Summary This position serves as a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist who plans, schedules, and conducts difficult inspections in establishments and worksites where there is a strong probability of encountering hazardous work processes and materials, and unsafe environmental conditions, involving a substantial number of employees. Responsibilities As a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, you will: Conduct safety surveillance audits and inspections on a frequent basis according to the required standards and regulations and degree of hazard Investigate hazardous conditions, equipment, practices, etc. to identify and analyze the nature and severity of hazards and possible remedial actions Ensure corrective actions are initiated and consults with subject matter specialists and managers about changes in work processes and proposed methods to eliminate unnecessary risks and control hazardous conditions Plan, develop, and implement safety promotional and educational campaigns containing aspects of difficult issues that are designed to meet both general and specific goals of reducing accidental occurrences and meet unique local situations Develop and prepare supplements to guidelines developed by higher authority and initiates written procedures implementing technical safety standards, codes, and safety requirements for a variety of operations or activities within the serviced area Conduct comprehensive analytical surveys and/or studies of serviced safety programs Provide necessary administrative support for the assigned safety program or program segment Maintain records of all area training; notifies supervisors when training is due; schedules training to include all shifts; and conduct training when requested or required Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 7am to 3pm Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD028410 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job 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) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/18/2024. 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-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. 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 must meet one of the following Basic Requirement criteria: Undergraduate & Graduate Education in a related field; OR Specialized Experience: Must possess at least one-year specialized experience in or related to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples include: 1) Managing safety or occupational health program elements; 2) Developing and recommending safety and occupational health policy to higher levels of management; 3) Applying safety and occupational health laws, regulations, principles, theories, practices, and procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing with occupational safety and health requirements; 4) Developing safety and occupational health standards, regulations, practices, and procedures to eliminate or control potential hazards; 5) Developing or implementing programs to reduce the frequency, severity, and cost of accidents and occupational illnesses; 6) Analyzing or evaluating new and existing jobs, processes, products, or other systems to determine the existence, severity, probability, and outcome of hazards; 7) Designing or modifying workplaces, processes, products, or other systems to control or eliminate hazards. Inspecting or surveying workplaces, processes, products, or other systems for compliance with established safety and occupational health policies or standards and to identify potential new hazards; 8) Training of workers, supervisors, managers, or other safety and occupational health personnel in safety or occupational health subjects; 9) Work in occupational fields such as industrial hygienist, safety engineer, fire prevention engineer, health physicist, and occupational health nurse. In addition to the Basic Requirement (above), you must 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience include: 1) Participate or assist in the development and implementation of a unit safety and risk management program; 2) Coordinate, conducting and/or organizing training in the field or classroom related to safety and risk management; 3) Organize, lead, and/or participate in accident investigations, after action reviews or facilitating learning analyses; 4) Review or prepare and implement project job hazard analyses.. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph. D degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a major field of study related to the work of the position which provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position ( safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or degree in other related fields that included or was supplemented by at least 24 semester hours of study from among the following (or closely related) disciplines: safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, toxicology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, and industrial psychology.) which provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position.. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Compliance Inspection Education and Training 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: Most work is performed in an office or workplace setting, and the work is sedentary in nature. There may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items, occasionally carrying moderate weight items, but no specific demands are required to perform the work 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 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 This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. 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.