The Dayton, Ohio Veterans Affairs Medical Center is recruiting for a well-qualified Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, within Safety Service, managing a specifically assigned functional part of the VHA Medical facility SOH Program (Industrial Hygiene, Operational Safety, Facility Safety and Environmental Safety/ GEMS) and is responsible for conducting inspections of that functional part and for determining compliance with SOH standards and regulations.

Duties

The employee assigned to the position is expected to complete the major duties of the full performance position description with lessened amount of knowledge required on entry and a higher level of supervisory oversight. At times, the guidelines and complexity of the position will also be changed, but is not always required or appropriate. Duties include, but are not limited to: Coordinates VA standardized Environment of Care (EOC) rounds and other compliance inspections. Identify and evaluate risk potential involving a wide variety of work environments and occupations; determines the extent to which mechanical and physical conditions comply with required or accepted standards, their adherence to established safety policies and procedures, and the effectiveness of the assigned program. Certifies work environments where local guidelines or standards require assurance that specific and predetermined safeguards or practices are present prior to work beginning.] Directs investigation of accidents, analyzing precipitating factors and accident cause data in order to develop specific methods for prevention. Consults with specialists from related occupations concerning work process modifications and recommends corrective or remedial safety measures. Prepares safety guides and internal instructions for low safety and normal safety risks encountered in an assigned area of responsibility; identifies the need for higher level risk guides or instructions. Advises senior level management officials within the assigned area on the status of the safety and occupational health programs and recommends changes in the design of work programs to meet new safety and occupational health standards. Performs special environmental monitoring tasks using a variety of evaluation processes and instruments to determine potentially unsafe exposures. Coordinates long-term studies of unsafe work conditions with appropriate supervisors. Instructs employees on a variety of safety and occupational health subjects including chemical, biological or physical safety, various laboratory safety needs, or ventilation requirements. Adapts various available media to fit special and unique training requirements and participates in the development of novel or innovative safety training and promotion activities. Periodically, confers with safety and occupational health specialists at universities, hospitals and research organizations to identify hazards related to new equipment and to become familiar with evolving techniques and protective devices for controlling or eliminating potential safety hazards. 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 0800- 1630 Compressed/Flexible: Available Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Specialist/PD913790 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 by the closing date of this announcement, 10/10/2024. 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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9; for a GS-9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-7 level; for the GS-11 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9 level. 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. You must meet the General Schedule Qualification Standards for the job series, as well as the Individual Occupational Requirements. General Schedule Qualification Standards: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade in the normal line of progression for the occupation (See Individual Occupational Requirements below). Education: Applicants may substitute education for required experience. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. GS-07:one full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement. *A transcript is required at time of application. GS-09:master's or equivalent graduate degree, two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or a related LL.B or J.D. *A transcript is required at time of application GS-11: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, three full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, or a related LL.M. *A transcript is required at time of application. Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at these levels. Individual Occupational Requirements: 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, Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): General experience is not available for positions above the GS-05 in this job series. Instead, specialized experience is necessary: 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, Certifications: 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. Applicants may also qualify for higher grade levels based on their education and/or experience. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to DetailAuditingCreativity and InnovationCustomer ServiceOral CommunicationRisk 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 work involves the frequent performance of survey s and onsite visits to laboratory and maintenance shops necessitating prolonged periods of walking and standing. 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. Your official or unofficial transcript must reflect: name of the college or university, full address of the college or university, your name, class title(s) with the number of credits earned/completed, the degree received, if applicable, and date degree conferred. A copy of your certificate/degree or screenshot of your current classes are not acceptable, are not a replacement of your transcript, and they will not be used in the qualifying process.

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 Dayton VA Medical Center 4100 West Third Street Dayton, OH 45428 US
• Name: Sage Artemis
• Email: [email protected]