Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

Full Job Description

This position will serve as the Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Specialist providing management, supervision and support to the Chief of Safety's vision, leadership, and policy for Orlando VA Health Care System (OVAHCS).

Serving as a recognized expert in all policy matters related to industrial hygiene, life safety, joint commission, environmental management, emergency response, and disruptive behavior and workplace violence management.

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/23/2026.

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-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.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) / Series 0018: This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) which is a minimum qualification requirement.

To be considered for the position, you must ensure that the experience is reflected in your resume and/or if applicable, transcripts must be uploaded to support education requirement or substitution.

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 successfully perform 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.

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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one (1) 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: Managing a safety or occupational health program.

Designing or modifying workplaces, processes, products, or other systems to control or eliminate hazards.

Training of workers, supervisors, managers, or other safety and occupational health personnel in safety or occupational health subjects.

Advising on technical matters dealing with occupational safety and health requirements. Monitors expenditures of staff for determining quarter expenses.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Decision Making Financial Management Project Management Safety Engineering 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 demands range from conducting frequent inspections and surveys for prolonged periods of walking, standing, reaching, and bending to handling and/or assisting in emergency situations that may involve strenuous activity while also wearing heavy protective clothing and equipment for extended periods.

During normal and emergency situations, the Assistant Safety Service Chief may often be exposed to operating machinery, excessive heat, and hazardous materials.

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:

Duties include, but are not limited to: Develop new, or modify existing health policies, procedures and/or standards to protect patients, visitors and employees from exposure to hazardous materials, safety or life safety hazards in accordance with TJC, OSHA, EPA, NFPA and other Federal, State or local codes.

Study Federal, State or local requirements which contain permissible exposure limits and collects/maintains appropriate documentation for reference materials and backup.

Keep current and updated on new industry standards developed by other organizations. Studies health and safety reports, journals and related periodicals in work processes that create health hazards.

Help coordinate the development, implementation, evaluation and improvement processes and procedures to monitor the effectiveness, efficiency and productivity of the services provided by the Safety Service and its environment of care.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Telework: This position is not authorized for telework. Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD074070 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized ***A one year supervisory probation period may be required for this position.***