Safety and Occupational Health Specialist work in conjunction with the Safety and Occupational Health Manager, with supervisors, union officials and safety and occupational health committees to eliminate or control hazardous operations or conditions.

Duties

Major duties include but is not limited to: Administers safety and occupational health programs to assure compliance with applicable standards and requirements to include the Safety Management Systems (SMS). Advises senior level management officials on the status of safety and occupational health programs and recommends changes in the design of work programs to meet new safety occupational standards Schedules surveys of VA buildings and offices to identify and evaluate risks involving a wide variety of work environments Assists in making recommendations regarding adherence to established safety policies and procedures Leads investigations of accidents, analyzing precipitating factors and accident cause data to develop specific methods for prevention Trains other employees and lower grade occupational safety employees providing instruction on a variety of subjects, including chemical or physical safety topics Conducts safety and fire protection orientation classes, conducts training classes for supervisors in fire, safety, accident prevention and reporting, conducts safety promotional programs for all services Prepares written procedures for implementation of safety, fire protection and occupational health policies Conducts administrative inspections of patient care areas for hazards and life safety code violations Conducts inspections of adult Community Placement Home Facilities for safety and fire protection measures; makes recommendations and follow up inspections when necessary to assure compliance Ensures fire drills are conducted through the facility, assists management in developing a comprehensive Disaster Plan and conducts disaster drills Investigates alleged adverse incidents involving regulated materials, machinery or items that have and impact on employee/patient safety or occupational health and completes thorough reporting of findings, related data, illustrations, analysis and recommendations for higher level review Develops specialized operating practices for construction, workplace safety and occupational health Develops training plans for employees in fields of fire protection, workplace safety and occupational health Reviews proposed/required corrective actions to ensure accomplishment of hazard abatement Participates in the facility Safety, Accident Review Board (ARB) and/or Environment of Care committees and others as assigned Other duties as assigned 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. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm Telework: Not Eligible Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD90358-A and PD90359-A 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 04/09/2024. 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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. For a GS-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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: IOR: 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. Transcripts required. or IOR 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. NOTE: Experience must be clearly outlined in your resume. GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Observing environmental conditions and employee performance patterns to identify hazards, detect risk and determine casual relationships; assuring the validity of data collected, accurate documentation of occurrences, data summaries and maintenance program information; defining terminology, writing summaries and preparing summary documentation related to safety and occupational health. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have1 full year of graduate level education (18 semester hours). Transcript Required. OR, Superior Academic Achievement: applicants who have completed (or expect to complete within 9 months) all the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. S.A.A. is based on: (1) Class standing - Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, such as the College of Liberal Arts or the School of Business Administration, based on completed courses. OR (2) Grade-point average - Applicants must have a grade-point average of:a.3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; or b.3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum. OR (3) Honor society membership - Applicants can be considered eligible based on membership in one of the national scholastic honor societies. Transcript/documentation required. GS-09 Specialized Experience: See Education Section below for GS-09 qualfications You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accident InvestigationCompliance InspectionOral Communication 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: Survey or inspection works requires regular and recurrent exertion, such as frequent standing, walking, climbing, crouching and stretching in the performance of inspection and survey duties and occasionally lifting of moderately heavy objects. 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

• GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-07 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Conduct inspection of the facility and clinic spaces ensuring compliance with fire/life safety codes, OSHA regulations and EPA related items; Reviews proposed/required corrective actions ensuring accomplishment of hazard abatement; leads investigation of accidents, analyzing precipitating factors and accident cause data to develop specific methods for prevention; Conducts safety and fire protection orientation classes; ensures fire drills are conducted through the facility. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have master's or equivalent graduate degree Transcript Required OR 2 full years (36 Credit Hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Transcript Required. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and graduate level education beyond 16 credit hours. Transcript Required.

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 White City VA Medical Center 8495 Crater Lake Highway White City, OR 97503 US
• Name: Merlinda Winbush
• Phone: 702-791-9000 X14083
• Email: [email protected]