion/mold/moisture, respiratory protection, hazardous drugs, confined space, hazardous materials, and other program elements related to Industrial Hygiene.

OR

• Graduate Education: Completion of 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; (Transcripts Required)

OR

• Combination of Education and Experience: When combining education with experience, the applicant's total qualifying education will be determined as a percent of the education required for the grade level. The applicant's experience will be determined as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level. The total of the two percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for the grade level. (Transcripts Required)

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.