Clarification from the agency

First Certificate: Current, permanent employees at VISN 22 Long Beach Second Certificate: All other status candidates.

Major duties include, but are not limited to:

• Plan, schedule, execute, manage, and administer the facility's Industrial Hygiene Program.
• Ensure statutory and regulatory compliance with applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), EPA, SCAQMD, IH VHA, TJC regulations, standards, and guidance.
• Work in compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and accreditation organizations such as the Office of Research Oversight and The Joint Commission.
• Survey, inspect, and evaluate operational and newly constructed facilities and various activities to identify, evaluate, and reduce or eliminate potential health hazards.
• Exercise initiative, ingenuity, and experienced judgment in the modification and alteration of control practices and remediation, abatement, and mitigation techniques applicable to serious hazards.
• Perform a broad range of industrial hygiene and chemical, biological investigations by the use of survey, equipment detection, evaluation, and sampling techniques for the purpose of identifying potential workplace health hazards.
• Perform special surveys of facilities and shops when new equipment is installed or work procedures change.
• Review plans for new and existing construction and renovation projects to ensure that applicable standards (e.g., Occupational Safety and Health Administration/OSHA, American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers/ASHRAE, etc.) are incorporated.
• Provide subject matter expertise and training for industrial hygiene related topics.
• Recommend solutions to potential health concerns.
• Perform work area surveys to ensure compliance with established occupational safety and health regulations and to help compile a hazardous chemical inventory for the facility.
• Educate workers about hazards during industrial hygiene surveys.
• Serve as a member on the Water Safety Committee.

Telework: Ad-Hoc per supervisor discretion
Virtual: Not Authorized
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required
Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD10826O

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• 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 trial 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• 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, 12/08/2025.

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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. 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 Educational Requirement: 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. 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; (A Transcript is required to be part of your application) 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; (A Transcript is required to be part of your application) OR,
• Certification from the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) (You are required to submit a copy of this certification as part of your application).

Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

• GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assess work practices and/or environmental conditions for hazards to the health and safety of workers; Perform analysis to determine nature and degree of toxic materials present; Perform, verify, review chemical inventories throughout the facility; Identify and requisition test equipment used in performing industrial hygiene tasks; Perform or arranges for proper calibration and maintenance of equipment; Conduct programs for the education of workers in the prevention of occupational exposures and diseases. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, in addition to the Basic Education Requirement above. (A Transcript is required to be part of your application) OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education.(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.)

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position

• Communication
• Compliance
• Inspect
• 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: Inspection work requires frequent visitations to areas that are cramped, noisy, or where temperature extremes or inclement weather conditions exist. Such inspection work may require considerable long periods of standing, climbing, crouching, stretching, reaching, lifting, and other physical movement while carrying sampling equipment and measuring devices. Incumbent will occasionally be required to lift and move heavy or awkward objects, usually not exceeding 50 pounds. Personal protective equipment must often be worn.

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.

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
• Transcript

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)
• PCS Orders
• 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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