Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Full Job Description

The Ready Response Corps (RRC) is an APHIS-wide cadre dedicated to rapidly deploying in support of animal and plant health-related emergencies and all hazards' events to safeguard American agriculture.

You will perform emergency management response work including deploying and coordinating response activities to protect the safety and health of responders who are working to mitigate the spread of animal and plant pests and diseases.

Recruitment Incentive may be authorized, but not guaranteed.

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of the announcement, including specialized experience and/or education, as defined below.

Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) for 0018 job series: 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.

These examples are not all inclusive.

OR 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 individual occupational requirements for the 0018 job series, applicants must meet the following: FOR THE GS-9 LEVEL: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS-7 level) that may have been obtained in the private or public (local, county, state, Federal) sectors which demonstrates: Promoting program training activities designed to achieve awareness of safety hazards and corresponding preventive procedures.

Surveying workplaces, processes, and products for compliance with established safety and occupational health policies or standards while identifying potential work hazards and risks.

Assisting in utilizing Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidance and policies to support the Safety and Health program.

Identifying and clearly communicating safety and health hazards in various working conditions from offices to rural farm locations.

Applying standard safety and occupational health laws, regulations, procedures, practices, and following equipment guides in various working environments to aid in promoting the adoption of safe working patterns.

OR Master's or equivalent graduate degree, or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, in a major area of study in the safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or in other related fields of study 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.

Equivalent combinations of education and experience are qualifying for this grade level.

TRANSCRIPTS are required if: This position requires specific coursework or a degree in a specific field to be basically qualified. You are qualifying for the position based on education.

You are qualifying for this position based on a combination of experience and education.

This education must have been successfully completed and obtained from an accredited school, college, or university COMBINATION OF EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE AT THE GS-9 GRADE LEVEL: Applicants may have combinations of successfully completed education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements.

The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify for that grade level.

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 and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment.

You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience. Major Duties:

• The duties described are for the full-performance level. At developmental grade levels, assignments will be of more limited scope, performed with less independence and limited complexity.
• The duties may include, but are not limited to:
• Deploys to agricultural emergencies as part of the RRC to help ensure responders are safeguarded from hazards and risks present at an incident.
• Oversees safety protocols for the incident ensuring incident management teams and responders comply with occupational safety and health regulations and Agency requirements.
• Ensures responders adhere to all response-specific requirements for the use of personal protective equipment, including the use of respirators, to prevent or minimize responders’ exposure to hazards.
• Conducts fit testing in accordance with APHIS requirements to verify that a respirator is both comfortable and provides the responder with the expected protection.
• Consults with the Incident Commander regarding site-specific safety and health concerns and implements guidance and requirements, including on-the-job training where necessary.
• Primary point of contact for responders to raise and discuss safety and health issues and is responsible for elevating concerns to the Incident Commander and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Performs special environmental monitoring tasks using a variety of instruments to determine potentially unsafe exposures.
• Provides guidance and monitoring of responders working to eradicate zoonotic diseases, including influenza-like illnesses and manages the reporting process.
• Ability to render basic first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.