Fire and Life Safety Specialists apply science and engineering principles, practical concepts, and processes to protect life, property, VA operations, and the environment. They perform risk assessments and work closely with architects and engineers to identify, mitigate, and prevent fire hazards. They provide specifications for building construction, egress and exit means, and mechanical systems. They develop, interpret, and promote fire safety codes and standards.

Duties

The Fire and Life Safety Program Manager performs specialized and technical duties related to fire protection across the VA Maryland Health Care System. This employee conducts reviews and resolves problems in achieving compliance with fire protection control standards and regulation; coordinates corrective measures with internal and external stakeholders. This position requires an individual with sufficient knowledge to serve as technical authority and make significant, far-reaching decisions or recommendations in the development, interpretation and application of the fire and life safety policies. This position also requires sufficient knowledge and experience to develop and manage a diverse and complex fire alarm system, fire protection system, and fire suppression system in a large organization containing multiple facilities. a. The employee reviews plans for installation or modification of fire suppression systems, fire detection systems, and fire alarm systems. b. The employee inspects buildings and other structures in operation and during the course of construction and/or modification to ensure compliance with approved fire protection plans and testing procedures. He/she makes recommendations to address unsafe conditions or unsafe practices and initiates corrective action. c. The employee reviews building and other construction plans and specifications for adequate and appropriate life safety systems and equipment and to ensure that fire safe provisions are included. d. The employee provides technical assistance and guidance to Medical Center personnel, as well as other individuals directly involved in fire prevention work, regarding management of the fire suppression, fire detection and fire alarm systems. e. The employee facilitates periodic performance testing to determine whether fire protection systems are fully functional. Conducts or arranges for all scheduled testing, as required by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). f. The employee provides oversight and evaluates contractor performance with regard to installation, modification or maintenance of the fire suppression, fire detection and/or fire alarm systems. g. The employee works with the facility's senior management to develop a written Life Safety, Interim Life Safety, and Emergency Fire Response Plans and may serve as a liaison with the local fire department and emergency responders. h. The employee ensures that facility fire drills are conducted, in accordance with applicable standards. i. The employee investigates fire sites and makes determinations regarding possible structural, mechanical, alarm, fire extinguishing, or other safety system failures. He/she also prepares reports on fire incidents, as required. j. The employee must have the knowledge, skills and abilities to analyze contract submittals and architectural drawings of fire alarm, fire detection and fire suppression systems. This will include analysis of project requirements to assign appropriate occupancy classifications. k. Employee must have the ability to coordinate the creation of shop drawings. l. Employee must have an expert-level ability to create technical reports. m. Employee must have the ability to evaluate and approve installation criteria for fire alarm, fire detection and fire suppression system components. n. Employee must have the ability to supervise and coordinate the installation and programming of fire alarm, fire detection and fire suppression systems. o. Employee must have the training and experience to implement procedures for testing of fire alarm, fire detection and fire suppression systems. p. Employee must have the training and experience to identify deficiencies in fire compartmentation. q. Employee must have the training and experience to independently inspect and troubleshoot fire alarm, fire detection and fire suppression system deficiencies. r. Employee must have the training and experience to manage numerous fire safety system simultaneous tasks. s. The employee participates in VAMHCS Safety and Occupational Health-related committees as directed by leadership. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD07859A Work Schedule: 8:00am - 4:00pm Telework: Ad-hoc - 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. Financial Disclosure Report: Not required. Travel: 25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/26/2024. 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-9. 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 -- 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. 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-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: at least one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to the GS-9 level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that required the performance of work concerned with conducting reviews and resolving problems in achieving compliance with fire protection control standards and regulation; coordinating corrective measures with internal and external stakeholders. Sufficient knowledge to serve as technical authority and make significant, far-reaching decisions or recommendations in the development, interpretation and application of the fire and life safety policies. Sufficient knowledge and experience to develop and manage a diverse and complex fire alarm system, fire protection system, and fire suppression system in a large organization containing multiple facilities. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education (equivalent to at least the GS-09 level or pay band in the Federal service) and education as described above which totals at least three years. Note: only graduate education is creditable toward meeting this requirement. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analysis and Problem SolvingHazardous MaterialsSafety EngineeringTechnical Competence 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: Performance of job duties may require long periods of walking, standing, kneeling or bending. In the event of emergency response, running may occur when responding to such incidents, i.e., fire alarm activations. Moderate lifting and carrying of equipment and supplies are required. Use of all appendages and good vision and hearing are a must. Emotional and mental stability are required. Work Environment: The work environment consists of standard office settings, laboratories, patient units, mechanical equipment spaces, roof, crawl spaces, and construction sites. The incumbent's work regularly involves exposure to hazards such as moving machinery, infectious diseases, shielded radiation sources, toxic chemicals, gases, flammables, high noise levels, electrical shock, etc. This individual must use all the proper personal protective equipment and clothing such as hard hats, safety shoes, earplugs, goggles, gloves, etc., when in the aforementioned situations. 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 legible 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/.

***All required documentation must be uploaded before the announcement closes, to support eligibility.***
Failure to submit documentation will constitute the application being categorized as incomplete and therefore ineligible for referral.

Contacts

• Address VA Maryland Health Care System 10 North Greene Street Baltimore, MD 21201 US
• Name: Crissann Heathcote
• Phone: 4432405982
• Email: [email protected]