Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

Telework Eligible

No

Major Duties

• Reviews private contractor operations for new construction and building alterations to determine-the degree of compliance with standards and regulatory criteria; recommends procedures to control or eliminate hazardous operations or conditions.
• Inspects warehouses and contents, administrative areas; production areas, storage and material handling operations, shop machinery and related mechanical processes, vehicles, protective clothing, and fire suppression equipment.
• Compiles statistical data to determine mishap trends and identify and apply proper preventive methods.
• Reviews all facility related projects, MILCON, new construction, and renovations, for safety related considerations.
• Ensures such projects as designed will comply with all applicable safety regulations and when constructed will be safe to operate and maintain.
• Develops and prepares safety and occupational health directives and regulations through adaptation of higher command instructions.
• Prepares written procedures for implementation of safety prevention activities including motor vehicle mishap prevention, safe materials handling practices, and safe storage handling of toxic chemicals.

Qualification Summary

To qualify for a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, your resume and supporting documentation must support: A. Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience that equipped you with the particular competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position and is directly in or related to this position. To qualify at the GS-11 level, applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 level or equivalent under other pay systems in the Federal service, military, or private sector. Applicants must meet eligibility requirements including time-in-grade (General Schedule (GS) positions only), time-after-competitive appointment, minimum qualifications, and any other regulatory requirements by the cut-off/closing date of the announcement. Creditable specialized experience includes: 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. B. Education Substitution: Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. Education must be from a college or university accredited by an organization approved by the U.S. Department of Education. See If using education to meet basic qualifications, YOU MUST SUBMIT A TRANSCRIPT as supplemental documentation. To qualify based on education in lieu of specialized experience, you must possess: a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related in one of the following fields of 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. C. Combination: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for grade levels GS-11 and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for that grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grade GS-11. 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, religious, 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. Physical Demands: The performance of work duties requires frequent surveys of warehouses and a printing plant, new construction sites, machine shops and vehicle maintenance facilities necessitating prolonged periods of walking, standing and bending. Work Environment: The specialist is frequently exposed to operating machinery, hazardous materials, including chemical and flammable liquids, acid fumes and construction hazards.