Industrial Hygienist Technical Career Field Trainee

The Technical Career Field (TCF) is a national workforce development program within VHA that was designed to replenish technical staff in critically identified positions.

This is a trainee position that aims to train an incumbent to a Industrial Hygienist within the Safety & Health Department. The incumbent trainee will serve under the preceptorship of a Supervisory Industrial Hygienist designee for the purpose of orientation, learning and experiencing specialized functions.

Qualifications:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/28/2025.

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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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..



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

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. 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: 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.
  OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have
• 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(external link) (ABIH).
• Courses in the history or teaching of chemistry are not acceptable.

OR,

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 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.
  

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

• Analysis and Problem Solving
• Compliance Inspection
• Knowledge Management

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.

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/.

Physical Requirements: The work includes frequent inspections or surveys of industrial workplaces, requiring the employee to carry a considerable amount of equipment, and involve a good deal of walking, standing, bending, and climbing.

Responsibilities:

The TCF career fields represent those technical fields where VA-specific knowledge and experience is desirable for success in the field. Individuals selected follow a formal training plan for two years during which they are trained, coached, and supervised by a preceptor. Preceptors are selected annually, through an extensive application process, for their technical expertise, their commitment to training and the suitability of their facility as a training location. *Selectees will be required to sign Mobility, Training, and Continued Service Agreements.

This is a developmental position leading to a GS-11, performing assignments intended to broaden skills and provide practical experience leading to progressively more complex assignments performed under progressively less supervision. The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Training Career Field (TCF) is a national workforce development program within VHA that was designed to replenish technical staff in critically identified positions. The TCF career fields represent those technical fields where VA-specific knowledge and experience is desirable for success in the field. Individuals selected follow a formal training plan for 2 years during which they are trained, coached, and supervised by a preceptor. Preceptors are selected annually, through an extensive application process, for their technical expertise, their commitment to training and the suitability of their facility as a training location. *Selectees will be required to sign Mobility, Training, and Continued Service Agreements.

• The incumbent serves as an Industrial Hygienist in the Safety & Occupational Health Office as a member of the Medical Center Associate Director's office. The incumbent shall serve as a backup to the Safety Officer. This is a career progressive position with various duties to access work practices and environmental conditions for hazards to the health and safety of workers.
• The Industrial Hygienist will orient to various equipment utilized to perform the functions of this position and processes related to the Safety Department. They will work closely with and under supervision of the Safety & Health Manager and TCF Preceptor. Duties will be received from the Safety Manager and/or Safety Specialist as needed.
• Duties include working with Safety Office staff to conducting studies and follow-up on complaints, analyzing findings, and preparing various reports to be reviewed with the Safety Manager. Environmental conditions involve a variety of hazards, e.g., chemical, noise, heat, actinic rays, ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, and other environmental physical agents. Assigned work includes industrial shops, production areas, laboratories, confined areas, and outdoor work sites.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work schedule: 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Monday thru Friday
Compressed/Flexible Schedule: Not available
Position Description Title/PD#: Industrial Hygienist Technical Career Field Trainee/PD031060 and PD03108

Salary : $49,960