This position will serve at the Carl T Hayden Veterans' Administration MC in Phoenix, AZ in the Quality, Safety, and Improvement (QSI) Service's Safety Section. The primary purpose of the Safety Specialist is the elimination or minimization of human injury and property and productivity losses, caused by harmful contact incidents, through the design of effective management policies, programs, or practices.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/13/2024. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5. 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-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7. 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. Basic requirements from individual standards to be met in addition to the Grade requirements: Undergraduate or 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. Specialized Experience: Experience in or related to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Grade Requirements: GS-7 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-5 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 general demonstrative practices and procedures enabling the employee to interpret and apply basic standards, criteria, and operating instructions to specific unsafe acts and conditions. Knowledge of principal inspection and survey techniques sufficient to identify occupational hazards, and to determine elements giving rise to mishaps. Knowledge of basic safety and occupational health principles, common hazards, and protective measures, including safety devices, sufficient to provide informal training sessions and appropriate educational materials to employees. Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 year of progressively higher-level graduate education or a bachelor's degree with Superior academic achievement that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Note: For more information on Superior academic achievement see Education section below. Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond half a year of graduate education. GS-9 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-7 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 safety and occupational health principles, methods and standards, regulations, policies, and procedures applicable to conventional construction projects and necessary materials to control or eliminate hazardous environmental conditions and mechanical risks to personnel. Knowledge of established construction practices related to flooring, roofing, foundations, and interior electrical wiring of residential, commercial, and industrial structures sufficient to identify actual and potential hazards and to explain the need for applying specific safety measures where unsafe conditions are encountered. Skill in the interpretation of design criteria sufficient to review building plans, drawings, and sketches for compliance with applicable safety standards. 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 or have 2 years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a degree that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 full year of graduate education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accident InvestigationEducation and TrainingSafety Engineering 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.

Education

Qualifications Continued: 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/.

Physical Requirements: The work requires frequent onsite surveys necessitating prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, crouching, stretching, reaching and other physical movements. As stairs and aisles are often under construction, some physical coordination and balance is necessary.
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 Carl T Hayden Veterans' Administration Medical Center 650 East Indian School Road Phoenix, AZ 85012 US
• Name: Evelyn Davila
• Email: [email protected]