Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

Full Job Description

This position is located within the Medical Center Director service line at the Erie VA Medical Center in Erie, Pennsylvania.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one (1) year of specialized experience in or related to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position.

To be creditable, this experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-9 level in the Federal service.

Specialized experience includes: 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.

OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (Transcript Required) - Successful completion of a Ph.D.

or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree.

Major study must be 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.

This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university.

OR COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (Transcript Required) - Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements.

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:

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Conducts safety surveillance audits and inspections on a frequent basis according to the required standards and regulations; investigates hazardous conditions, equipment, practices, etc.

to identify and analyze the nature and severity of hazards and possible remedial actions; and investigates or assists investigators in investigating accidents/mishaps, obtains witness statements, photographs the accident scene, records circumstances and extent of injuries, estimates cost of property damages, and prepares report of findings.

Plans, develops, and implements safety promotional and educational campaigns containing aspects of difficult issues designed to meet both general and specific goals of reducing accidental occurrences; and develops or adapts material for safety campaigns and training courses and conducts technical training for personnel.

Conducts comprehensive analytical surveys and/or studies of serviced safety programs; reviews safety policies, procedures, and regulations published by serviced organizations; and works closely with all personnel in the establishment of realistic safety requirements and compliance with applicable directives and regulations.

Creates and conducts area specific safety hazard initiatives; maintains long-term historical safety records and notes trends or changing conditions that warrant revision of safety procedures; and assists in the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling information used in safety databases.

Work Schedule: Full time, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm. Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Telework: This position may be authorized for telework.

Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.