Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Full Job Description

Serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist at the Eastern Kansas Healthcare System Medical Center. Reports to the safety and occupational health manager, office of the assistant director.

Responsible for supporting the safety and occupational health program through the development, administration, organization, evaluation, analysis of data, and implementation of the required modifications to ensure a comprehensive program of fire prevention, life, safety, and hazard surveillance.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 04/03/2026.

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 position For a GS-11 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. For a position For a GS-12 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 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.

Individual Occupational Requirements 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.

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 fire safety program elements. Developing and recommending fire safety 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 fire 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 fire safety 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 meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements, you must possess the required specialized experience, education, or combination of experience and education as identified below.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization.

Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Identifies hazardous operating conditions and hazardous environmental conditions and recommends appropriate controls and safety measures.

Performs surveys, inspects construction projects and designs to determine compliance. Prepares reports of findings with recommendations to correct unsafe acts or conditions.

Interprets NFPA, JC and OSHA regulations to determine compliance. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience.

To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree Or a LL.M, in related field.

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 2 years of graduate level education.

Specialized Experience (GS-12): 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: Reviews previous surveys to determine effectiveness of corrective actions.

Identifies actual and potential hazards and ability to explain the need to apply specific safety measures. Investigates mishaps, obtains statements from witnesses, and photographs mishap scenes.

Participates as a member of survey and inspection teams that identify fire safety hazards and violations.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Attention to Detail Customer Service Flexibility Influencing/Negotiating Integrity/Honesty Interpersonal Skills Learning Reading Comprehension Reasoning Self-Management Stress Tolerance Teamwork 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: "Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination." 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/.

Major Duties:

Major duties include but are not limited to: Plans, conducts and assesses fire drills according to the most current NFPA and VHA requirements.

Ensures that documentation for all required inspection, testing and maintenance of the fire alarm and suppression system is maintained for review by external auditors.

Responds and investigates the cause when fire alarms are activated in the facility.

Serves as technical support to the Evaluates the Environment of Care (EOC) Committee preparing and presenting quarterly reports related to Safety and Occupational Health Specialist responsibilities.

Reviews applicable guidelines and regulations including VHA Directives, OSHA regulations, National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Codes, Joint Commission Standards, and recognized industry standards to develop hospital policies and procedures ensuring ongoing compliance and adherence to safety and is responsible for the development and ongoing revision of medical center policies.

Acts as the primary medical center educator for issues related to life safety, fire prevention and hazard surveillance.

Develops training and education based on national guidance, regulations, standards, and code.

Keeps abreast of current industry best practices and uses professional judgement to reduce or eliminate safety risks and hazards within the organization.

Ensures reports are directed to appropriate parties to effect correction, and that problems of an urgent nature are immediately brought directly to the attention of responsible staff to ensure prompt resolution.

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met.

Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: 8:00AM - 4:30PM, Monday - Friday Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Specialist/PD10343A and PD10342A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized