The incumbent serves as a safety and occupational health specialist in the Safety and Emergency Management Service of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS). The employee Is responsible for an assigned area of the medical center involving a wide variety of high-risk operations, facilities, and environmental conditions.

Duties

The Incumbent Is assigned to the Safety and Emergency Management Service. He/she conducts safety and fire protection surveys at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, community care homes, nursing homes, and satellite clinics. Recommends measures to eliminate or control hazardous practices· and conditions, which may cause mishaps. Prepares supplemental written safety procedures for application by local personnel. Major duties and responsibilities include, but not limited to: Performs periodic on-site surveys for assigned organizations. Responsible to review and evaluate Interim life Safety Measures (ILSM) when the protection/safety is affected by construction. Conducts and documents fire drills in accordance with NFPA, VA and TJC standards for all three divisions (1/quarter/shift) and at each of the six CBOCs. Conducts regular safety rounds and acts as team leader for the safety survey team. Reviews all accident reports to determine root cause. Advises supervisors and safety representatives of appropriate safety measures to control or eliminate hazardous operating processes or environmental conditions. Periodically confers with safety and occupational health specialists at universities, hospitals, and research organizations to identify hazards related to new laboratory equipment and to become familiar with evolving techniques and protective devices for controlling or eliminating potential safety hazards. Delegated the authority to investigate fires, motor vehicle collisions and other accidents Involving damage or loss to government owned property, personal injury, or death to employees and/or visitors. May be called upon to reset fire alarms during nights, evenings and weekends. Develops and provides technical safety training to supervisors and employees using a wide variety of materials, publications, exhibits, protective devices, and visual aids. Provides back up to GS-13 Industrial Hygienist when required. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm 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 and Occupational Health Specialist/PD6769-A 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, 01/12/2024. 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. Basic Requirement: 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. In addition to meeting the basic requirement 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-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Serve as the primary support for Facility Industrial Hygienist; maintain records for all tests and inspections.; and inspect construction sites for safety deficiencies. (This experience must be well documented in your resume or application package.) OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph. D degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a major field of study related to the work of the position which provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of this position, or LL.M., if related. (NOTE: TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE SUBMITTED WITH THE APPLICATION MATERIALS. CONFERRAL OF DEGREE(S) EARNED SHOULD BE PRESENT ON TRANSCRIPT(S). UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT(S) IS OK.) OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond beyond a master's degree. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accident InvestigationMaterials EngineeringPublic Safety and Security 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: The work involves the frequent performances of surveys and on-site visits to laboratory and maintenance shops necessitating prolonged periods of walking, standing, climbing, and lifting. The specialist is frequently exposed to mechanical hazards ranging from power tools to operating machinery, and chemical and biological hazards while performing laboratory and maintenance shop surveys, emergency response and patient decontamination duties. The incumbent may be required to do frequent driving. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Palo Alto VA Medical Center 3801 Miranda Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94304 US
• Name: Veronica Alvarado
• Phone: (415) 960-5758
• Email: [email protected]