Clarification from the agency

Open to current/former Federal employees, Certain Military Spouses, Veterans and Special Hiring Authorities; this includes Career/Career Conditional or Excepted Service (i.e. Canteen, Hybrid, Title 38, etc. that meets interchange agreement requirements).

Duties include, but not limited to:

1. Establish and implement written policy and procedures for:

• Authorizing purchase of radioactive materials.
• Receiving and opening packages of radioactive material.
• Storing radioactive material.
• Maintaining inventory records of radioactive material.
• Using radioactive materials safely.

2. Manage waste disposal for all users of radioactivity including:

• Packaging, preparation of shipping manifests, burial site licensing applications, and arrangements for off-site shipping, allotment and oversight of radioactive qualities disposed of in the sanitary sewage, air exhaust system, and by incineration.
• Development and implementation of decay-in-storage policy and procedures.

3. Instructs as needed all personnel who utilize ionizing radiation not less than once annually, subjects including the As Low as Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) program, safety procedures, disposal policy and procedures (if applicable), compliance with regulations, local policy and procedures and any other pertinent radiation safety information.

4. Investigates and reports to Federal authorities, if applicable, overexposures, ALARA exceptions, accidents, spills, thefts, unauthorized receipts, uses, transfers, disposals, medical events and near misses, and any other deviation from approved radiation safety practice and implement corrective actions as necessary.

5. Inspects all facilities where radionuclides are used and stored as needed by not less than once a year for compliance with Federal regulations and local policy and procedures.

6. Calibrates survey instruments no less than annually, or after each repair that affect meter performance. Maintains record of beta efficiencies for meters as appropriate.

7. Maintains inventory records and performs required surveys and wipe tests for all facilities and sources assigned to the Radiation Safety Program.

8. Manages the timely distribution and collection of personnel monitors and maintains records of personnel exposure including accounting for all missing or lost badges.

9. Reports quarterly to the RRSC and as necessary to the MPRSC on the status of the radiation safety programs, ALARA exceptions and actions taken, and other pertinent radiation safety information and annually briefs Executive Leadership Team (ELT) on the radiation safety program. Reports are also sent to the ECMS after each meeting.

10. Assists the RRSC and the MPRSC, as directed, in meeting its responsibilities to evaluate users, facilities, unusual events and any other pertinent radiation safety requirements.

11. Ensures with the Radiology Quality Management Technologist that all x-ray producing equipment in the VAMC is inspected for safety operations, compliance with applicable FDA performance and safety standards and compliance with other accepted standards, including Joint Commission, and standards established by the medical center for quality performance and quality control. Oversees with the Radiology Quality Management Technologist that inspections and calibrations on all x-ray equipment are made at least annually and after the equipment has been repaired or modified in any way that might affect output.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00am-3:30pm
Telework: Not eligible for telework
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Health Physicist (Radiation Safety)/PD88319A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be offered for highly qualified candidates
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• 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)

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, 01/02/2026.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.

Basic Requirements

Degree: natural science or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and/or calculus.
OR,
Combination of education and experience -- courses as shown in above, plus appropriate experience or other education; or certification as a health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics, plus appropriate experience and other education that provided an understanding of sciences applicable to health physics comparable to that described in above degree requirement.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement above, to qualify for this position you must also meet the qualification requirements listed below:

Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience which includes monitoring and reviewing work sequences to develop radiological control procedures to improve radiological control practices and prevent work stoppages.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Chemistry
• Compliance Inspection
• Education and Training
• Hazardous Materials
• Health Physics
• Problem Solving
• Technical Competence

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 work is divided approximately equally between sedentary desk work and walking, bending and climbing, stooping, reaching, and pushing of moderately heavy items such as carts may be required. Lifting up to 50 pounds in weight may occasionally be required. Work in respiratory protective equipment may be required. Work includes patient contact on wards and in intensive care units for those patients undergoing therapeutic applications of byproduct materials.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume

Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.

Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.

Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.

Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume:
-Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
-Use concise, results focused language
-Align language from the job announcement
-Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies
-Remove outdated or unrelated experience
-Use the USAJOBS resume builder

Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at:

-https://help.usajobs.gov/faq/application/documents/resume/page-limit.-https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/applicant-guidance-on-the-two-page-resume-limit/

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• DD-214/ Statement of Service
• Disability Letter (Schedule A)
• Disability Letter (VA)
• License
• Other (1)
• Other (2)
• Other (3)
• Performance Appraisal
• Professional Certification
• Proof of Marriage Status
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-15
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• 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.
• 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.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

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