This position designs, implements, leads, and continuously improves the comprehensive university-wide radiation safety and protection program to ensure the safe procurement, use, storage, control, and disposal of radioactive materials and radiation producing equipment. Ensures compliance with State and Federal regulations as well as license and certification requirements. Acts as the university’s designated Radiation Safety Officer and leads a team of two radiation safety professionals.

As a member of the Environmental Health, Safety and Sustainability Team, the Assistant Director and Radiation Safety Officer assists in establishing and maintaining strong, collaborative relationships with Vanderbilt’s faculty, staff and students and identifies additional ways to be of service and ensure customer satisfaction. This position supports the success of a high-performing organization by helping to champion and drive efficiency and effectiveness through the use of safety informatics, databases, software and instructional technology.

This position will be hybrid with the majority of each week spent working on-campus and a smaller portion working remotely. Core work hours are 8am-5pm Mon-Fri with various alternative work hours and schedules available.

About the Work Unit :

Environmental Health, Safety, and Sustainability is part of the Health and Wellness organization and consists of research-centric safety services, university sustainability leadership, and public health operations support including COVID-19 response management. Health and Wellness is a new organization at the university that encompasses EHSS along with wellness, employee and student support programs. EHSS is a 18 member team that supports a top-13 world-class research university with a community of 27,000 faculty, staff and students on 5.8 million square feet of academic, administrative, residential, and recreational space on 330 acres in downtown Nashville, TN.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Implement and manage the VU radiation safety program for radioactive materials and radiation producing equipment in accordance with all state and federal regulations as well as license and certification requirements.
• Act as primary contact for regulatory inspections concerning radiation safety with responsibility for implementing any needed corrective actions.
• Continuously improve safety, compliance and customer service with the goal of developing a world-class safety culture at Vanderbilt.
• Acts as assistant director for radiation safety which includes the recruitment, development, and retention of radiation safety staff, supplies and equipment management, effective training, report, and presentation development and delivery, and other leadership functions.
• Develop, administer, and innovate radiation safety, DOT, and radiation awareness training and education materials and modules.
• Design, implement and innovate the following radiation safety programs:
• Radiation Safety Committee and subcommittees. Enforce policies mandated by committees for all radioactive materials users. Review research protocols as needed.
• Human Subjects Radiation Committee and the Radioactive Drug Research Committee – Serve as an ex-officio member of these committees and review human use protocols.
• Research Protocol Management, Review and Support – Manage the submission, review, revision, and support of research protocols to use sources of ionizing radiation from ~35 principal researchers through the RSC Protocol Review Subcommittee. This includes any health physics evaluations or development of new procedures that is needed to support new research proposals.
• Radiation Safety Audit Program including VU EHS, primary departments and ~75 research laboratories. The Radiation Safety Program must be audited at least annually.
• Broadscope License and Certified Registration program for radioactive material, accelerators and X-ray equipment. Submit amendments and renewals for the radioactive material licenses and certified registrations as necessary.
• Sealed Source Program – Manage the sealed source inventory and leak test program.
• Personnel Monitoring, ALARA and Bioassay Program – develop and implement a comprehensive ALARA program for users of x-ray machines, irradiators, accelerators and radioactive materials. Report ALARA program results biannually to the Radiation Safety Committee and to affected groups or individuals. Ensure that calculations for radiation doses to workers resulting from intakes of radioactive material are performed. Compile an annual summary of the employee radiation doses summing the external and internal radiation doses. Investigate external radiation doses exceeding action levels and intakes of radioactive material exceeding action levels and implement corrective actions.
• Survey Meter Calibration Program – Manage the development and implementation of standard operating procedures for calibrating the various types of radiation detection equipment at VU. Ensure that all equipment is calibrated at the frequency specified in VU’s broadscope license and certified registrations.
• EHS Assistant Database Maintenance – EHSS maintains compliance records in a relational database. RSO ensures accurate and complete data is included in the EHSS database.
• Radioactive Effluent Evaluation Program – Manage the development and implementation of a comprehensive program to monitor the release of radioactive material to the sanitary sewer system and to the air.
• Radioactive Material Inventory Program – Manage the development and implementation of standard operating procedures for maintaining VU’s radioactive material inventory. This includes ensuring orders for radioactive material are processed and that radioactive material is received, surveyed, entered into the database, and delivered in a timely manner. The radioactive material inventory is maintained in the radiation safety database. Ensure that radioactive material inventory in each research laboratory is reconciled with VU EHS records quarterly. Manage all administration functions for Radioactive Materials Inventory Program.
• X-Ray Inspection Program – Manage State of TN compliance inspections for all X-ray equipment in the University. Register X-ray equipment with the State of TN. Provide compliance inspection reports to the State. Manage collection and payment of State of TN X-ray registration fees. Act as a liaison between VU and the State of TN regarding X-ray equipment.
• Decommissioning Program – Manage the development and implementation of standard operating procedures for decommissioning radioactive material use areas. Develop and implement and information management system to store decommissioning records.
• Shielding Design and Evaluation program – Design structural shielding for radioactive material use areas and installations of accelerators, and x-ray equipment. Provide shielding design reports to the State of TN for review and approval. Conduct shielding evaluations of constructed or renovated facilities and provide these shielding evaluations to the State of TN.
• Declared Pregnant Worker (DPW) Program – Provide counseling to declared pregnant workers. Monitor radiation exposure to the embryo/fetus. Liaison with Occupational Health Clinic for continued development of this program.
• Radiation Emergency Preparedness Program – Effectively respond to radiation incidents within VU. Liasion with VUPS to develop emergency response procedures.
• Public Radiation Dose – Demonstrate that radiation doses to the public from VU’s licensed activities are in compliance with state and federal regulations. Compliance will be demonstrated with a combination of radiation measurements and calculations.
• Implement new regulations and requirements as needed.

Supervisory Relationships :

This position supervises at least two professional staff, occasional student interns, and may take lead with a team of peers both within and across functions on specific projects. This position reports administratively and functionally to the Assistant Vice Chancellor of EHSS.

Education, Experience and Certifications

• This position is required to have their training and experience reviewed and approved by the State of Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Division of Radiological Health to serve as RSO for Vanderbilt’s Radiation Material Broadscope License.
• Master’s degree or higher in health physics, nuclear engineering, medical physics, physics, or other appropriate science-related field required.
• 10+ years health physics experience with at least 6+ years in direct management of a broadscope license and radiation safety professional staff. Prior experience as an RSO with a broadscope license at a major research university or hospital is preferred.
• American Board of Health Physics (ABHP) certification as a Certified Health Physicist (CHP) is preferred. Ability to complete Part II exam to receive ABHA certification within one year of start date is required.
• Advanced Excel, Word and PowerPoint skills are necessary. Captivate, Oracle, or database skills preferred.
• Advanced analytical, quantitative, technical and problem-solving skills required.
• Relational database experience preferred.
• Ability to quickly learn and adapt required
• Ability to successfully plan and coordinate multi-task and multi-project requirements and deliverables to meet objectives and deadlines
• Must have strong interpersonal communication and customer service skills
• Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships in a service oriented environment with a range of people and understand their needs and goals. Show sensitivity and tact when necessary.
• Ability to work effectively with others to be part of a team, as opposed to working separately or competitively is necessary. Ability to understand and appreciate different and opposing perspectives on an issue is preferred.