Industrial Hygienist; GEMS

The South Texas Veterans Health Care System (STVHCS) Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) Coordinator is the key member of the STVHCS GEMS Committee responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of the VA GEMS across STVHCS organizational elements.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/07/2026.

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.

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.

The education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education 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; 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).

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

One year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS‑07 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:

• Receives and disposes of hazardous wastes and maintains appropriate records in accordance with existing Environmental Protection Agency standards and state law.
• Responds to industrial hygiene inquiries and provides technical assistance to employees.
• Calibrates and uses a variety of industrial hygiene instrumentation, including but not limited to air sampling pumps, noise survey instruments, and field direct reading devices.
• Performs on‑site inspections of new construction to ensure compliance with all applicable codes, standards, and health care system policies.
• Develops, evaluates, and provides corrective actions for respiratory programs.
• Recommends and approves remedial actions.

OR

Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS‑09 level. 2 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree

OR

Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS‑09 level.

• Specialized
  
  Experience:
  
  You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS‑09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: the recognition, evaluation, corrective actions, and elimination of environmental conditions in the workplace that causes sickness,…