This position is located in the Occupational Safety and Health Department of the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, PA. The Safety & Occupational Health Specialist reviews and works with activities in all areas of the Healthcare System to determine where the appropriate safety standards are applicable and works with the departments to develop and implement programs to assure compliance.

Duties

Position Description / PD#: Safety & Occup Hlth Spec / PD00980O Work Schedule: Monday - Friday,7:30am - 4:00pm As a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, you will assume a lead role in the development of safety goals, policy, and procedural documentation for a one or more facility programs. Major duties include, but are not limited to: Works closely with service line and departmental managers to review how safety considerations are integrated into the planning and operational activities of the facility for which he/she is responsible. Develops criteria to monitor compliance with OSHA standards, conducts reviews of all policies and procedures, and conducts periodic inspections of workplaces to assure compliance with assigned program areas. Works with the responsible departments to develop corrective action plans for any identified deficiencies and conducts follow-up monitoring and inspections to assure that corrective actions have been implemented and are effective. Responsible for the occupational injury and illness record keeping program for the facility. Investigates reports of unsafe or unhealthy working conditions. Serves as a member of the facility Hazardous Spill Response Team. Develops training programs and conducts training sessions on a wide variety of topics including OSHA compliance, general safety, life safety and fire protection. Conducts fire and emergency drills, including coordinating, executing, documenting, and insuring follow up on fire drills and spill response drills. Reviews engineering drawings, to ensure that building maintenance and repair, modifications, renovations, and new construction projects incorporate safety standards and criteria. Serves as Contract Officer Representative (COR) for one or more Service contracts under the jurisdiction of the CMC VAMC Safety Department. Provides oversight for all fire extinguisher inspection and conducts inspections and performance checks of fire protection equipment as assigned by the Safety Manager. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement (08/23/2023). 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. 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-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: Managing safety or occupational health program elements; Developing and recommending safety and occupational health policy to higher levels of management; 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; Developing safety and occupational health standards, regulations, practices, and procedures to eliminate or control potential hazards; Developing or implementing programs to reduce the frequency, severity, and cost of accidents and occupational illnesses; Analyzing or evaluating new and existing jobs, processes, products, or other systems to determine the existence, severity, probability, and outcome of hazards; 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; Training of workers, supervisors, managers, or other safety and occupational health personnel in safety or occupational health subjects; Work in occupational fields such as safety engineer, fire prevention engineer, health physicist, and occupational health nurse. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. (or equivalent doctoral degree) or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related? Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Note: Graduate Education: Major study -- 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. 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 the second year of graduate education can be used in combination with specialized experience to qualify for this grade. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accident InvestigationCommunicationProblem SolvingPublic Safety and SecurityRisk Management 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: Work is performed in a wide range of environments and includes exposure to potentially hazardous conditions such as asbestos, chemical spills, extreme temperatures and damaged or defective buildings and structures. Work activity may involve prolonged periods of sitting, standing, climbing, work in cramped spaces, walking and bending. Incumbent occasionally lifts and moves moderately heavy objects. Some degree of agility and dexterity is required to conduct inspections. 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.

Graduate Education: Major study -- 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.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Corporal Michael J Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 3900 Woodland Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19104 US
• Name: Sylina Conley
• Phone: 2158235800
• Email: [email protected]