Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

Full Job Description

Safety and Occupational Health Specialists work with supervisors and Safety and Occupational Health committees to eliminate or control hazardous operations or conditions.

Safety and occupational health specialists perform nonsupervisory work in one or more of the following areas, Inspecting - observing environmental conditions and employee performance patterns to identify hazards, detect risks, developing abatement recommendations for safety and occupational health hazards.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/09/2026.

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-9. 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 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: 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 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 experience include: Managing safety or occupational health program elements Developing and recommending safety 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, procedures to eliminate or control potential hazards.

Developing or implementing programs to reduce the frequency, severity, and cost of accidents and occupational illnesses.

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.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-11 Specialized Experience: Applicants 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: Knowledge and ability to read and interpret blueprints; Knowledge of safe and appropriate use of various shop and construction equipment, and familiarity with appropriate Material Safety Data Sheets; Knowledge and ability to effectively provide training to a wide variety of employee population and environments to achieve safe working conditions.

OR Education: Applicants may substitute education for the experience required for the GS-11 level. To qualify using education, applicants must possess a Ph.D.

or equivalent graduate degree OR have completed 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.

D degree in a major field of study which provided the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of the position.

OR Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at the GS-11 level.

To calculate, first identify the percentage of required education you have earned (when substituting, you cannot use the first 18 semester hours that you earned).

Then identify the percentage of required experience you possess. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify at the GS-11.

For example, an applicant who has 9 semester hours of graduate level education (i.e. 50% of graduate education required) and 6 months of creditable specialized experience (i.e.

50% of the required experience) would equal 100% of the required experience for the position. NOTE: TRANSCRIPT(S) MUST BE SUBMITTED.

GS- 12 Specialized Experience: Applicants 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 Health Care System (HCS) policies and procedures regarding proper format for required documentation.

Knowledge of established construction practices related to flooring, roofing, foundations and interior electrical wiring of residential, commercial and industrial structures enough to identify act all and potential hazards and to explain the need for applying specific safety measures here unsafe conditions are encountered.

Knowledge of HCS fire and safety policies and procedures, and the ability to effectively communicate verbally and in writing.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Accident Investigation Compliance Public Safety and Security Technical Competence 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: There may be some walking or bending during infrequent walk-through inspections of worksites.

Work is usually performed in an office setting, although there may be occasional exposure to industrial hazards during infrequent walk-through surveys that are conducted as part of a larger study.

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:

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: 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: Not Eligible for telework Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD02810A and PD00461A Major duties include but not limited to: Work collaboratively with other services the incumbent uses date from meetings and databases to develop and adjust short term and long term plans for the service.

Communicates regularly with personnel at all sites to determine continuing readiness.

VA Northern California Health Care System (VANCHCS) committees or VHA sponsored workgroups on a permanent or interim basis.

The employee participates in the facility Safety, Accident Review Board (ARB), and/ or Environment of Care (EOC) committees.

Represents the Safety Program Manager on appropriate VANCHCS committees or VHA sponsored workgroups on a permanent or interim basis. Other duties as assigned.

He/she also consults with specialists from related occupations concerning work process modifications and recommends corrective or remedial safety measures.

Trains other employees and lower grade occupational safety and industrial hygiene staff, providing instruction on a variety of subjects, including chemical, biological, or physical safety topics.