- Position Title
- Industrial Hygienist
- Agency
- Veterans Health Administration
- Announcement Number
- CBTC-12727463-25-AW Opens in new window
- Open Period
- Tuesday, April 29, 2025 to Tuesday, May 6, 2025
For preview purposes only. To apply, please return to the USAJOBS announcement and click the Apply button.
Eligibilities
1.
Are you currently employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted). Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted). Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
2.
Are you an employee of the facility indicated for this position?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted). Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit a copy of your most recent Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50 (SF-50). Your SF-50 must include enough information to be able to determine that time-in-grade requirements have been met (if applicable) and include your position title, pay plan/series/grade, tenure and the type of appointment (i.e. Competitive or Excepted). Please be aware that award SF-50's do not always include this pertinent information.
3.
Are you a current or former federal employee displaced from the agency hiring for this position? If yes, confirm:
For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit supporting documentation such as a Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice or a Proposed Removal/Separation notice to include your latest performance rating (if the notice does not have this information included, you must submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal) and a copy of your latest Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50.
- you are located in the same local commuting area of the vacancy; AND,
- you are applying to a position that is at or below the grade level of the position from which you were or will be separated; AND,
- your grade is equivalent to or below the grade level of the vacancy; AND,
- your last performance rating of record is at least fully successful or the equivalent.
For more information, review the USAJOBS Help Center.
To verify your eligibility, you must submit supporting documentation such as a Reduction in Force (RIF) separation notice or a Proposed Removal/Separation notice to include your latest performance rating (if the notice does not have this information included, you must submit a copy of your most recent performance appraisal) and a copy of your latest Notification of Personnel Action, Standard Form 50.
4.
Are you a Veterans Health Administration employee?
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
This includes: Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. and meets interchange agreement requirements). This does not include temporary, term or temporary intermittent.
Preferences
1.
Which of the following items describes your current or recent (within the last five years) political appointee service?
If you responded yes to any of the items below, you will need to include a SF-50 specifying your prior service.
If you responded yes to any of the items below, you will need to include a SF-50 specifying your prior service.
Your resume must be submitted in English and include the following information for each job listed:
- Job title Duties (be as detailed as possible)
- Month & year start/end dates (e.g. June 2007 to April 2008)
- Full-time or part-time status (include hours worked per week)
- Series and Grade, if applicable, for all Federal positions you have held
- Please be aware that your answers will be verified against information provided on your resume. Be sure that your resume clearly supports your responses to all of the questions by addressing your work experience in detail.
By submitting your application, you are certifying, to the best of your knowledge and belief, all the information submitted by you with your application for employment is true, complete, and made in good faith, and that you have truthfully and accurately represented your work experience, knowledge, skills, abilities and education (degrees, accomplishments, etc.). The information you provide as part of your application may be investigated. You are also certifying, and acknowledging, that misrepresenting your experience or education, or providing false or fraudulent information in, or with your application, may affect your eligibility for appointment and/or continued employment. False or fraudulent statements may be punishable by fine or imprisonment (18 U.S.C. 1001).
Assessment 1
Thank you for your interest in employment with the Department of Veterans Affairs. Select the appropriate answer to each of the following questions based on your current level of education and/or experience that demonstrates your ability to perform the duties of this position. When answering the questionnaire, remember that your experience and education are subject to verification by investigation. You may be asked to provide specific examples or documentation of experience or education as proof to support your answers, or you may be required to verify a response by a practical demonstration of your claimed ability to perform a task.
1.
This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), which is a minimum qualification requirement. To be considered for the position, you must ensure that the experience is reflected in your resume and/or if applicable, transcripts must be uploaded to support education requirement or substitution.
Basic Requirements:
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.
NOTE: Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable.
2.
Carefully read the following descriptions of the required specialized experience for the position. Your resume must support your response. Applicants must have one (1) full year of specialized experience related to this position. This experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service.
Specialized Experience
Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
Specialized Experience
Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
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:
Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:- 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;
- 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).
- 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.
- Combination of Experience & Education: 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)
Select the one statement that most accurately describes your training and experience carrying out each task using the scale provided.
3.
Review, interpret & apply Industrial Hygiene & Occupational Health Standards from VA,OSHA,TJC,EPA,Florida DEP, and other regulatory agencies.
4.
Responds to requests/complaints from VA management, employees, and employee representatives concerning occupational health matters.
5.
Prepares reports, understands and interprets written material, including technical material, rules, regulations, instructions, reports, charts, graphs or tables; applies these to specific situations.
6.
Develops and implements the training programs designed to inform management, supervisors and employees of potential hazardous exposures and conditions.
7.
Develops standard operating procedures to reduce or eliminate occupational health hazards, meeting national & regional policies, meeting applicable federal, state & local regulations, and providing instructions, training & advice to employees and the safety team.
8.
Requests immediate action from VA management to correct conditions which may lead to serious illness, injury or death to employees, patients or the public.
9.
Plans, implements & evaluates the Industrial Hygiene Program at the healthcare system.
10.
Develops policies, programs and procedures designed to improve workplace conditions and thereby reduce the incidence of illness or injuries and the resulting Federal Employee Compensation Act claims (FECA).
11.
Use a variety of sampling instrumentation, use of sampling strategies, and the types and limitations of analytical methods. Use of methods of control for a wide variety of health hazards, including toxic chemicals and noise.
12.
Maintains the Hazard Communication Program and is required to review and approve requisition of new materials.
13.
Analyze the factors that could contribute to accidents or hazardous conditions.
14.
Advise management of methods to comply with Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Health Standards and to reduce or eliminate occupational health hazards.
15.
Conduct industrial hygiene inspections of all work areas to determine compliance with standards set by OSHA, VA and other regulatory agencies.
16.
Work closely with staff at all levels of the agency in assessment and making of recommendations for control of workplace hazards.
17.
I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, all of the information included in this questionnaire is true, correct, and provided in good faith. I understand that if I make an intentional false statement, or commit deception or fraud in this application and its supporting materials, or in any document or interview associated with the examination process, I may be fined or imprisoned (18 U.S.C. 1001); my eligibilities may be cancelled; I may be denied an appointment; or I may be removed and debarred from Federal service (5 C.F.R. part 731). I understand that any information I give may be investigated and that responding "No" or providing no response to this item will result in my not being considered for this position.
REMINDER SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action: If you are a current or former Federal employee, you must provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action. The SF-50 must identify your position, title, series, grade, step, tenure, and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). If you have previously held a higher grade and are applying based on that grade, you must provide a copy of the SF-50 showing you held the higher grade IN ADDITION to your last or most recent SF-50 indicating proof of status. SF-50's can be found in your eOPF.
RESUME REMINDER: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to position descriptions, i.e. the general and specialized experience located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received in verbatim will not be considered. In your resume you will need to address the general and specialized experience listed below. Please use as much detail as needed, giving dates (months and years) of the experience, position title and how the experience was gained. This information is needed to determine if you are qualified for the position.
Resume should include for example: contact information; descriptions of jobs held, including the name and address of employer, job title, description of duties, beginning and ending date (month/year) of employment, average hours worked per week if part-time, and supervisor's name and phone number; education, including name and location of college, dates attended, and type and date of any degree earned; other information such as possession of licenses, certificates, etc. Descriptions of duties must be sufficiently detailed to document the level of experience. Although not mandatory, if the position is (was) with the Federal government, either military or civilian, you should state the series and grade or pay grade (rank) and the date of last promotion.
Veterans' Preference: Does not apply to Merit System Promotions whose Area of Consideration is limited to current facility and agency employees.
- An SF-50 showing 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.
- Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
- General Adjustment SF-50's with the effective date of within the last year do not provide the information to reflect time-in-grade requirement has been met and therefore cannot be the only SF-50.
- If you are currently serving in a Hybrid Title 38 position, your SF-50's must reflect you have been in the position longer than one year.
- Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
- Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
- Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
- SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old (to verify grade held).
RESUME REMINDER: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.
Verbiage displayed on your resume or application must contain your own words. You may refer to position descriptions, i.e. the general and specialized experience located within the vacancy announcement, to assist with describing work experiences; however, resumes or applications received in verbatim will not be considered. In your resume you will need to address the general and specialized experience listed below. Please use as much detail as needed, giving dates (months and years) of the experience, position title and how the experience was gained. This information is needed to determine if you are qualified for the position.
Resume should include for example: contact information; descriptions of jobs held, including the name and address of employer, job title, description of duties, beginning and ending date (month/year) of employment, average hours worked per week if part-time, and supervisor's name and phone number; education, including name and location of college, dates attended, and type and date of any degree earned; other information such as possession of licenses, certificates, etc. Descriptions of duties must be sufficiently detailed to document the level of experience. Although not mandatory, if the position is (was) with the Federal government, either military or civilian, you should state the series and grade or pay grade (rank) and the date of last promotion.
Veterans' Preference: Does not apply to Merit System Promotions whose Area of Consideration is limited to current facility and agency employees.