This position is located in the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Western New York Healthcare System, Industrial Hygiene and Safety Department, Buffalo, NY. The work involves the management, administration, and operation of a construction safety program. The incumbent is responsible for the implementation of a proactive and comprehensive construction safety program to reduce the potential for injury and illness to staff, related activities.

Duties

Safety Engineering 65% Monitors construction and renovation project designs to assess and ensure inclusion in the design package any special occupational safety and health analyses to be made in conjunction with the specified work area or installation of equipment. Reviews and evaluates project submittals including Contractor training records, Accident Prevention Plans and Activity Hazard Analysis for all construction and renovation projects. Ensures that the specific safety requirements for construction and renovation operations are implemented during facility projects. Works with facility leadership to integrate human factors engineering into planning and operational activities, this includes the review of requests for proposals and contracts to ensure safety engineering criteria, principles, and techniques are considered in the development and procurement of contracted work. Serves as the technical safety expert to explore, evaluate and incorporate new technology into construction program plans. Evaluates renovation and construction projects in conjunction with other professionals to assess risks. Helps coordinate implementation of interim measures such as additional fire drills, education of staff, publication of measures taken, increased inspections of the construction site, etc. Independently schedules and conducts on-site inspections of the construction and renovation sites to ensure compliance with safety requirements. Identifies, evaluates, analyzes and recommends means for controlling a wide variety of construction safety issues. All inspections are documented and deficiencies are tracked to completion. Responds to and investigates complaints relating to construction safety issues, takes actions of any imminent danger situations and intercedes when a threatening condition exists. Issues various permits related to the construction/renovation work. Provides safety related training using a wide variety of materials, publications, exhibits and visual aids; promotes safety through oral presentations designed to inform management, supervisors and employees of potential hazardous exposures, applicable directives, and construction safety topics. Assists facility managers in the development and review of safety training requirements. Industrial Hygiene /Administrative/Other 35% Conducts industrial hygiene and hazard surveillance inspections and surveys throughout the Hospital including outpatient and administrative facilities located off campus to determine compliance with standards set by TJC, NFPA, OSHA, VA and other regulatory agencies. Observes employee performance, environmental conditions, facilities, and equipment. Identifies hazards and unsafe conditions and practices. Updates and advises Employee Health Physician as to medical surveillance requirements for employees working with hazardous materials as determined by OSHA. Reviews and/or prepares accident reports and investigates those pertaining to construction safety. Consults with Patient Safety and Infection Control to ensure patient safety in areas adjacent to construction sites. Actively participates in and advises the facility's GEMS and Infection Control Committees. As conditions warrant or need arises, performs any other assigned tasks related to other program areas with the Safety Office such as Emergency Management, GEMS, Industrial Hygiene and Fire Protection and Prevention. Work Schedule: Full Time, Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm 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 Engineer/PD18243O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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, 10/11/2023. 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 next lower grade level. 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 Basic Requirments:Degree: Engineering. To be acceptable, the program must: (1) lead to a bachelor's degree in a school of engineering with at least one program accredited by ABET; or (2) include differential and integral calculus and courses (more advanced than first-year physics and chemistry) in five of the following seven areas of engineering science or physics: (a) statics, dynamics; (b) strength of materials (stress-strain relationships); (c) fluid mechanics, hydraulics; (d) thermodynamics; (e) electrical fields and circuits; (f) nature and properties of materials (relating particle and aggregate structure to properties); and (g) any other comparable area of fundamental engineering science or physics, such as optics, heat transfer, soil mechanics, or electronics. OR, Combination of education and experience.College-level education, training, and/or technical experience that furnished (1) a thorough knowledge of the physical and mathematical sciences underlying engineering, and (2) a good understanding, both theoretical and practical, of the engineering sciences and techniques and their applications to one of the branches of engineering. The adequacy of such background must be demonstrated by one of the following: Professional registration or licensure -- Current registration as an Engineer Intern (EI), Engineer in Training (EIT) 1, or licensure as a Professional Engineer (PE) by any State, the District of Columbia, Guam, or Puerto Rico. Absent other means of qualifying under this standard, those applicants who achieved such registration by means other than written test (e.g., State grandfather or eminence provisions) are eligible only for positions that are within or closely related to the specialty field of their registration. For example, an applicant who attains registration through a State Board's eminence provision as a manufacturing engineer typically would be rated eligible only for manufacturing engineering positions. Written Test -- Evidence of having successfully passed the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) 2examination or any other written test required for professional registration by an engineering licensure board in the various States, the District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Specified academic courses -- Successful completion of at least 60 semester hours of courses in the physical, mathematical, and engineering sciences and that included the courses specified in the basic requirements under paragraph A. The courses must be fully acceptable toward meeting the requirements of an engineering program as described in paragraph A. Related curriculum -- Successful completion of a curriculum leading to a bachelor's degree in an appropriate scientific field, e.g., engineering technology, physics, chemistry, architecture, computer science, mathematics, hydrology, or geology, may be accepted in lieu of a bachelor's degree in engineering, provided the applicant has had at least 1 year of professional engineering experience acquired under professional engineering supervision and guidance. Ordinarily there should be either an established plan of intensive training to develop professional engineering competence, or several years of prior professional engineering-type experience, e.g., in interdisciplinary positions. (The above examples of related curricula are not all inclusive.) You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized experience and/or directly related eduication: To qualify at the GS-11 level you must demonstrate one of the following: Specialized Experience: Do you posses 1 year of specialized experience equivalent at the next lower grade level, which is directly related to the position to be filled? Specialized experience would include: Knowledge to formulate, execute, advise on, and explain recommendations or solutions to modify standard practices, equipment, devices, processes, and techniques and resolve a wide variety of complex problems. Knowledge of the latest technical developments regarding construction safety and industrial hygiene. Know how to prepare, present, and evaluate plans, designs, reports and correspondence. Ability to communicate effectively with personnel at all levels. OR, Education: 3 years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationsComplianceProblem SolvingSafety EngineeringTechnical 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: Investigations and surveys require considerable walking, climbing, prolonged standing, and crouching, while carrying sampling equipment and measuring devices. Personal protective equipment must often times be worn and occasional working or otherwise uncomfortable environments. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address VA Western New York Healthcare System 3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215 US
• Name: Sarah Cassidy
• Email: [email protected]