Summary Employee will be assigned to Jesse Brown, VA Medical Center, Chicago IL, serving as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, planning, scheduling, and conducting difficult inspections in establishments and worksites where there is a strong probability of encountering hazardous work processes and materials, and unsafe environmental conditions, involving a substantial number of employees. Responsibilities THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Conducts safety surveillance audits and inspections on a frequent basis according to the required standards and regulations; investigates hazardous conditions, equipment, practices, etc. to identify and analyze the nature and severity of hazards and possible remedial actions; and investigates or assists investigators in investigating accidents/mishaps, obtains witness statements, photographs the accident scene, records circumstances and extent of injuries, estimates cost of property damages, and prepares report of findings; Plans, develops, and implements safety promotional and educational campaigns containing aspects of difficult issues designed to meet both general and specific goals of reducing accidental occurrences; and develops or adapts material for safety campaigns and training courses and conducts technical training for personnel; Conducts comprehensive analytical surveys and/or studies of serviced safety programs; reviews safety policies, procedures, and regulations published by serviced organizations; and works closely with all personnel in the establishment of realistic safety requirements and compliance with applicable directives and regulations; Creates and conducts area-specific safety hazard initiatives; maintains long-term historical safety records and notes trends or changing conditions that warrant revision of safety procedures; and assists in the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling information used in safety databases; Reviews issues prior to presenting them at meetings as coordinator and executive secretary for the Sub-Committee on Research Safety; Prepares meeting agenda, leads meeting, prepares and distributes meeting minutes, orients new members, and advises committee on regulations regarding laboratory safety and conduct. Performs all other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Requirements 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: The employee is required to make recurring inspections and investigations in all areas inside and outside of the Medical Center and at other locations where VA patients are housed. These inspections and investigations involve climbing, crawling into cramped spaces, crouching, working around moving machinery, considerable walking, standing and bending while occasionally lifting up to 100 pounds. A degree of agility and dexterity is required for inspections and investigations in and around construction sites. 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) - 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 To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, applicants must meet at least one of the following: GS-11 SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: At least one year of specialized experience that is equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal service. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: managing safety or occupational health program elements; developing emergency readiness and response training programs; develops and projects budget requirements; applying safety and occupational health laws, regulations, principles, theories, practices, and procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing with occupational safety, health requirements, and emergency management; 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; working in occupational fields such as industrial hygienist, safety engineer, fire prevention engineer, health physicist, and occupational health nurse. -OR- GS-11 EDUCATION: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree. The major study of such education must be in a safety or occupational health field (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene) or in another related field 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- GS-11 COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: An equivalent combination of graduate education and specialized experience as described above. Only graduate level education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (GS-9) may be combined with experience to qualify for the GS-11 level. * If using education to qualify, transcripts must be submitted with your application materials. Education cannot be credited without documentation. 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 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: 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 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 http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/. Note: Per "Executive Order 14251: Exclusions from Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs", this position is no longer eligible for bargaining unit participation.
