This position serve as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist. The incumbent will be responsible for c specific program elements in various environmental, safety and occupational health programs such as occupational safety, OSHA recordkeeping, environment of care, industrial hygiene, life safety, construction safety, water safety, Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) and emergency management throughout the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS).

Duties

Workplace Evaluations and Inspections: Independently or as a team perform inspections of CTVHCS to determine compliance with safety and occupational health laws, regulations and agency policies. Provide technical assistance to managers and supervisors to achieve safe and healthful working conditions Plan, Schedules and conducts inspections in clinical and non-clinical worksites, machine and equipment, Conduct mishap investigations to determine causes and effect on employees, contractors, Veterans or visitors Conduct conferences with managers and employee purpose and scope of inspection Program Administration: Administer Occupational Safety and Health and Water Safety Programs reducing the potential for injury and illnesses. Execute program elements related to area such as industrial hygiene, environment of care GEMS, Emergency management and water safety. Work closely with Contract Officer Representatives (COR) and General Contractors to leverage NFPA, OSHA, TJC and other regulatory requirements. Examine pertinent contract proposals, interpreting terms, specifications, and technical requirements and determine compliance by contractors with these criteria. Ensure all fire alarm and suppression systems are inspected and maintained to ensure NFPA compliance and the safety of CTVHCS personnel, visitors, and patients. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Physical Requirements: The performance of inspection activities requires frequent walking, standing, bending, climbing, crouching, reaching and lifting of a variety of moderately heavy items such as large metal lids on storage containers. Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:30pm Compressed/Flexible: YES: 9 hour days and one 8 hour day per pay period. Tours beginning as early as 7:00a Virtual: This is not a Virtual Position Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD08615A 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, 09/05/2023. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements: Education: Undergraduate and 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 Experience: Experience in or related to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: 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 industrial hygienist, safety engineer, fire prevention engineer, health physicist, and occupational health nurse. OR Certification: Certification as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), or Certified Health Physicist (CHP), or similar certification that included successful completion of a written examination meets the requirements for GS-5. Applicants may also qualify for higher grade levels based on their education and/or experience. In addition to the above IOR, you must qualify with grade requirements below: GS-07 Grade Requirements: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assists assessing work practices and environmental conditions for hazards to the health and safety of workers; Contributes to conducting routine surveys; Supports preparing data for inclusion in reports and writing portions of reports; Assists surveying assigned work areas, in accordance with established guidance; Researches literature related to specific health hazards; Contributes to evaluating exposures and preforms modifications in work procedures or schedules to comply with established health requirements and to provide information for evaluation purposes. OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate level education (18 semester hours) Major study -- safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or degree in other related fields supplemented by at least 24 semester hours of study from among the following disciplines: safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, toxicology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, and industrial psychology. OR Superior Academic Achievement (S.A.A.) is based on 1. class standing: applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses; 2. grade-point average: a-3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or b-3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum, or 3. honor society membership as outlined by the Association of College Honor Societies. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED OR Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelor's degree. (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) GS-09 Grade Requirements: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Assesses work practices and environmental conditions for hazards to the health and safety of workers; Conducts routine surveys; Prepares data for inclusion in reports and writing portions of reports; Surveys assigned work areas, in accordance with established guidance; Researches literature related to specific health hazards; Evaluates exposures and preforms modifications in work procedures or schedules to comply with established health requirements and to provide information for evaluation purposes. OR Education: A master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Major study -- safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or degree in other related fields supplemented by at least 24 semester hours of study from among the following disciplines: safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, occupational medicine, toxicology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, and industrial psychology. The remaining GS-09 qualification standards is listed in the education section of this announcement.

Education

Qualifications continued:

OR

Experience/Education Combination: I possess a combination of education and experience as described above by first determining the total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9.

You will be evaluated following competencies:

• Analysis and Problem Solving
• Analytical Thinking
• Capacity Management

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/.

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

If your school has changed names, or is no longer in existence, you must provide this information in your application.

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 VA Central Texas Health Care System 1901 Veterans Memorial Drive Temple, TX 76504 US
• Name: VISN 17 SSU USAS Group
• Email: [email protected]