Industrial Hygienist

Summary This position is assigned to the Erie VA Medical Center (VAMC) functioning within the Office of Performance and Quality. The Industrial Hygienist is responsible for planning and administering environmental and industrial hygiene programs. Responsibilities Major Duties include but are not limited to: Utilizes professional knowledge of the theories, practices and methodologies of natural physical and social sciences to develop, plan, implement, and sustain the facility's comprehensive Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) / Healthcare Environmental Regulatory Compliance (HERC) program, assuming a lead role in the development of the facility's environmental policy and procedural documentation. Prepares and submits permits and leads facility self-assessments, inspections, and other environmental investigations. Works with facility leadership to integrate environmental considerations into planning and operational activities. Coordinates environmental activities with regional representatives and supports the development of integrated planning. Participates in all preconstruction meetings to educate the contractors on GEMS requirements impacting the project. Serves as Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Consultant for Regulated Medical Waste Disposal, Sharps Disposal, Hazardous Waste Disposal and Recycling contracts. Maintains the Waste Tracking System on a routine basis, populating the tracker with monthly waste disposal data. Participates in the coordination and implementation of financial and budget execution activities related to environmental programs. Supports the development of facility environmental policies, programs, and procedural documentation. Assures compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations for air emissions, wastewater discharge, safe drinking water supply, solid and hazardous waste, fuel and oil storage, and spill prevention, NEPA, and other areas. Interacts with federal, state, and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues. Maintains administrative responsibility for the Erie VAMC GEMS Committee, reporting through the Comprehensive Environment of Care (CEOC) program and participates in the national-level GEMS committees within VA. Trains employees and lower grade environmental staff. Maintains environmental compliance oversight for the facility by weekly reviewing the continuing regulator accountability matrix (CRAM) report where specific regulator timelines listed. Utilizes professional knowledge of the theories, practices and methodologies of industrial hygiene to develop, plan, implement, and sustain the facility's Industrial Hygiene program, assuming a lead role in the development of the facility's industrial hygiene policy and procedural documentation. Provides expert advice and direction on industrial hygiene matters to VA personnel, including use of toxic and hazardous substances, control measures for reducing exposure to hazardous agents and disposal of hazardous chemical agents. Performs and documents baseline exposure assessments and reassessments in coordination with subject matter experts such as EOH providers, Infection Prevention and Control, Laser Safety, Biological Safety, and Radiation Safety for all work areas within the VA medical facility. Recommends corrective measures such as exposure controls), administrative controls or personal protective equipment (e.g., respirators) to eliminate or reduce occupational health hazards. Develops, maintains and sustains a comprehensive Respiratory Protection Program (RPP) to include policy development, Fit Testing and training. Develops, maintains and sustains a comprehensive Hearing Conservation Program to include policy development and training. This will also include various types of noise evaluation. Initiate and periodically review Industrial Hygiene Exposure Assessments (IHEA). Serves as technical consultant, serving as a member to the Comprehensive Environment of Care (CEOC) Committee, Accident Review Committee, Emergency Preparedness subcommittee, Infection Prevention Committee, and Radiation Safety Committee. Designs, prepares, and conducts a comprehensive employee training program on topics such as chemical handling and disposal, job safety analysis, noise, silica and other subjects of industrial hygiene. Accompanies OSHA, EPA, IDEM and VISN, or other occupational and health inspections on inspections of the Medical Center, CBOC or leased facility. Leads environmental audits and incident investigations, conducts root cause analysis, develops corrective actions, and tracks incidents to closure. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: Authorized Telework: Ad-Hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Industrial Hygienist/PD071660 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required. 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 ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification 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, 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, 11/06/2026. 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-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. 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. Individual Occupation Requirement (IOR): 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 Board of Global EHS Credentialing (formerly American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH)). Please note: Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable. 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 the approve applicants must meet the specialized experience requirement below. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: GS-11 grade level: 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: Development, implementation and sustainment of a comprehensive Environmental Management System (EMS) program performing compliance audits annually Plan, coordinate, and conduct environmental conservation, restoration, compliance and pollution prevention projects and carry out actions to ensure compliance of operations using applicable standards Management of facility recycling, waste minimization, pollution prevention and sustainment programs Participates in the coordination and implementation of financial and budget execution activities related to environmental programs Development of facility policy, guidance and procedures related to environmental requirements for regulatory and statutory analysis Plans, coordinates and carries out advanced long-term project assignments dealing with functional technical disciplines that are required to meet environmental compliance requirements 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. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: Additional Information Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act. Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at