Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Full Job Description

This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), Pacific Marine Environmental Lab (PMEL), with one vacancy in Seattle, WA.

This position is also announced under vacancy number OAR PMEL-26-12895690-ST, which is open to Status Candidates. You must apply to both announcements if you want to be considered for both.

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards.

This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/ EDUCATION: There is no positive education requirement for this position.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal Service.

Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular competencies/knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

This experience need not have been in the federal government.

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, religious; 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.

To qualify at the ZA-3 or GS-11 level: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one full year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent to the ZA-2 or GS-09 grade level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience MUST include all of the following: Assisting with safety and occupational health activities in areas such as monitoring the use and disposal of hazardous materials, or ensuring facilities are in compliance with policies and procedures; Assisting in preparation or coordination of safety and compliance inspections or audits for facilities; and Participating in investigations of accidents or risk evaluations of work environments to develop prevention methods.

OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: 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 with a major course of study in 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 COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: A combination of education and experience equivalent to that described above.

Note: Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-11. Major Duties:

As a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, you will perform the following duties: Serve as a Facilities Safety and Occupational Health Manager ensuring the implementation of operational programs for PMEL facilities.

Survey laboratories, machine shops, offices, and field sites to identify and evaluate risk potential.

Determine the extent to which mechanical and physical conditions comply with required or accepted standards, their adherence to established safety policies and procedures, and program effectiveness.

Share and promote health education and safety training designed to educate personnel about industrial and chemical hygiene and occupational safety and health.

Instruct employees on a variety of safety and occupational health subjects including chemical, biological, radiation, and/ or physical safety, lasers, various laboratory safety needs, and/or ventilation requirements.

Maintain the radioactive materials program to assure compliance with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulations.

Coordinate with laboratory supervisors, Nuclear Regulatory Commission regional and national staff members, and other relevant state program officials to develop necessary rules, procedures, regulatory guides, forms, records, reports and training activities.

Prepare materials for safety and compliance audits. Conduct investigations of accidents, analyze precipitating factors and accident cause data in order to develop specific methods for prevention.

Arrange facility "walk-throughs" and safety inspections to ascertain status of safety systems. Report findings to site leadership and develop action plans and milestones to mitigate and eliminate risk.

Participate in a facility maintenance program for the mechanical, electrical, and building envelope infrastructure for the site.

Coordinate schedules of facility maintenance and repairs projects to minimize work disruption among staff.