Industrial Hygienist

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.

Qualifications

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

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
• In addition to meeting one of the Basic Requirements above, to qualify for this position at the GS-11 level, you must meet one of the following: GS-11 grade level Specialized Experience: Have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least GS-9 grade level in the Federal service that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled
• 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, 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 Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-11 level
• EDUCATION: 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 Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level
• Combination: Have equivalent combinations of successfully completed 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) 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.

Duties

"Eligible applications received will be referred at regular intervals or as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.
Recruitment/Relocation Incentive may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate.
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 to 4:00pm Telework: Ad-Hoc Position Description Title/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD241400 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."