Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

Duties include but are not limited to:

• Directs investigation and/or review of all accidents involving government property employees visitors and patient injuries and recommends corrective measures to prevent the occurrence of similar types of accidents in the future.
• Take prompt action in emergencies without specific instruction.
• Work to keep the Healthcare System in compliance with all changes affecting Occupational Safety Health Fire Protection and Industrial Hygiene fields.
• Conducts background reviews of service operations and characteristics of work processes to insure compliance with VA regulations and applicable Occupational Safety & Health Standards and recommends corrective measures to eliminate or reduce occupational health hazards.
• Prepares written reports of investigations into safety & occupational health problems identified on station and present recommendations for the solution of these problems.
• Assists directs and implements a comprehensive Occupational Safety Health Fire Protection and Industrial Hygiene Training Program for Healthcare System employees.
• Directs and conducts PMI work on all facility safety and fire protection equipment and systems to insure these systems are maintained so as to maximize their effectiveness.
• Performs the role of a contracting officers representative (COR) administrating contracts maintaining records budget and all records of performance.
• Assists in managing all aspects of the facility Occupational Safety Health Fire Protection and Industrial Hygiene Programs.
• Directs inspection of all workplaces citing Occupational Safety and Health deficiencies & prepares recommendations for appropriate corrective actions.
• Directs/conducts fire safety & general safety inspections at a number of outside facilities such as contract nursing homes CBOCs etc. and reports findings to appropriate management personnel.
• Conducts inspection of all construction sites and contractor work areas on station and reports any violations noted to the appropriate authorities for corrective action.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:30pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD10664A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

• 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 ( 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 or trial 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 10/02/2026.

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 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 Requirement (IOR)
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

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.

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:

• Prepares written reports of investigations into safety & occupational health problems identified on station and present recommendations for the solution of these problems.
• Directs investigation and/or review of all accidents involving government property employees visitors and patient injuries and recommends corrective measures to prevent similar occurrence of similar types of accidents in the future.
• Assists directs and implements a comprehensive Occupational Safety Health Fire Protection and Industrial Hygiene Training Program for employees.
• Directs and conducts PMI work on all facility safety and fire protection equipment and systems to insure these systems are maintained so as to maximize their effectiveness.
• Directs/conducts fire safety & general safety inspections at a number of outside facilities such as contract nursing homes CBOCs etc. and reports findings to appropriate management personnel.

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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge skills and abilities necessary to do the work.

OR

Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an an appropriate 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: The work requires regular and recurring walking crouching and prolonged standing.

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

Required Experience:

IC