The primary reason for this position is to serve as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist is responsible for planning, scheduling and conducting in-depth assessments at medical center facilities and construction worksites with a significant number of employees, evaluating sites for unsafe conditions (health), at-risk work practices (safety) and environmental hazards (environmental).

Duties

Duties include: Schedules and conducts in-depth safety and occupational health assessments at medical center facilities and construction worksites. Completes and/or coordinates with contractor(s) to complete inspection, testing, and certification both monthly and annually for all sprinkler systems, water flow sensors, smoke alarms, and fire alarms located throughout the main hospital building. Completes weekly testing and certification of fire pump drive system(s) to ensure functionality of the pump(s) to deliver water to sprinkler heads throughout the main hospital building. Plans, develops and implements actions to ensure all fire safety systems are functional and in compliance with local and state fire codes. Completes weekly testing and certification. Provides ergonomic assessments to identify risk of injury to employees from improper workplace set up. Evaluates the relationship between workers and their environment. Analyzes each risk level and identifies control measures to eliminate or reduce each risk associated with hazards identified. Plans, schedules and executes weekly environmental inspection checklists for the following areas: pharmaceutical waste area, hazardous waste storage area, hazardous waste satellite accumulation areas, chemical storage areas and universal waste storage areas. Reviews and updates facility occupational safety, fire protection, health, and environmental policies/memoranda as required to ensure accurate and relevant guidance. Plans, develops and implements safety promotional and educational activities covering subjects designed to identify hazards in the workplace and eliminate or reduce risk associated with such hazards. Maintains bulletin boards with up-to date educational safety and health information and publicizes OSHA form 300, "Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses" as required by OSHA. Develops training plans for employees in areas of fire protection, workplace safety, and occupational health, initiating training actions and completing documentation of training. Serves as a Contracting Officer' s Representative (COR) on safety related projects. The work assignment requires independent interpretation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration standards, agency manuals, procurement contract clauses, safety council reports, national safety association publications, and manufacturing association criteria. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday; 8:00am-4:30pm, subject to change based on the needs of the agency. Telework: Not available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD07289ARelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Physical Requirements: Most work is performed in an office environment and is considered sedentary. However, there will be times when the incumbent is required to complete site surveys, audits, checklists, inspections and collect water samples which may require prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, and other physical movements. Because of these requirements, good physical coordination, balance, and good health are required. Position will also perform duties that frequently require inspection of construction sites and all areas of the medical center grounds. This position is covered by AFGE bargaining unit. Per the AFGE Master Agreement, the Area of Consideration will be: 1st Area of Consideration - Current Facility and CBOC employees; 2nd Area of Consideration - VA Nationwide applicants; 3rd Area of Consideration - Other Status candidates.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/13/2023. 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-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. Individual Occupational Requirements: Applicants who meet the Individual Occupational Requirements described below are fully qualified for the specified entry grade and must also meet the specialized experience and/or education requirements. 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, Specialized 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, Certificates: 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. (Certificate required). In addition to meeting the above Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), applicants must also meet the experience and/or directly related education relevant to this position. 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-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Conducts a wide variety of activities promoting safe work practices, use of protective equipment, and proper equipment operation. Analyze incident data for trends identifying occupational safety and health problems and recommended course of actions to resolve multifaceted problems and challenges. Interprets design criteria to review contract construction designs and specifications for compliance with applicable safety and fire codes and standards Communicate across organizational lines with the ability to evaluate and recommend new or enhanced methods when required. Conduct investigations and/or studies, analyze results, provide guidance, document reports, develop briefings, and encourage understanding and acceptance of conclusions and recommendations eliminating and/or mitigating hazards to prevent injury, equipment damage, or environmental spills. OR, Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related (transcripts required). OR, Combining Education and Experience: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's 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 an applicant for that grade level. 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 and GS-11. (When crediting education that requires specific course work, prorate the number of hours of related courses required as a proportion of the total education to be used.) You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:Compliance InspectionContracting/ProcurementEducation and TrainingEnvironmental EngineeringRisk ManagementStrategic ThinkingExperience 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. 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 Overton Brooks VA Medical Center 510 East Stoner Avenue Shreveport, LA 71101 US
• Name: Deborah Pressley
• Phone: 828-318-7609
• Email: [email protected]