Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

Summary

Employee will serve as a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist located at the Charlie Norwood Veterans Healthcare System in Augusta, GA.

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Duties

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***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

Employee will primarily be responsible for the implementation of the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Codes and Life Safety Code (LSC) requirements, inspections of all medical center and contract facilities, and recommending actions to remediate deficiencies. Duties will include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Inspects and evaluates various environments for occupational health and safety hazards and to determine compliance with applicable regulations, standards, codes, and requirements.
• Identifies hazards and assesses their potential for harm to employees, patients and visitors.
• Recommends and initiates actions and ensures corrective action completed by follow-up inspections.
• Recommends medical surveillance based on identified physical and environmental stressors or environmental conditions.
• Arrange for shipment of samples to laboratory for analysis or perform limited analyses in-house.
• Develops, reviews, and revises safety program policies for the planning, coordination, presentation of safety training programs.
• Instructs/educates personnel on safety and occupations health subjects, including fire, vehicle, and physical safety.
• Investigates all accidents and near misses, which may include fatalities and serious injury. Evaluates the incident site, machine and equipment operations, environmental conditions, work practices, protective devices and safety procedures related to the incident. Prepares summary reports of findings with recommendations regarding prevention of re-occurrence, abatement of hazard, or employee re-training.
• Performs inspections of areas under demolition, renovations, or construction.
• Accompanies inspectors and maintain liaison with fire department and emergency management personnel through meetings, special events, memorandum development and promotional activities to assure compliance with requirements mandated by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), The Joint Commission (TJC), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Services (CARF), NFPA, etc.
• Serves as a reporting member of the Accident Review Board (ARB) and the Environment of Care Committee (EOCC), reporting summaries and correction action for hazard surveillance rounds, fire protection and suppression system testing, off-site nursing home/residential care/adult day care inspections and other identified safety issues.
• Performs other duties as necessary working in occupational fields such as, Industrial Hygienist, environmental, occupational health and safety, and fire prevention.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Requirements

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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: Position requires working in an office, as well as field work. Field inspections require moderate physical exertion in carrying equipment, as well as extended periods of walking and standing.
• 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) - See "Required Documents" below for details.

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, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

SELECTIVE PLACEMENT FACTOR (SCREEN-OUT) - A Selective Placement Factor (SPF) has been identified for this position. Selective Placement Factors (SPF) are a prerequisite to appointment and represent minimum requirements for the position. Applicants who do not meet the SPF are ineligible for further consideration.

The SPF for this position is: Requires experience applying National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and Life Safety Code (LSC) including its application to healthcare occupancies to conduct facility compliance surveys, interpret code requirements, and render determinations of compliance or non-compliance. (NOTE: Resume must clearly support the complexity of this required experience to receive credit for this GS-11 grade position.)

In addition to the SPF, to qualify for this Safety & Occupational Health Specialist at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements.

EXPERIENCE: Requires one full year of specialized 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. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. 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.

NOTE: Resume must clearly support the complexity of this required experience to receive credit at this grade level.

OR

EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): Requires 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 - 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

COMBINATION (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED): An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. Both education/experience must be related to the position, as described above. Only graduate education in excess of a 2 full years (excess of a Master's degree) may be used to meet this requirement.

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

Education

IMPORTANT: 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

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. 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.

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.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation and be found well-qualified (have a final rating of 80 or more before any Veterans preference points) for this vacancy. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at

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.