This position is located within the Occupational Safety and Health Service at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System. The incumbent is the Facilities Safety Specialist and acts under the authority of the Chief of Occupational Safety and Health. The purpose of the position is to perform duties to support safety and occupational health staff in regulatory compliance, research, training, program development, accident prevention and safety surveys in a healthcare environment.

Duties

Major duties of this position include, but are not limited to: Provides guidance to customers concerning everyday safety issues. Responsible & accountable for directing/managing an integrated Occupational Safety and Health Program. Provides direct support to the Executive Leadership Team in planning, designing, integrating, implementing, modifying, and administering the Occupational Safety and Health Program. Collaborates with and provides guidance to the leadership team on Safety and Health, Joint Commission/ Environment of Care, Fire/Life Safety, and Construction issues throughout the Health Care System. Formulates strategic planning goals for the Occupational Safety & Health program and develops performance goals to measure activities on an annual basis, keeping the leadership team appraised of Occupation Safety & Health priorities, performance measures and trends in the Occupational Safety & Health program that impact the safety of staff and quality of healthcare delivered to Veterans. Provides expert interpretation of regulations, directives, and guidelines and assures that specific policies are consistent with federal, state, and local regulations that may affect Veterans Administration related activities. Develops strategy to ensure compliance with all safety related performance measures/monitors identified in the Facility Director' Performance Standards and tracks facility compliance. Provides expert interpretation of regulations, directives, and guidelines and assures that specific policies are consistent with federal, state, and local regulations that may affect Veterans Administration related activities. Leads organizational efforts to achieve compliance with the requirements and recommendations in Occupational Safety & Health established by Veterans Administration Central Office, Occupational Safety and Health Agency, The Joint Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Patient Safety, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities and other regulatory and/or accrediting agencies. Prepares technical documents and guidance to support safety and occupational program implementation. Coordinates communication of information between the Veterans Integrated Services Networks, and the Facility on any potentially hazardous condition that may cause damage to property or cause injury to patients, visitors, or employees. Utilizes all VHA required reporting databases (i.e., Performance Logic, Facility Safe, Employee Compensation Operations & Management Portal). Evaluates the industrial hygiene programs within the Facility to identify hazards associated with areas such as radiation, airborne chemical or biological contaminants, noise, temperature extremes, asbestos, laser, and other occupational health issues as deemed appropriate. Has substantial and continuous responsibility to initiate action when imminent danger situations arise posing an immediate risk of death or physical harm, by informing affected 14 employees and management to ensure that work can be stopped until the hazard is corrected They identifies specific hazardous conditions that require in-depth analyses and subsequent implementation of measures to control or eliminate unhealthy conditions. Leads the Accident Review Board and is the designated facility ECOMP Coordinator. The Safety Manager works closely with the Workers' Compensation Coordinator to promote and improve data acquisition and flow at the facility level. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Lead Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD14331-O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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, 03/01/2024. 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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Individual Occupational Requirements Education 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 Experience 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. 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. AND; 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: Knowledge of construction safety, healthcare engineering, occupational safety and health, environmental protection and construction emergency action planning, concepts, principles, practices, procedures, bodies of law and regulations and precedent decisions. Ability to identify construction safety, occupational safety and health, environmental protection and emergency management issues that occur on construction sites. Knowledge of asbestos project designs, leading remediation plans, hazardous materials remediation activities. Ability to read and interpret blueprints. Ability to use Auto Cad, Excel, Access and all Microsoft office applications. Ability to apply a comprehensive knowledge of safety and occupational health principles, methods and standards, regulations, policies, and procedures applicable to a broad range of safety and occupational health duties in one or more specific areas of safety and occupational health. Technical knowledge sufficient to analyze safety design features and specifications and to develop new methods and procedures to identify or control hazardous construction processes and equipment usage. Knowledge to formulate, execute, advise on, and explain recommendations or solutions to modify standard practices, equipment, devices, processes, and techniques and resolve a wide variety of complex problems. Ability to prepare, present, and evaluate plans, designs, reports, and correspondence. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementAnalytical ThinkingPropulsion and PowerPublic Safety and SecurityTechnical Competence 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: There may be some walking or bending during frequent walk-through inspections of worksites. The work requires the ability to walk, run, stand, bend and carry up to 45 lbs. for short distances. Some of the work is performed in an office setting. The Occupational Safety and Health service is a fast-paced environment that requires the ability to adapt to rapidly changing priorities and needs. Incumbent must be physically capable of conducting site evaluation. The work will require the ability to travel on construction job sites, utilize ladders, scaffolding systems, and mechanical lifts. Must be capable of entering permit required confined spaces, donning a negative pressure respirator and possess the ability to work at heights without issue. Will also be expected to be capable of conducting training for adult learners. The work area normally involves everyday risks or discomforts requiring safety precautions typical of construction sites, offices or meeting and training rooms. The work will involve occasional exposure to conditions in production facilities, laboratories, or construction sites requiring normal safety precautions. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 Oklahoma City VA Health Care System 921 Northeast 13th Street Oklahoma City, OK 73104 US
• Name: Jeremy Gilliam
• Phone: (406)-781-5321
• Email: [email protected]