This Supervisory Safety and Occupational Health Specialist position is in the Associate Director's services at the VA Providence Healthcare Systems, located at the Providence location.

Duties

The incumbent serves as the Supervisory Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, and is responsible for planning, organizing, administering, and evaluating a comprehensive environmental and safety management program at the VA Providence Health Care System (VAPHS) includes the Providence medical center and three community-based outpatient clinics (CBOC) serving Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The duties of the position include but are not limited to: Assists in determining the need for written policies and procedures, overseeing the development of policies and procedures, and reviewing and recommending approval upon completion. Coordinates and integrates the planning, programming, development, oversight, scheduling, and overall management of resources for multi-phase environmental engineering projects, both within the organization and with external regulatory agencies. Works with top management of the medical center to develop long-range management plans for the efficient and effective operation of the organization. Prepares formal requests for cyclic and out-of-cycle environmental engineering planning submissions. Communicates specific program objectives, specifications for compliance with technical and agency standards, environmental regulations, special instructions. Identifies action items and solicits technical input from all activities concerned. Supervises and leads the Providence VA Medical Center Environmental, Safety, and Industrial Hygiene programs. Participates in establishing short and long-range goals of the organization, developing detailed plans for implementing them, and overseeing implementation of the goals, Recommends changes in objectives or emphasis in functions under the organization's purview. Makes the best use of present resources, assisting in planning for future resource needs, estimating short- and long-range personnel, budgetary, space, and equipment needs, and implementing new resources. Conducts periodic and comprehensive evaluations of ongoing functions to ensure that the organization meets its suited goals and identifies areas where operational efficiency can be enhanced. Recommends actions necessary to maintain or improve the quality and quantity of operational services, introducing or refining automation, reorganizing operating units, reassigning personnel, and proposing the increase of organization resources. Responsible to maintain compliance with various laws including OSHA, EPA compliance and NRC regulations. Develops and plans program budgets and manages information for identifying program needs. Directs the capture, reporting, and analysis of statistical data relating to the organization's operations and directs or personally performs special studies regarding this data. Allocates project resources and reviews resource estimates to ensure proper distribution. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 7:30am-4:00pm 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. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Safety and Occupational Health Specialist/PD038710 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) [formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3)] must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment. Employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is not a Bargaining Unit position. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Selectee may be required to serve one year supervisory/managerial probationary period.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/02/2024. 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. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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: Education: 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, Experience: 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, Certificate: 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. Specialized Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, you must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience as a safety and occupation health specialist working independently to identify and evaluate a variety of environmental risks; uses data and techniques to identify and analyze safety and occupational health problems; understands the Medical Center operations as well as strategic planning; prioritizes duties, responsibilities, commitments, policies, and program goals; and, understands State safety and occupational health organizations, laws, and delegations of authority. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Analytical ReasoningCommunicationFinancial ManagementIncident ManagementProblem Solving 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 surveys and onsite visits to offices, laboratory, and maintenance shops necessitating prolonged periods of walking, standing, climbing, crouching, and lifting as much as 50 pounds. Work frequently involves walking, standing, bending, crawling during surveys of spaces. Protective devices and equipment must be worn as required by the hazards of incidence which may include extreme temperatures, asbestos, lead, chemical exposure, etc. Incumbent occasionally must climb ladders, navigate access hatches to perform observations of existing conditions of infrastructure. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

Contacts

• Address VA Providence Healthcare System 830 Chalkstone Avenue Providence, RI 02908 US
• Name: Jennie McGaffigan
• Phone: 781-824-0877
• Email: [email protected]