Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

Summary

This Safety and Occupational Health Specialist position is located within Facilities Management Service at VA Boston Healthcare System in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week.

*** This is an open and continuous job opportunity announcement and may close at any time once the position is filled.***

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be May 13, 2026. After this date, qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. Eligible applications received after the initial cut-off date will be referred as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled.

The incumbent serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist reporting to the Safety and Occupational Health Manager. Duties for this position include but are not limited to:

• Conduct safety surveillance audits and inspections on a frequent basis according to required standards and regulations and depending on the degree of hazard.
• Perform skillfully in safety work that involves a combined approach to unusual or complex safety and occupational health management issues.
• Review safety policies, procedures, and regulations published by serviced organizations.
• Conduct comprehensive analytical surveys and/or studies of serviced safety programs.
• Investigate hazardous conditions, equipment, and practices to identify and analyze the nature and severity of hazards and possible remedial actions.
• Investigate accidents/mishaps, obtain witness statements, photographs the accident scene, record circumstances and extent of injuries, and estimate cost of property damages.
• Advise and consult on the overall planning and programming requirements for and problems encountered in the day-to-day operations of a facility.
• Resolve difficult and complex technical, project management, and organizational problems using innovative and original approaches.
• Research various sources of information for promotional items and campaigns to initiate and maintain interest in accident prevention and occupational health for at-work and off-the job employee activities.
• Develop or adapt materials for safety campaigns and training courses.
• Maintain historical safety records and notes trends or changing conditions that warrant revision of safety procedures.
• Provide technical assistance to managers and supervisors necessary to achieve safe and healthy working conditions.
• Plan, schedule, and conduct difficult inspections in establishments and worksites where there is a strong probability of encountering hazardous work processes and materials, and unsafe environmental conditions, involving a substantial number of employees.
• Ensure safety programs meet regulatory compliance by oversight agencies.
• Ensure corrective actions are initiated and consult with personnel/managers on changes in work processes and proposed methods to eliminate unnecessary risks and control hazardous conditions.
• Regulate and enforce safety policies, programs, or activities.
• Update education and promotional information bulletin boards and disseminate information via contemporary communication means to all assigned areas.
• Prepare reports on investigation findings, which includes recommendations to correct unsafe acts or conditions which caused an accident.
• Ensure information and guidance developed by accident prevention committees is distributed to all pertinent parties.
• Manage computer programs and databases to enhance management of safety programs.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist /523-00907-A

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Notifications:

• This position is in the Competitive Service.
• Selectee required to serve one year probationary period.
• Current and former Federal employees may 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 covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA Boston Healthcare System campuses and CBOC's.
• Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements ( Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2026.

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-11 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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.

Safety and Occupational Health Management Series, 0018 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-

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.

In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements above, you must possess the required specialized experience, OR education, OR combination of experience and education as identified below:

GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Qualifying 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. At this level, applicants would have obtained this experience in: performing surveys, inspecting construction projects and designs to determine compliance; recommending corrective measures to eliminate or control hazards with a variety of Subject Matter Experts from various service lines; identifying actual and potential hazards and ability to explain the need to apply specific safety measures. Surveying construction activities, reviewing plans and drawings, emergency exits, and types of construction materials used, interpreting NFPA, JC and OSHA regulations to determine compliance activities and scope of future projects. NOTE: 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.

-OR-

Education: Successful completion of 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. The major study must be in 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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the Safety & Occupational Health Specialist position.

-OR-

Combination: Equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which may be used to meet total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary to do the work of the Safety & Occupational Health Specialist position such as safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene).

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at

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: 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:

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave : Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

Physical Requirements: The incumbent is sedentary for long periods but is frequently required to make site surveys requiring prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, and other physical movement. Because the incumbent is often exposed to workplace hazards. construction sites and hazardous materials, physical coordination, balance, and good health are required.

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

Help

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.