Health Physicist

Summary

Performs as a Health Physicist and Alternate Hospital Radiation Safety Officer assigned to Hines Hospital under the supervision of the Associate Director of Operations. Applies professional knowledge and competence in health physics and radiation safety, ensuring the protection of persons and their environment from unwarranted exposure to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation for a given block of services or zones in the hospital.

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Clarification from the agency

ALL US CITIZENS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY: This position is being filled using Direct-Hire Authority (5 CFR 337.201) for this occupation.

Duties

This position reports under the Associate Director of Operations. The position performs activities which support the Hines VAR Safety, Occupational Health & Industrial Hygiene Section's programs in order to assure hospital NRC license and compliance with VACO, DOT, DOE, EPA, FDA, OSHA, and NRC guidelines.

• Is an alternate Hospital Radiation Safety Officer, when assigned under the hospital disaster plan and for inspections and surveys conducted by governing bodies
• Is a member of the Radiation Effects Team in support of the hospital disaster plan
• Inspects and surveys ionizing equipment, radioactive materials and work stations where these are received, stored, employed and/or disposed; reads and records wipe tests.
• Assures that contractors perform surveys and/or monitoring activities according to contract specifications and within hospital needs
• Recommends, advises and trains personnel and management on safe work practices /procedures and effective and safe use of materials and equipment.
• Develops and conducts training on a variety of subjects including but limited to ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, Hazwoper, DOT, and New Employee orientation
• Assures that required reports from services arc received complete and timely
• Responds to notices and inquiries from hospital personnel on methods and processes of handling ionizing and non-ionizing radiation producing equipment and materials
• Recommends updates for hospital regulations, manuals and procedures for approval by the Hospital Radiation Safety Officer
• Properly establishes and maintains radiation safety records: personnel exposure, "cradle to grave" of radioactive materials, laboratory survey and wipe test records, source leak test records, personnel bioassay results and, incidents such as spills, accidents or loss of radioactive materials.
• Advises the Associate Director of Operations and the Hospital Radiation Safety Officer on experimental and healthcare delivery procedures and methods when new equipment, materials or other appropriate considerations are identified.
• Oversees calibration of equipment of appropriate time frames.
• Performs and documents assigned occupational safety and health inspections, surveys and monitoring.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm

Position Description Title/PD#: Health Physicist/ PD030910

Physical Requirements: The work requires regular physical exertion such as long periods of standing and recurring activities such as bending, stooping, lifting, pushing and carrying (radioactive waste pick up). May require use personal protective equipment (Ex: gloves, eye goggles, respirators, etc).

Requirements

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package; Resume, Transcripts, etc.
• 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 dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.

Qualifications

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



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-9 level. 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.



BASIC REQUIREMENTS:
Degree: natural science or engineering that included at least 30 semester hours in health physics, engineering, radiological science, chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and/or calculus. OR

Combination of education and experience - courses as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or other education; or certification as a health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics, plus appropriate experience and other education that provided an understanding of sciences applicable to health physics comparable to that described in paragraph A.

IN ADDITION TO MEETING THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS LISTED ABOVE, YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING GRADE REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION.



GS-11 GRADE REQUIREMENTS: Must have one of the following:

• 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: knowledge, skills and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Health Physicist position, and that is typically in or related to the duties of this position. To be credible, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-7 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience for this position consists of: experience in positions that provided professional knowledge of radiation safety, health physics principles, radiation dosimetry, radiation calculations, radiation biology, and radiation shielding techniques; knowledge of federal regulations promulgated by the VHA, NHPP, FDA, OSHA, DOT, and EPA; knowledge of categories of radiation hazards, potential for internal and external exposure, and common methods of corrective actions in nuclear medicine and research practice; and broad knowledge of the underlying principles of X-ray producing devices and methods of assessing satisfactory performance of these systems including all types of radiographic and fluoroscopic instrumentation. OR
• Education: Master's or equivalent graduate degree 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. Transcripts Required. OR
• Combination: Combination of education and experience - courses as shown above, plus appropriate experience or other education; or certification as a health physicist by the American Board of Health Physics, plus appropriate experience and other education that provided an understanding of sciences applicable to health physics comparable to that described above. TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED

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

• Chemistry
• Manages and Organizes Information
• Safety Engineering

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.

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.

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.


The following will be communicated to applicants for VA employment in a testing designated position and will also be included in all VA vacancy announcements for such positions: All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drugs use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.


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 well-qualified, applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors if applicable, and must be proficient in most of the requirements of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website which can be found at



Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.



This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

If you are unable to apply online and request information about the Alternate Application process, please contact the Agency Contact listed for this Job Opportunity Announcement (JOA).

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

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. Applicants will be referred in the order in which they were received.

Required Documents

Documents Accepted:

• Cover Letter
• Other (1)
• Resume
• Transcript

Documents Required:

• Resume

Please review the above list(s) to ensure you have included all necessary documents required for your application.Not every applicant will require the same documents, therefore it is the applicants responsibility to ensure that their application package includes all necessary documents to determine qualifications and eligibility for appointment, such as a copy of your SF-50, transcript, ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees).You will not be contacted for additional information. Applicants will be deemed ineligible if supporting documentation is not submitted.



Veterans' Preference: Since the Direct-Hire Recruitment Authority is being used, traditional Veterans' Preference rules do not apply.



Applications are accepted online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application.


NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.


Effective September 29, 2025, HR office staff must ensure the two-page resume limit is clearly stated in USAS in the "How to Apply" section of all applicable JOAs (identified in item 3, Scope, of this bulletin), by using the below language:


Beginning September 27, 2025, Federal agencies will only accept resumes up to two pages in length to comply with the Merit Hiring Plan. Resumes longer than two pages will result in ineligibility for further consideration for the position. USAJOBS will not allow you to upload or build resumes longer than two pages, and you will need to update the resumes in your profile before applying for a job. Resumes should include information relevant to the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies of the position to which you are applying. VA is unable to make assumptions about qualifications if not clearly listed.


Resumes must be legible so they can be reviewed for eligibility, minimum qualifications and other position requirements listed in the job announcement.


Your resume must be 5MB or less. We recommend saving and uploading your resume as a PDF to maintain formatting and number of pages. We also accept GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, TXT, PDF, ODT or Word (DOC or DOCX). We do not accept PDF portfolio files. We recommend using a sans-serif font size like Lato, if available. Other widely available options are Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, Open San Source Sans Pro, Roboto or Noro Sans. Make your page margins 0.5 inches. Consider using 14-point size font for titles and 10-point for the main text in your resume. The resume builder can help you create a resume using these recommendations and uses the information in your USAJOBS profile to help you get started.


Helpful Hints for Creating a Two-Page Resume:

• Prioritize most relevant and recent experience
• Use concise, results focused language
• Align language from the job announcement
• Focus on demonstrating skills and competencies
• Remove outdated or unrelated experience
• Use the USAJOBS resume builder

Additional guidance on this new requirement and resume building tools can be found at:

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

All applicants are encouraged to apply online.



To apply for this position, you must complete the occupational questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on 11/28/2025 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click


1. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USAJOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire.


2. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package.



NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. You may check the status of your application at any time by logging into your USA Jobs account and clicking on Applications. Information regarding your application status can be found in the USAJobs Help Center.



To return to an incomplete application , log into your USAJOBS account and click Update Application in the vacancy announcement. You must re-select your resume and/or other documents from your USAJOBS account or your application will be incomplete.

Agency contact information

Amy McCrary

Phone

(708)953-5124

Email

[email protected]

Address

Edward Hines Junior Hospital
5000 South 5th Avenue
Hines, IL 60141
US

Next steps

After the vacancy announcement closes, applicants are evaluated to ensure qualification and eligibility requirements are met. After the review is complete, a referral certificate(s) is issued and applicants will be notified of their status by email.

Overview

Accepting applications

Open & closing dates

11/20/2025 to 11/28/2025

Salary

$82,655 to - $107,447 per year

Pay scale & grade

GS 11

Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

Hines, IL

1 vacancy

Remote job

No

Telework eligible

No

Travel Required

Not required

Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

Appointment type

Permanent

Work schedule

Full-time

Service

Competitive

Promotion potential

None

Job family (Series)

• 1306 Health Physics

Supervisory status

No

Security clearance

Not Required

Drug test

Yes

Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust determination process

• Suitability/Fitness

Financial disclosure

No

Bargaining unit status

No

Announcement number

HN-12838069-26-AM

Control number

850658600