Health Physicist - Radiation Safety Officer

Description:

This position is located within the Safety and Occupational Health service at the VA Maryland Healthcare System, Baltimore, Maryland as a administrative and technical advisor to the Safety and Occupational Health Program Manager. The person in this position is responsible for providing pertinent technical advice and assistance in the enforcement of the Safety, Occupational Health, and Fire Protection Program

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/18/2025.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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.

All applicants must meet the following Basic and Minimum Qualification requirements:

BASIC REQUIREMENT: Successfully completed a bachelor's degree (or higher) in natural science or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics and/or calculus. NOTE: If you select this option, you must submit a copy of your transcript with your application. Education will not be credited without documentation.

OR

A combination of education and experience that includes courses as shown above, plus appropriate experience or other education; or certification as a health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics (copy of certification must be submitted with your application materials), plus appropriate experience and other education that provided an understanding of sciences applicable to health physics comparable to that described above. NOTE: If you select this option, you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application. Education will not be credited without documentation. Experience must be fully demonstrated on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week.

AND

Minimum Qualifications : At least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level in the federal service that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

AND

You must qualify based on your experience as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: includes using in-depth knowledge of the techniques used to implement a radiation safety program within a medical facility; performs radiation safety inspections and audits; interpreting regulations, standards, concepts, and procedures to include Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Fire Protection Administration (NFPA), etc., as they pertain to the use, handling, storage, and disposal of radioactive materials. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must clearly indicate the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position. Your experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Hazardous Materials
• Health Physics
• Interpersonal Skills
• Mathematical Reasoning
• 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: Occasional movement of moderately heavy objects (40-60 pounds). Expected to walk throughout the medical in the performance of his/her duties. Handles and uses delicate instruments. The Radiation Safety Officer is likely to spend several hours per day updating documents, records, correspondence, and filing in an office, at a desk, with or without a desktop computer. The Radiation Safety Officer will make frequent use of the telephone, e-mail, and a beeper, if desirable. Makes routine visits to each VA Maryland Health Care System division sites, and especially to Radiology Service, Medical Service, Research and Development Service, and all restricted areas designated for the purpose of radiation procedures or radioactive materials use.

Work Environment: Work is usually performed in an office setting; however, during field evaluations, exposures to various types of potential health hazards may occur. The RSO will spend several hours per day updating documents, records, correspondence, and filing in an office. The RSO will make frequent use of the cell phone, telephone and e-mail. The RSO will make routine visits to each VAMHCS division site, and especially to Imaging Service, Medical Care Clinical Center, Research and Development Service, Dental Care and all restricted areas designated for the purpose of radiation procedures or radioactive materials use.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at http://://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ .