Safety & Occupational Health Manager

The Safety & Occupational Health Manager is responsible for advising facilities within VISN on Safety Occupational Health Comprehensive Environment of Care (CEOC)Construction Safety and Fire Protection program implementation to meet regulatory and internal VA requirements. The incumbent oversees the Industrial Hygiene (IH) and Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) program. They support the VA Central Office with the development of safety goals policy and procedural documentation and conducts audits and investigations of facilities within the VISN providing advisory support and specialized training to safety staff throughout the Network.

Duties include but not limited to:

• Serves as the principal source of technical expertise for programs related to Safety.
• Plans directs monitors coordinates and evaluates a comprehensive agency safety and fire protection program for all VHA facilities within VISN 1.
• Provides a professional interpretation of applicable regulations and guidelines and assures that specific policies are consistent with federal state and local regulations and procedures that may affect VA-related activities.
• Demonstrates leadership and management skills which require the development of safety criteria to eliminate or control seriousness hazards encountered in the construction operation and maintenance of healthcare facilities fabrication plants and research laboratories.
• Provides consultation and technical assistance to field station safety and engineering personnel at VA facilities throughout the Network.
• Other duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible: None
Telework: Available for Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Manager/PD 041550
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Approved

Notifications:

• Location negotiable within VISN 1 upon selection.
• Veterans preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees.
• This position is in the Bargaining Unit AFGE.
• This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay.
• Current and former Federal employees must submit copies of their most recent SF-50 (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title series grade step tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held.
• Interchange Agreements with Other Merit System: Employees who occupy medical or medical-related positions and were appointed under 38 U.S.C. 4701(1) or (3) formerly 38 U.S.C. 4104 (1) and (3) must be serving in a full-time position without time limit and have served continuously for at least one year in this other merit system to be eligible to convert to the Title 5 System. Some exceptions to this rule may apply if you have previously acquired tenure under a Title 5 appointment
• The salary range listed reflects the Rest of U.S. locality rate. Actual pay will be adjusted upon after duty location is established.

• 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 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 drivers 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 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.

To qualify for this position applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 07/14/2026.

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. 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 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: 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
Education: 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

Certificate: 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

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 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: Knowledge of Safety Occupational Health Emergency Management Life Safety and EMS principles; knowledge of healthcare work processes procedures equipment facilities materials and activities sufficient to anticipate and control hazards; knowledge of the standards and policies of OSHA EPA and Joint Commission (JC); knowledge of environmental management systems respiratory protection programs and decontamination.

Preferred Experience: Applying OSHANFPA and environmental safety standards in a healthcare or similar setting. Using standard software to document inspections track hazards and prepare reports.

• For more information on these qualification standards please visit the United States Office of Personnel Managements website at information

  Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicants 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 employees 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 OPMs Career Transition Resources website at Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment change to lower grade transfer appointment or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

  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.