This position is located at the VA Western New York Healthcare System (VAWNYHS) in Buffalo, NY. The Safety & Occupational Health Specialist - Fire/Life Safety serves as the technical authority for life safety and fire protection at VAWNYHS, with responsibility for assuring adequacy of Medical Center and off-site facility fire protection systems and programs.

Duties

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** The major duties include but are not limited to: Performs regulatory, mandated, on-site, and off-site inspections and testing; Inspects construction project sites to determine compliance with applicable occupational safety standards (e.g., exits, means of egress, occupant load capacity, adequacy of sprinkler protection and fire alarm systems, material storage, etc.); Promotes safety and accident prevention throughout the facility at all times; Participates in occupational safety, environment of care, and fire protection inspections and initiates corrective actions; Conducts construction project design review for fire protection code compliance; Investigates accidents, fire incidents, or other safety related mishaps for root cause and develops lessons learned; Reconstructs incidents to determine appropriateness of human action and proper operation of fire protections systems; Obtains witness statements, photographs incident scenes, and prepares final reports of findings with recommendations to correct unsafe acts or conditions; Coordinates the fire drill schedule; Conducts drills, assesses performance, and conducts after drill critiques; Provides technical safety training to supervisors and employees using a wide variety of materials and visual aids; Reports unsafe environmental, mechanical, physical, and workplace practices to the safety manager; Serves as off-site inspector for nursing homes, community residential care facilities, adult day-care, and community-based outpatient clinics; Evaluates and determines Life Safety Code occupancy classification and fire plan adequacy, assesses occupant fire safety training, and reviews maintenance and equipment operating practices and machine operations; Manages the collection of data, scheduling, and coordinates inspections, testing, drills, and maintenance of fire equipment; and, Performs all other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved 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 ad hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must meet one of the following: Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist - Fire/Life Safety, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Qualifying specialized experience includes: 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. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. ~OR~ Education: Successful completion of a 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. The major study must be 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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the Safety & Occupational Health Specialist - Fire/Life Safety position. NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation.~OR~ Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which may be used to meet total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of the Safety & Occupational Health Specialist - Fire/Life Safety position such as safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene). NOTE: Transcripts (unofficial or official) must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: SAFETY ENGINEERING PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNICAL COMPETENCE COMPLIANCE COMMUNICATIONS IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. 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. 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; religious; 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. Physical Requirements: The position requires stooping, kneeling, ladder climbing, lifting, pulling, and stretching in awkward positions. The work requires frequent onsite surveys, necessitating prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, crouching, stretching, and other physical movements. The person in the position normally works inside; however, tasks may be assigned that exposes to adverse weather conditions, temperature extremes, contaminants, noise, and potential hazards of construction work. The position involves some travel to other facilities. 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

IMPORTANT: 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: Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | International Affairs Office (ed.gov).

Contacts

• Address VA Western New York Healthcare System 3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]