Safety and Occupational Health Manager

Summary

This Safety and Occupational Health Manager position is within the Safety and Emergency Management Service at the White River Junction VA Medical Center located at the White River Junction, Vermont location.

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Duties

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The incumbent serves as the Safety and Occupational Health Manager, and is responsible for planning, organizing, administering, and evaluating a comprehensive environmental and safety management program.

Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Supervise and manage employees, providing leadership, guidance, and direction to ensure effective performance of assigned duties.
• Plan work to be accomplished by subordinates, set, and adjust short-term priorities, and prepare schedules for completion of work.
• Assign work to subordinates based on priorities, selective consideration of the difficulty and requirements of assignments, and the capabilities of employees.
• Evaluate work performance of subordinates.
• Give advice, counsel, or instruction to employees on both work and administrative matters.
• Interview candidates for positions in the unit; recommend appointment, promotion, or reassignment to such positions.
• Hear and resolve complaints from employees, referring group grievances and more serious unresolved complaints to a higher-level supervisor or manager.
• Effect minor disciplinary measures, such as warnings and reprimands, recommending other action in more serious cases.
• Identify developmental and training needs of employees, providing or arranging for needed development and training.
• Find ways to improve production or increase the quality of the work directed; and Develop performance standards
• Exercising significant responsibilities in dealing with officials of other units or organizations, or in advising management officials of higher rank.
• Direction of a program or major program segment with significant resources (e.g., one at a multimillion-dollar level of annual resources). Making decisions on work problems presented by subordinates or similar personnel, or by contractors.
• Making or approving selections for subordinate non-supervisory positions.
• Recommending selections for subordinate supervisory positions and for work leader, group leader, or project director positions responsible for coordinating the work of others, and similar positions.
• Hearing and resolving group grievances or serious employee complaints.
• Reviewing and approving serious disciplinary actions (e.g., suspensions) involving nonsupervisory subordinates.
• Making decisions on non-routine, costly, or controversial training needs and training requests related to employees of the unit.
• Determining whether contractor performed work meets standards of adequacy necessary for authorization of payment.
• Approving expenses comparable to within-grade increases, extensive overtime, and employee travel.
• Recommending awards or bonuses for nonsupervisory personnel and changes in position classification, subject to approval by higher level officials, supervisors, or others.
• Finding and implementing ways to eliminate or reduce significant bottlenecks and barriers to production, promote team building, or improve business practices.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00a-4:30p

Telework: This position is not authorized for telework.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Manager / PD405-04183-0

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.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA campuses and CBOC's.
• Selectee required to serve one year supervisory/managerial probationary period.
• Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• Current and former Federal 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.
• 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.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• 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 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 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, 07/27/2026.

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-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 Basic Requirements: The following education or experience are required to meet the specific qualification requirements for this position. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-11) in the Federal Service that has given me the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Safety and Occupational Health Manager, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Qualifying specialized experience is demonstrated lead or supervisory experience such as directing the work of subordinates, managing performance, reviewing training needs, etc. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:

• Managing and supervising personnel, engaged in safety and occupational health activities.
• 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,

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,

Certificates: 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.

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 : Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. 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

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.

An incomplete application will receive a rating of IFFM (ineligible due to missing forms). Requests for reconsideration will not be considered for applicants who fail to submit a complete application package. We cannot be held responsible for incompatible software or fax transmissions.

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.