Safety and Occupational Health Specialists work with supervisors, union officials, and safety and occupational health committees to eliminate or control hazardous operations or conditions.

Duties

The employee supports occupational safety and health program planning and implementation efforts; obtains and evaluates data; helps with the coordination and performance of routine radiation safety tasks; conducts safety training; prepares reports; and assists with safety surveys. May also identify basic hazards and supports the development of corrective actions, where the potential for injury or property damage exists. Applies working knowledge and a general understanding of safety and occupational health principles, regulation, and requirements to support safety program planning and implementation activities. Compiles and analyzes accidents and injury data, studies data to discover trends and mishap causes, and develops recommendations for eliminating or controlling the hazards detected. Participates as a member of an inspection team, led by a higher graded safety and occupational health specialists, and conducts a limited segment of a major inspection of a VA facility to identify hazards and violations of standards and to draft reports of findings proposing corrective measures for unsafe conditions and hazardous work practices. Conducts small inspections, where exposure and the type of hazards is predictable in advance. Provides training to employees on basic safety topics including New Employee Orientation (NEO), fire safety and accident investigation. Aids the safety manager/radiation safety officer in the routine management of safety actions including but not limited to badge distribution and coordination of machine testing. Coordinates and performs various drills in the facility including fire and emergency management to meet various accreditation requirements. 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. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Compressed/Flexible: Available. Telework: Ad Hoc Telework Available. 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. Remote: This is not a remote position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD01894A, PD01893A, and PD01892A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Physical Requirements: Survey or inspection work requires regular and recurrent physical exertion such as frequent standing, walking, climbing, crouching, and stretching in the performance of inspection and survey duties and occasional lifting of moderately heavy objects.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/16/2023. May qualify based on your experience and/or education for the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) as described below: Specialized Experience: 1 year of experience in or related to safety & occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, & abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of experience typically include, but not limited to: manage safety or occupational health program elements; develop & recommend safety & occupational health policy to higher levels; apply safety & occupational health laws, regulations, principles, theories, practices & procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing w/ occupational safety & health requirements; develop safety & occupational health standards, regulations, practices, & procedures to eliminate or control potential hazards; develop or implement programs to reduce the frequency, severity, & cost of accidents & occupational illnesses; analyze or evaluate new & existing jobs, processes, products, or other systems to determine the existence, severity, probability, & outcome of hazards; design or modify workplaces, processes, products to control or eliminate hazards; inspect or survey workplaces, processes, products for compliance w/ established safety & occupational health policies or standards & to identify potential new hazards; train workers, supervisors, managers, or other safety & occupational health personnel in safety or occupational health subjects; work in occupational fields such as industrial hygienist, safety engineer, fire prevention engineer, health physicist, & occupational health nurse; OR, Education: May substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have an undergraduate or graduate education w/ a major in safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or degree in another related field 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, Certification: May also have 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. Grade Level Requirements: May qualify based on experience and/or education for the GS-07 as described below: Specialized Experience: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but not limited to: knowledge of occupational safety & occupational health principles, techniques, practices & standards applicable to the performance of surveys in a medical environment & sufficient knowledge to identify & evaluate a variety of environmental risks; OR, Education: May substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. May qualify based on your experience and/or education for the GS-09 as described below: Specialized Experience: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but not limited to: knowledge of occupational safety & occupational health principles, techniques, practices & standards applicable to the performance of surveys in a medical environment & sufficient knowledge to identify & evaluate a variety of environmental risks; knowledge of industrial hygiene, environmental & safety engineering, & fire protection sufficient to identify the common deficiencies found in assigned work area; knowledge of data aggregation, statistical & data analysis; knowledge of building design & construction practices in a health research environment sufficient to analyze plans for expansion or modification of facilities & develop new procedures to identify & control hazardous construction processes & equipment usage; OR, Education: May substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent degree, OR, 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree OR, a related LL.B. or J.D. Combination: May combine education and experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Applicants must have at least 1 full year in excess of graduate level education combined w/ experience. The total percentages of graduate level education & experience must equal at least 100%. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education for the GS-11 as described below: Specialized Experience: 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but not limited to: knowledge of occupational safety & occupational health principles, techniques, practices & standards applicable to the performance of surveys in a medical environment & sufficient knowledge to identify & evaluate a variety of environmental risks; knowledge of industrial hygiene, environmental & safety engineering, & fire protection sufficient to identify the common deficiencies found in assigned work area; knowledge of data aggregation, statistical & data analysis; knowledge of building design & construction practices in a health research environment sufficient to analyze plans for expansion or modification of facilities & develop new procedures to identify & control hazardous construction processes & equipment usage; OR, Education: 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, a related LL.M. Combination: May combine education & experience to meet the total qualification requirements. Must have at least 2 full years in excess of graduate level education combined w/ experience. The total percentages of graduate level education & experience must equal at least 100%. 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. 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.

If you are basing your qualifications on education (or a combination of education and experience) or if the position requires a college education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your transcripts with your application. Your official or unofficial transcript must reflect: name of the college or university, full address of the college or university, your name, class title(s) with the number of credits earned/completed, the degree received, if applicable, and date degree conferred. A copy of your certificate/degree or screenshot of your current classes are not a replacement of your transcript and they will not be used in the qualifying process.

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 John D Dingell Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 4646 John R Street Detroit, MI 48201 US
• Name: Sandra Barber
• Phone: 313-310-9915
• Email: [email protected]