The Safety and Occupational Health Specialist plans, schedules, and conducts inspections in establishments and worksites where there is a strong probability of encountering hazardous work processes and materials, and unsafe environmental conditions, involving a substantial number of employees.**

Duties

The incumbent serves in a developmental capacity at the GS-9 grade level. Key functions will be similar to those described at the full performance level of the target position. However, during the developmental assignment, full performance range and level of selected functions will not be completely delegated to the employee until proper orientation and training have been completed and the incumbent has demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to accomplish the work at the full performance level. 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. Major Duties at the Full Performance Level GS-11: Specific duties include: -Conducts safety surveillance audits and inspections according to the required standards and regulations and depending on the degree of hazard. -Obtains immediate corrective action of conditions, which are of imminent danger to life or limb. -Investigates hazardous conditions, equipment, practices, etc. to identify and analyze the nature and severity of hazards and possible remedial actions (i.e., elimination, correction, or protection). -Ensures corrective actions are initiated and consults with subject matter specialists and managers about changes in work processes and proposed methods to eliminate unnecessary risks and control hazardous conditions. -Investigates or assist investigators in investigating accidents/mishaps, obtains witness statements, photographs the accident scene, records circumstances and extent of injuries, estimates cost of property damages, and prepares a report of findings which includes recommendations to correct unsafe acts or conditions. -Plans, develops, and implements safety promotional and educational campaigns containing aspects of difficult issues that are designed to meet both general and specific goals of reducing accidental occurrences and meet unique local situations. -Promotes safety campaign and education materials; selects appropriate medium (i.e., lecture, campaign, safety meeting, posters, video, e-learning, brochures, training assembly, etc.) for use in promoting safety. -Ensures that safety standards are published in appropriate training manuals and establishes necessary safety committees. -Researches various sources of information for promotional items and campaigns to initiate and maintain interest in accident prevention and occupational health for at-work and off-the-job employee activities. -Updates educational and promotional informational bulletin boards and disseminates information. -Ensures the distribution of information and guidance developed by accident prevention committees is distributed to all pertinent parties. -Develops and prepares supplements to guidelines developed by higher authority and initiates written procedures implementing technical safety standards, codes, ad safety requirements for a variety of operations or activities. -Works with personnel in the establishment of realistic safety requirements and compliance with applicable directives and regulations. -Evaluates technological changes in the workplace and recommends appropriate safety measures for application. -Maintains records of training, notifies supervisors when training is due, schedules training to include all shifts, and conducts training when requested or required. -Creates and conducts area-specific safety hazard initiatives when needs dictate. -Maintains long-term historical safety records and notes trends or changing conditions that warrant revision of safety procedures. -Assists in the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling information used in safety databases. -Determines data needs, data processing requirements, and technical expertise needed in support of data management of accident records. -Works with processing plans for accident records and the record systems to handle, control, operate, store, check and retrieve data. -Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 7:00AM- 3:30PM Monday-Friday. Telework: Not Authorized. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD21051A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: NotAuthorized. 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, 01/22/2024. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeds 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS: Education: Undergraduate or Graduate education with a major in 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 (for positions above GS-5): 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; and work in occupational fields such as industrial hygienist, safety engineer, fire prevention engineer, health physicist, and occupational health nurse. In addition to the Individual Occupational Requirement above the following is the specialized experience or education to qualify for this position at the GS-9 or GS-11 grade levels. Specialized Experience GS-9: One (1) or more years of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the Safety and Occupational Health Specialist at the GS-9 level. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-07 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as, experience requiring knowledge of safety and occupational health programs; developing and recommending safety and occupational health policies; applying safety and occupational health laws, regulations, principles, theories, practices, and procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing with occupational and health requirements; and designing or modifying workplaces, processes, products, or other systems to control or eliminate hazards. --OR-- Education GS-9: A masters or equivalent graduate degree or successfully completed two (2) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or a LL.B. or J.D., with a major in safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), obtained in an accredited college or university, may be substituted for specialized experience to qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level. The education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Transcripts Required. --OR-- Combination Education and Specialized Experience GS-9: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the position, may be substituted to meet the experience requirements of the position. Transcripts Required. Specialized Experience GS-11: One-year specialized experience at the GS-9 grade level. Specialized experience is experience in or directly related to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience include: Managing safety and occupational health programs; developing and recommending safety and occupational health policies; applying safety and occupational health laws, regulations, principles, theories, practices, and procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing with occupational and health requirements; and designing or modifying workplaces, processes, products, or other systems to control or eliminate hazards. --OR-- Substitution of Education for Experience: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, obtained in an accredited college or university, or LL.M., with a major in safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), may be substituted for specialized experience to qualify for this grade 11 position. Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the position. One year of full-time graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent one (1) year of full-time study If that number cannot be obtained from the school, 18 semester hours will be considered an academic year of graduate study. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended. NOTE: Transcripts Required. --OR-- Combining Education and Experience: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience directly related to the work of the Safety and Occupational Health Specialist may be used to meet the experience requirements for this position. NOTE: Only education in excess of 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education may be used to qualify at the grade 11 level. Transcripts Required. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accident InvestigationCompliance InspectionOral CommunicationPublic Safety and Security 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 Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 820 South Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60612 US
• Name: Joyce Ruffin
• Phone: 414-384-2000 X40575
• Email: [email protected]