Safety and Occupational Health Manager

Summary

This position, located at the OKC VA HCS Safety and Emergency Management Service, serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Manager, responsible for all areas of the Facility involving a wide variety of high risk operations, facilities, and environmental conditions.

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Duties

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Major duties of this position include but are not limited to...

• Exercises initiative, creativity, and sound judgment to provide a satisfactory resolution to presented problems
• Takes independent and original action in solving problems that arise
• Schedules, monitors, and reviews all outside vendor services to ensure appropriate, quality workmanship in a timely fashion
• Possesses knowledge and skills to assess and advise on the impact of installations' activities on public safety, ecology, and environment involving matters directly or closely related to environment of care
• Coordinates workloads as needed and changes priorities as required under the constantly changing conditions
• Establishes operation and maintenance standards for new or unusual installation activities that could have adverse health effects
• Develops specialized engineering analyses and solutions to technical and maintenance problems; recommendations are professionally sound and authoritative, and work is evaluated by achievement of productive results
• Makes decisions regarding environmental issues that could lead to environmental integrity being put in danger. These decisions are based upon personal experience and expertise in the absence of established procedures or technical reference
• Accepts responsibility for all work accomplished within the Environment of Care Program and adjusts work assignments, goals, and deadlines as required under constantly changing situations and emergencies
• Develops initial assignments, sets priorities, and performs assessments for all subordinates
• Drafts and revises policies, standard operating procedures, and safety guidance, interpreting regulatory requirements into clear written documentation for stakeholders
• Formulates guidance in instructions to effect various safety policy decisions

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Telework: T his position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Manager/ PD144600

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

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
• 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: Most work is performed in an office or workplace setting, and the work is sedentary in nature. There may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items, occasionally carrying moderate weight items, but no specific physical demands are required to perform the work. 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 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, 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, 09/11/2026.

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 level. 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.

This position has the following Individual Occupational Requirement:

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: 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

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to...Expert level knowledge of safety and occupational health concepts, principles, techniques, practices, laws, and regulations sufficient to enable the manager to plan, organize, administer, coordinate, and evaluate wide-ranging occupational health and occupational safety programs as a technical authority, for the area assigned that includes problems that are not readily addressed by accepted methods or involve far reaching decisions or recommendations; Comprehensive knowledge of other pertinent scientific and technological fields which contribute to the achievement of comprehensive safety and occupational health objectives; Expert level knowledge and skill in the use of innovative criteria, data, and techniques to identify and analyze safety and occupational health problems sufficient to recommend substantive program changes that solve highly technical/complex problems and challenges requiring new or modified concepts and theories; able to provide authoritative interpretations and use own experience and judgment in applying federal safety standards to resolve conflicts that could potentially harm patients, incumbents and stakeholders; able to serve as a safety expert, conducting onsite inspections, evaluating procedures, developing innovative technologies which will carry the health care system into the future; Expert level knowledge of VA policies, directives, regulations, operating procedures, information flow, and prevailing safety and occupational health practices in government agencies and in the private sector sufficient to evaluate and recommend adoption of new or enhanced approaches; able to evaluate construction hazards which can include effects of stress and straining, strength, stability, AC/DC flow, grounding paths etc., the incumbent must be able to effectively develop controls and identify emergencies resources that would require corrective actions; Excellent written and oral communication skills to convey policy and concepts to technical and non-technical managers, project partners, and other germane parties with demonstrated clarity, logic, conciseness, and persuasiveness in obtaining the cooperation of others while defending findings to peers, to upper management, and private firms; and Knowledge and ability to conduct safety and health studies and investigations, analyze findings, make recommendations, prepare reports, and related skill in organizing and delivering briefings to pertinent parties to encourage an understanding and acceptance of findings and recommendations.

Preferred Experience : Knowledge and experience in oversight of Occupational Health and Safety Program programs to include GEMS, safety, laser safety, occupational health, fire protection, industrial hygiene, hazardous waste, radiation safety, biomedical waste disposal, and disaster planning; experience with direct staff supervision, standard operating procedure development and implementation, budget management, and planning activities; experience collaborating with department and work group leadership while preparing for accreditation survey/compliance, and overseeing successful operation of environmental programs evidenced by results

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

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

(IOR Only) 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

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.