You will serve as a Safety Technician with the Environmental Health & Safety services of the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center located in Spokane, Washington.

Duties

Perform inspections of clinical and non-clinical worksites, buildings, plants, and grounds to identify hazards and assess the potential for harm to employees of the facility and the environment. Conduct workplace inspections and provide assessments relating to compliance and non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations and will assist higher-graded staff with environmental, occupational safety and health, and fire and life safety inspections and assignments. Respond to reports of unsafe conditions and work practices that resulted or could result in injury, illness, or exposure to persons and/or damage to property. Observe safety practices and procedures, including equipment utilization. Monitor safety checklists for compliance with safety requirements. Report findings to the appropriate service chief and delegated occupational health Industrial Hygienist. Identify violations of established requirements and safe practices and make recommendations to eliminate identified hazards through the implementation of applicable guidelines, regulations, and recommended practices. Support various phases of occupational health and safety inspection. Prepare reports of findings to propose corrective measures. Train leaders and employees with guidance on general safety and occupational health subjects to include mishap prevention and how to maintain safe working practices. Perform 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 through Friday, 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Telework: 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 on a ad-hoc basis. Ad-hoc telework is defined as situational telework approved on a case-by-case basis. Examples of situational or ad-hoc telework include telework because of inclement weather, doctor appointment, or special work assignments. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety Technician/PD706320 and PD706310 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not authorized. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement, 09/02/2024. 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. To be eligible for the GS-07 position applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS-06 grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. To be eligible for the GS-06 position applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS-05 grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements. 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 Requirements (IOR): The Safety Technician 0019 series requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Applicants may also qualify by substituting education for experience, or with a combination of education and experience. The IOR is set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) includes Specialized Experience: Experience that involved: (l) identifying, preventing, or eliminating safety hazards in work methods or environmental conditions; or (2) safety training or promotion. Such experience must have provided a practical knowledge of occupational and environmental safety hazards, survey techniques, and control and preventive methods. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include biological technician, medical technician, engineering technician, fire prevention inspector, and environmental health worker. You may qualify for the GS-06 level based on your experience and/or education as described below: 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: knowledge of fire prevention and fire protection standards to identify and evaluate life safety requirements and construction building codes, and to eliminate risks in environmental, fire and building construction areas; knowledge of fire extinguishers, emergency eyewash and showers, hazardous material storage, handling and disposal, and respiratory protection equipment; and knowledge of computer applications for hazardous material management, safety incident record keeping, fire prevention inspection reports, and respiratory protection fit testing. OR, EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 6 months (9 semester hours) of graduate education that is directly related to the duties of the position. You may qualify for the GS-07 level based on your experience and/or education as described below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: technical knowledge of hazards present in a health care facility, hazard abatement and surveillance procedures and ability to correct hazards identified; knowledge of safety and occupational health standards including environmental, occupational safety and health and fire protection policies and procedures, pertinent to clinical and industrial settings, to identify and evaluate a wide variety of environmental risks and conduct meaningful inspections; knowledge of fire prevention and fire protection standards to identify and evaluate life safety requirements and construction building codes, and to eliminate risks in environmental, fire and building construction areas; knowledge of fire extinguishers, emergency eyewash and showers, hazardous material storage, handling and disposal, and respiratory protection equipment; and knowledge of computer applications for hazardous material management, safety incident record keeping, fire prevention inspection reports, and respiratory protection fit testing. OR, EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) year of graduate education (18 semester hours) that is directly related to the duties of the position. OR, COMBINATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 6 months (9 semester hours) of graduate level education may be used to qualify applicants at the GS-7 grade level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. (To compute the percentage, divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.) . You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: ComplianceSafety EngineeringTechnical Competence 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 work involves frequent standing, walking, climbing, crouching, and stretching in the performance of inspection and survey duties and occasional lifting of moderately heavy objects. Work Conditions: During inspections or assessments, there may be regular exposure to all the hazards and discomforts to which the workers are subjected. This may include machine and equipment operations, hazardous materials, high noise levels and temperature extremes. The employee must use a variety of protective equipment and clothing. You MUST possess a valid State license, have a safe driving record, can pass a road test, and demonstrate that I am medically qualified to operate a motor vehicle safely. 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 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 Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center 4815 North Assembly Street Spokane, WA 99205 US
• Name: Christian Sheehy
• Phone: 253-583-1445
• Email: [email protected]