Serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist for the Kernersville HCC. Works with supervisors, union officials, and safety and occupational health committees to eliminate or control hazardous operations or conditions. Perform non-supervisory work in one or more of the following areas: Inspecting, Investigating, Recording , Analyzing, Reporting and Developing Safety Policy, Procedures and training for the Health Care Center.

Duties

Responsible for safety program planning and implementation. He/she completes regulatory program documentation and leads facility self-assessments, inspections, and other safety-related investigations. Administers safety and occupational health programs to assure compliance with applicable standards and requirements. Advises senior level management officials within the assigned area on the status of the safety and occupational health programs and recommends changes in the design of work programs to meet new safety and occupational health standards. Periodically confers with safety and occupational health specialists external to the facility to identify hazards related to new laboratory, imaging, surgical and other equipment or other areas and to become familiar with evolving techniques and protective devices for controlling or eliminating potential safety hazards. Independently schedules and performs surveys of VA buildings and offices to identify and evaluate· risks involving a wide variety of work environments; determines the extent to which mechanical and physical conditions comply and makes decisions regarding adherence to established safety policies and procedures. Directs investigations of accidents, analyzing precipitating factors and accident cause data in order to develop specific methods for prevention. He/she also consults with specialists from related occupations concerning work process modifications and recommends corrective or remedial safety measures. Works in conjunction with other employees including safety and occupational specialist and industrial hygiene staff, providing instruction on a variety of subjects, including chemical, biological, or physical safety topics. He/she adapts various available media to fit special and unique training requirements and participates in the development of novel or innovative safety training and promotion activities. Conducts all respiratory fit testing, employee monitoring, fire drills, ergonomic evaluations and general hazard assessments. Works with the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator in scheduling and conducting disaster drills. They also provide guidance to HCC service chiefs in the development of service level emergency plans. Works with the medical center Industrial Hygienist to ensure Safety Data Sheets (SDS) are accurate and available for staff. Coordinates with HCC services to insure that Hazardous Waste is properly handled and stored. Works with waste contractors to facilitate timely and appropriate disposal. Is the VA HCC liaison with the town of Kernersville with regards to the FOG (fats, oils and grease) program and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Performs other directly related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm, Must have the flexibility to work outside the normal tour of duty which may include weekends and holidays Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD018080 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Designated and/or random drug testing may be required
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/20/2023. 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-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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Individual Occupational 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: 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: 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 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; analyzing or evaluating new and existing jobs OR, Education: Applicants 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 LL.M., if related. 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. 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/. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: CommunicationsFire ManagementHazardous MaterialsProblem Solving 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: . The work of this position requires, on a regular and recurring basis; on-site visits throughout the Medical Center and moderate physical exertion, such as when transporting equipment (weighing up to 50 lbs.), climbing, standing, walking, crawling, and bending. The work requires the incumbent to have good hearing, eyesight, color and depth perception, and the use of all limbs. 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 WG Bill Hefner Salisbury VA Medical Center 1601 Brenner Avenue Salisbury, NC 28144 US
• Name: Cassandra Brown
• Phone: 804-675-5000 X2353
• Email: [email protected]