The Marion IL VA Medical Center is committed to Diversity and Inclusion. Together, we strive to create and maintain a working and learning environment that promotes professional growth and teamwork. We offer an inclusive, equitable, and welcoming environment where we celebrate our individual differences and unite as a team toward a common goal of providing outstanding service to our Nation's Veterans.

Duties

The Safety & Occupational Health Manager serves the Marion, IL VA Health Care System. Responsible for planning, organizing and administering and evaluating a comprehensive Environmental Safety and Health Management Program in a health care setting that addresses the Marion VA Community Living Center, contracted nursing homes, associated clinics, annexes and outpatient clinics. Provides supervision for subordinates. The Safety & Occupational Health Manager will serve as the Chief of Safety & Occupational Health Service. Designated as the safety manager by the Director; intervenes whenever conditions exist that pose an immediate threat to life or health or pose a danger to equipment or buildings. Provides expert and authoritative advice, consultation, and guidance on safety and health issues regarding OSHA, JCAHO, VA policies, NFPA and other pertinent organizations and regulations for all activities, professional and administrative services, and management. The incumbent works for the Associate Director of Operations, having authority to accomplish assignments which directly affect health care throughout the medical center, as well as facilities and projects representing large outlays of money. Duties include but are not limited to: Develops and revises safety and occupational health procedures, rules, and regulations applicable to medical center operations/industrial activities and seeks cooperation of service chiefs/supervisors to eliminate unsafe working conditions, health hazards and mechanical risks. Plans and carries out surveys evaluating medical center operations including hazard surveillance, unsafe acts/conditions for all medical center buildings, storage facilities, maintenance shops, warehouses, industrial and residential facilities, community based out-patient clinics; including private contract facilities; prepares survey reports identifying unsafe operations and conditions,specifying corrective actions required. Participates in medical center meetings and private contractors to assess safety and occupational health hazards related to medical center activities and of Community Care Placement facilities regarding VA, OSHA, JCAHO, and NFPA requirements. Responsible for the development and implementation of safety education activities, including New Employee Orientation, and for continued safety training for all employees, specialized courses for supervisors, nurses, and other professional/non-professional groups. Maintains total and single point accountability for developing, implementing, managing and monitoring a comprehensive Safety Service as defined by agency policy which meets the Safety, Environmental, Emergency Management, Hazardous Material and Life Safety Requirements of both the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Joint Commission (JC). Must possess and maintain professional knowledge of industrial hygiene concepts, principals, and practices applicable to the conduct of industrial hygiene inspections in a wide variety of environments. Provides technical and: administrative supervision to the various work units within the Safety Service. Oversees the daily operation of the units within Safety Service and ensures that agency policies and priorities are being followed. Oversees the daily operation of the safety service, ensures that agency policies and priorities are being followed; develops performance standards; and evaluates work performance of subordinates. Gives advice, counsel, and instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters. Work Schedule: Full Time, 8:00AM to 4:30PM, Monday through Friday (excluding Federal Holidays) Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Manager/PD09496-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• You may be required to serve a probationary period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Vaccination programs are requirements for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/10/2024. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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. INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT: This series requires that you meet the Individual Occupational Requirement before you may be considered further in the occupation. You must meet one of the following: 1. 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 2. 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 3. 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. ONCE IT IS DETERMINED THAT YOU HAVE MET THE INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT, FOR THE GS-12 position you must also qualify for higher grade levels based on experience. You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Inspecting workplaces and community care and nursing homes; investigating accidents; recording of injuries, occupational illnesses, property loses and fires; analyzing lost time injuries and illnesses and reporting as required; developing policies to comply with specific laws and regulations; studied health and safety reports, journals, and related periodicals in work processes that create health hazards; developing and keeping current appropriate medical center policies to ensure requirements for employee monitoring programs are current; representing a medical center or organization in technical meetings to present and discuss information related to proposed standards; reviewing and analyzing plans and specifications for the construction of all levels of project; ensuring the design and construction is compliant with all applicable safety and fire code requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementLeadershipPublic Safety and SecurityStakeholder Management 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: The incumbent is occasionally required to make site visits conducting surveys requiring prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, crawling and other physical movement. The incumbent may be required to enter small enclosed spaces or climb heights for safety inspections or other reasons and must be mentally and physically able and willing to withstand these temporary situations. Since incumbent is often on constructions sites the incumbent must be able to withstand temporary situations where temperature extremes exist. Must have good physical coordination, balance, manual dexterity, eyesight, and me overall healthy. The incumbent must be able to wear a negative pressure respirator. The performance of duties frequently requires inspections in all areas of the medical center complex including patient wards, laboratories, service rooms and construction sites, and out of state inspections requiring long periods of walking and standing. Physical demand is light to moderate. 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

Although there is no educational substitution at this grade level, you might need to submit transcripts to meet the Individual Occupational Requirement.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Marion VA Medical Center 2401 West Main Street Marion, IL 62959 US
• Name: Tammy Cesar-Sargent
• Phone: 618-922-5345
• Email: [email protected]