Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

Summary

This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30, 2026 or until the position is filled. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be June 12, 2026 with subsequent cut-off dates two weeks after posted and every two weeks after.

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Duties

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Serves as a safety and occupational health specialist for a major medical facility, VA based clinics, contracted clinics, leased spaces, cemeteries and a host of social work based housing for veterans. The Safety and Occupational Health specialist will plan, schedule, and conduct inspections in establishments and worksites. Safety and occupational health specialists will work with supervisors, safety and occupational health committees to eliminate or control hazardous operations or conditions.

Major duties include:

• Plan, schedule and conduct inspections in establishments and worksites.
• Prepare safety policies, procedures and guidelines, organizes and develops safety training curriculum and reviews proposed equipment procurement requests.
• Schedule surveys of contracted, leased ,VA buildings and offices to identify and evaluate risks involving a wide variety of work environments.
• Consult with specialists from related occupations concerning work process modifications and recommends corrective or remedial safety measures.
• Work with supervisors, union officials, safety and occupational health committees to control hazardous operations and conditions.
• Inspect and observe workplace conditions and employee performance patterns to identify hazards, risks and relationships.
• Recommends adjustments to eliminate or minimize losses from injuries and illnesses.
• Confer with safety and occupational health specialists external to the facility to identify hazards related to new laboratory equipment or other areas.
• Initiates written procedures implementing technical safety standards, codes, and safety requirements for a variety of operations and activities.
• Review contractor submitted documentation for federal compliance.
• Work closely with all personnel in the establishment of realistic safety requirements and compliance with applicable directives and regulations.
• Document and record data.
• Analyze and examine available data to identify possible sources of losses experienced.
• Write reports and defining terminology, write summaries and prepare summary documentation.
• Maintain records of all area training.
• Develops educational materials and techniques.
• Conduct a wide variety of training activities designed to achieve awareness of safety hazards and preventative procedures.
• Develop and implement safety promotional and educational campaigns containing aspects of difficult issues that are designed to meet both general and specific goals of reducing accidental occurrences and meet unique local situations
• Notifies supervisors when training is due.
• Conduct investigations to uncover the sources of reported injuries and illnesses.
• Advises managers and supervisors within the assigned area on the status of the safety and occupational health programs.
• Review contractor submitted documentation for federal compliance.
• Work closely with all personnel in the establishment of realistic safety requirements and compliance with applicable directives and regulations.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 7:30am to 4pm or 8am to 4:30pm

Telework: Not Authorized

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist / PD010880

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• 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 identification 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, 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 or trial 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-09. 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:

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~

General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Experience in scientific or technical work that provided an understanding of the basic principles and concepts of the safety and occupational health field. Creditable general experience must have demonstrated the achievement of knowledge equivalent to the education described above.

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.

~OR~

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.

General Schedule Qualification Standards

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Carefully read the following descriptions of the required specialized experience. Applicants must have one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the Federal Service. Specialized experience is defined as: Understands and appropriately applies procedures, requirements, regulations, and policies related to specialized expertise (for example, engineering, physical science, law, or accounting); maintains credibility with others on technical matters. Ability to objectively analyzes and evaluates an issue in order to form an opinion/judgment/conclusion; Uses logic and reasoning to research, interpret and apply information such as regulatory and/or procedural guidance; Identifies the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems; Integrates information into development of a resolution. Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods to identify, control, mitigate, and eliminate safety hazards in the design and use of facilities, equipment, operations, and work processes. Identifies a need; gathers, organizes, and maintains information; determines its importance and accuracy, and communicates it by a variety of methods. Knowledge of methods and tools used for risk assessment and mitigation of risk.

~ OR~

• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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

~OR~

• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education are acceptable.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Critical Thinking
• Manages and Organizes Information
• Risk Management
• Safety Engineering
• Technical 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: 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

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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.

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.

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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.

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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.