Summary The Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) serves as a health physicist and radiation protection subject matter expert to those who are authorized access to ionizing radiation in both clinical and non-clinical applications. The RSO is responsible for overseeing the use of radiation at the facility. Responsibilities Duties include but not are not limited to: Operates autonomously and adjusts facility ionizing radiation programming changes in response to the clinical/non-clinical needs of the facility Autonomously approves radiation use permits (within the scope of the facility radioactive materials license, amends permits, and authorizes new radiation workers and new rooms for radiation treatment without prior approval by the Radiation Safety Committee (RSC) Reports decisions made to the RSC in regularly scheduled committee meetings While the Chief of Staff will provide concurrence on all policy changes, the RSO/RPM will be held responsible for implementing all policy changes, as they apply to use of radioactive materials Maintains responsibility for interpreting, developing, and enforcing local policy, providing related radiation safety training and enforcing applicable federal regulations Adapts Medical Health Care System policies and procedures in order to maintain compliance with changing Federal regulations and accreditation agency mandates Writes radioactive materials license applications and permit amendments Initiates and completes incident reports and takes corrective actions, as required Serves as an IRB reviewer, calculating patient radiation exposures for the IRB risk statement Have and maintain up-to-date knowledge of medical lasers and perform appropriate safety and auditing. Brings to the attention of the Chief of Staff and Medical Health Care System Director major radiation safety issues when identified and reports all local issues to the Radiation Safety Committee Assigns radiation safety duties as collateral duties to staff members within various clinical and research Services Provides advice and consultation during the design of design of new clinical spaces (within existing sites or as part of new construction) where technologies falling under the oversight of the RSO (e.g., lasers, magnets, ionizing radiation, radioisotopes) will be deployed to ensure that proposed designs will comply with all relevant requirements. Plays a lead role in policy development for the organization's radiation safety program, and provides technical assistance/feedback to other groups outside of the organization Ensures compliance amongst various Federal (i.e. NRC, FDA, DOT, and EPA) regulations, as defined within the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), as well as by various internal regulators and external accreditation agencies Ensures that there are no deviations in proposed radiative material treatments performed on patients and serves as a part of the Medical Health Care System's quality control process/efforts Oversees and monitors nuclear waste handling and disposal (i.e. either by onsite decay, offsite burial, or offsite reprocessing) Oversees the receipt/shipment of radioactive materials Resolves complex and unusual radiation safety problems and leads initiatives designed to reduce patient radiation exposures Reports to Federal agencies on the misadministration of radioactive materials and/or on treatment errors and reports on corrective actions back to the relevant clinical service Develops parameters for new research protocols and implements and monitors the new parameters (the researcher develops these protocols in collaboration with the RSO) Monitors the Medical Health Care System for accidents involving radiation exposures (either to patients or to radiation workers) and/or radioactive contamination Oversees the performance of comprehensive radiation safety surveys for all x-ray producing devices at the Medical Health Care System in order to meet the requirements mandated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA}, Joint Commission (JC), National Health Physics Program (NHPP), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and other regulatory agencies Coordinates annual evaluations of existing equipment and provides oversight and guidance to the personnel carrying out quality assurance testing Provides oversight and guidance to all Services regarding the safe and appropriate application of radioactive materials Develops and provides training to new radiation workers, non-radiation workers, authorized users (i.e. clinicians), and the general public, which includes professional and ancillary personnel who supervise or perform duties involving the use of ionizing radiation Develops basic radiation safety training for other staff members throughout the Medical Health Care System Administers examinations to those deemed as authorized radiation workers Establishes local radiation detection standards and trains VA staff and contractors on appropriate radiation detection equipment usage/calibration Performs other duties as assigned Work Schedule: 8:00am -4:30pm; Monday- Friday Telework: Not eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be authorized to highly qualified candidates. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/07/2025. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a bachelor's 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: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond; 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. Candidate must possess a completed NRC Form 313A - Authorized User Training, Experience, and Preceptor Attestation. Preferred Experience: Previous experience as a Health Physicist for 3-5 years. 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: The work requires some physical exertion such as moving (lifting and carrying) objects weighing over 45 pounds with assistance, such as leaded shielding material and imaging phantoms. Often required to wear heavy, leaded radiation-protective garments for periods of one hour or more. Periods of bending, crouching, stooping, stretching and reaching, and pushing moderately heavy items such as carts with sealed sources into and out of buildings and across sidewalks and streets. 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/. Education There is no educational substitution at this grade level. 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or 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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. 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.