Summary The incumbent will work in the Facilities Section of the Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) and will be responsible for the day-to-day technical administration of Safety and Occupational Health program. Responsibilities The major duties include, but may not be limited to: Safety and Fire Prevention Program: - Responsible for the administration and execution of the facility safety and fire prevention program, including preparation of all policies, reports, safety, occupations health and fire prevention-related correspondence. - Responsible for assuring that inspection and testing of all fire protection equipment and systems is accomplished in accordance with codes and policies. - Conducts general and fire safety training classes for all employees. - Acts as a co-chair of the Emergency Preparedness Committee and follows up on the deficiencies found during Emergency Preparedness Drill. - Conducts workplace inspections throughout the facility and storage areas. - Substitutes for Supervisory Facilities Manager on committees as needed. - Provides staff support with the risk management program in the area of patient safety and fire prevention incidents needing investigation. - Serves as a general staff assistant for safety-related programs to the Director's Office, providing technical expertise, staff work, and guidance to the Director on pertinent program areas. Accident Investigation and Inspection: - Investigates lost time accidents and fire incidents. Prepares analyses of accident and injury trends for review and action by the facility Safety Committee. Reviews all accident reports for completeness, accuracy and adequacy of corrective actions. - Conducts accident investigation; checks and analyzes accidents, illness, hazardous conditions and code deficiencies. - Schedules hazard evaluations of any identified hazards and reviews all reports of hazards for completeness, accuracy, and adequacy of corrective actions. - Responsible for the identification of hazards related to local construction activities. - Analyzes safety, design features and specifications; identifies potential problem areas and suggests methodologies to control hazardous construction practices. - Provides primary staff support in the area of property damage investigations and lost time case analysis. Construction Inspection: - Conducts pre-construction safety and fire prevention briefings with each contractor prior to issuance of notice to proceed. - Provides technical support on safety, fire, and occupational health issues during construction process. - Inspects construction sites to ensure OSHA, VA and MIOSHA job safety compliance on a continuing basis during facility construction projects. - Performs Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR) duties for assigned contracts. Work Schedule: 7:30am-4:00pm Compressed/Flexible: Not available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD764010 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved 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, 09/08/2025. 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): To meet the individual occupational requirements for this position applicants must have: 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 (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. SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must also meet the specialized experience for the GS-11 grade. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education described below: Specialized Experience GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Administration and execution of facility safety and fire prevention programs, including preparation of all policies, reports, safety, occupational health and fire prevention-related correspondence; Inspection and testing all fire protection equipment and systems in accordance with codes and policies; Accident investigations: investigating, reviewing, preparing and analyzing lost time and fire incidents, hazardous conditions and code deficiencies; Technical support on safety, fire, and occupational health issues during the construction process; NFPA fire codes, life safety codes, OSHA requirements and other safety, fire and emergency policies and procedures to provide technical support for the safety program; Safety and occupational health standards, industrial work processes, health care practices, compressed gases, and flammable and combustible liquids to pinpoint causal factors contributing to mishaps and resulting dangerous working conditions. -OR- Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience above. 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 a combination of specialized experience and education. 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: This position involves the performance of inspection activities which requires frequent extensive walking, standing, bending, climbing, crouching, reaching, and lifting of a variety of moderately heavy items such as large metal lids on storage containers. Work Environment: Approximately fifty percent of the incumbent's work is performed in an office setting, and fifty percent of the incumbent's work is performed inspecting. The incumbent will be exposed to automated, moving conveyors, automated prescription filing systems, sharp edges, vibrations from machinery, periodic noises and dust. The incumbent may be exposed to hazardous materials and processes, requiring the use of personal protective equipment. 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 Transcripts: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Transcripts must depict the name of the college to determine accreditation, and your name must also be displayed on the transcripts. If qualifying based on a degree, or for positions requiring a degree, the transcript must show the date the degree was conferred. If selected, you must provide official transcripts. Copies of Official Transcripts are accepted and are the best way to ensure your education is interpreted correctly in accordance with OPM qualification standards, but unofficial transcripts are accepted if they contain all the required information. If credit for a course is being questioned by the HR Professional performing qualifications, it is your responsibility to provide supporting descriptive information (course syllabus/descriptions) in your application package. 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.
