Summary The position is located in the Safety and Emergency Management Service of the Sheridan VA Health Care System. At the full performance level, the incumbent serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist responsible for planning, developing, and implementing a comprehensive safety and occupational health program for a multi-facility health care system. Responsibilities Duties include, but are not limited to: Plans, schedules, and conducts facility-wide fire alarm tests and drills on all shifts and documents results. Perform visual, functional, and operational testing of complex fire detection and suppression systems. Evaluates fire system performance, identifies code deficiencies, and develops strategies to correct deficiencies and to upgrade systems. Reviews construction and renovation design plans for life safety and fire protection compliance. Inspects buildings for integrity of smoke containment and fire ratings, identifies noncompliance, and develops corrective actions. Conducts job hazard analyses and fit testing. Develops, updates, and implements safety policies, procedures, and supplemental written instructions to ensure compliance. Conducts technical safety training for employees, supervisors, and contractors, including orientation for new employees. Conducts a full range of safety and occupational health surveys, assessments, and hazard analyses. Evaluates workplaces for compliance with safety codes and standards, including adequacy of exits, aisle space, structural integrity, ventilation, illumination, and protective systems. Provides guidance on selection and use of personal protective equipment. Provides technical guidance to management, and prepares required reports, critiques, and after-action analyses. Work Schedule: Mon - Fri 7:30am to 4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD147890 Physical Demands: The work requires frequent and sometimes prolonged physical exertion. Inspections and surveys necessitate walking, standing, bending, climbing ladders and scaffolding, crawling into confined spaces, working at heights or in basements and tunnels, and carrying moderately heavy items such as fire extinguishers, meters, and sampling equipment. The incumbent must be able to wear personal protective equipment, including respiratory protection, and may be required to lift or move materials weighing up to approximately 40 pounds. Work Environment: Work is performed in a variety of indoor and outdoor settings that may involve exposure to hazardous environments. Surveys and inspections may occur in active construction sites, laboratories handling infectious agents, radiological areas, mechanical rooms, rooftops, crawl spaces, and areas with high noise levels, temperature extremes, or poor ventilation. There is potential exposure to dust, chemicals, fumes, biological agents, radiation, and other hazards requiring the use of protective clothing and equipment. Occasional travel to outlying clinics, contract facilities, and remote sites is required. 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 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 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, 06/01/2026. 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-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. The Safety and Occupational Health Management Series 0018 has an 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. 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. In addition to the IOR, you may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Plans, schedules, and conducts facility-wide fire alarm tests and drills on all shifts and documents results. Perform visual, functional, and operational testing of complex fire detection and suppression systems. Evaluates fire system performance, identifies code deficiencies, and develops strategies to correct deficiencies and to upgrade systems. Reviews construction and renovation design plans for life safety and fire protection compliance. Inspects buildings for integrity of smoke containment and fire ratings, identifies noncompliance, and develops corrective actions. Conducts job hazard analyses and fit testing. Develops, updates, and implements safety policies, procedures, and supplemental written instructions to ensure compliance. Conducts technical safety training for employees, supervisors, and contractors, including orientation for new employees. Conducts a full range of safety and occupational health surveys, assessments, and hazard analyses. Evaluates workplaces for compliance with safety codes and standards, including adequacy of exits, aisle space, structural integrity, ventilation, illumination, and protective systems. Provides guidance on selection and use of personal protective equipment. Provides technical guidance to management, and prepares required reports, critiques, and after-action analyses.OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a 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 an combination of specialized experience and education beyond graduate level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Communication Customer Service (Clerical/Technical) Personnel Security and Safety Public Safety and Security Risk Management Safety Engineering Standards Teaches Others Technical Competence 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. 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 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.
