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Summary The Safety and Occupational Specialist is an integral member of the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center (RHJ VAMC) Safety and Health program, ranging from fire safety to environmental management and industrial hygiene. The candidate serves in this role supporting safety and health staff in regulatory compliance, research, training, program development, accident prevention, environmental management, construction safety, and safety surveys in a healthcare environment. Responsibilities The specialist performs survey work to identify and evaluate hazardous and non hazardous industrial work operations and conditions and to recommend corrective procedures where the potential for injury or property damage exists. Participates as member of team led by a higher graded specialist, conducting a limited segment of a major inspection of a large service, life safety hazards; surveys construction sites, the use of machine guards, and chemical storage areas; drafts a report of findings proposing corrective measures for unsafe conditions and hazardous work practices. Conducts independent inspections of small services where exposure and type of hazard is predictable in advance. Provides informal instruction to work leaders and employees covering a variety of standard, general safety and occupational health subjects including mishap prevention, safe working practices, and construction safety. Analyzes accident and injury reports, studying data to discover trends and mishap causes, and to develop recommendations for eliminating or controlling the hazards detected. Investigates mishaps involving personnel or damage to machinery, tools, materials, or equipment; describes in writing mishap circumstances, illustrating automotive accidents with diagrams; analyzes actions or conditions contributing to the mishap and recommends measures to eliminate similar mishap occurrences. Compiles statistical data to determine mishap trends and to identify and apply proper preventive methods. Develops and carries out safety education activities including a safety orientation training series for new employees, and subject courses on safety reporting procedures and fire drill training; promotes safety through poster campaigns, displays of safety equipment, and timely news articles; and participates in community and regional safety planning conferences. Inspects warehouses and contents, including storage and material handling operations, shop machinery and related mechanical processes, protective clothing, and fire suppression equipment; applies regulations and standards and sound safety practices to detect hazardous operations and conditions and recommends proper safety and occupational health measures to eliminate or minimize the possibility of injury to personnel and damage to property. Develops and prepares local safety and occupational health directives and regulations through adaptation of higher command instructions and policies formulated by other Federal Government agencies; prepares written procedures for implementation of safety prevention activities including motor vehicle mishap prevention, safe materials handling practices, and safe disposal of toxic chemical wastes. Coordinates safety and occupational health activities with representatives of the medical, personnel, security and other organizational services; for example, consults with medical specialists on type of protective apparel needed to prevent acid burns and with security specialists to plan and implement comprehensive traffic and pedestrian control measures. Reviews private contractor drawings and specifications for new construction and building alterations to determine the degree of compliance with standards and regulatory criteria; recommends procedures to control or eliminate hazardous operations or conditions. Performs other related duties as assigned, to include environmental management, emergency management, and industrial hygiene support. Performs other duties as required by the position. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm. Schedule subject to change based on agency needs. Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occup Hlth Spec/PD077670 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements 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 You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period 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 (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). 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) Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/06/2025. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): Educational and experience. (You will also need to meet the specialized experience requirement in order to qualify) Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree: 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. (Transcripts required) OR 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. 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 the Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) listed above you must have: Specialized Experience: Experience that equipped you with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform the duties of this position. This experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-09 level in Federal service to qualify. Specialized experience would typically include but is not limited to: Knowledge of safety and occupational health principles, practices, procedures, and regulations applicable to the performance of a full range of complex safety and occupational health management responsibilities involving planning, organizing, directing, operating and evaluation of a safety and occupational health program for warehousing, printing, steam plant, transportation, and equipment maintenance operations. Knowledge of underlying psychological and physiological factors sufficient to plan and implement installation wide safety education activities and promote the safe working practices and sound equipment operation procedures essential to the achievement of an efficient and safe working environment. Knowledge of industrial work processes, material handling techniques, motor vehicle maintenance practices, compressed gases, shop machinery design, and industrial fire hazards sufficient to investigate and determine causal factors contributing to mishaps or incidents and resulting in hazardous working conditions. Knowledge of construction standards, methods, practices, techniques, materials, equipment, and utility systems sufficient to evaluate compliance with construction safety standards and devise innovative hazard control measures applicable to new building construction and industrial modifications. English Language Proficiency: Incumbent must be proficient in written and spoken English. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communications Compliance Inspection Fire Management Public Safety and Security 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: The performance of work duties requires frequent surveys of clinical areas, new construction sites, and industrial maintenance facilities necessitating prolonged periods of walking, standing, crawling, kneeling and bending. Moderate lifting and carrying of equipment, use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is required. Use of all appendages, good vision, and hearing are necessary. Emotional and mental stability are required. For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/. 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: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or 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.