Safety & Occupational Health Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/26/2026. 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 position. 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. Basic Requirements: You must meet the Individual Occupational Requirement described below Specialized Experience: 1 year of experience in or related to safety & occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, & abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of experience typically include, but not limited to: manage safety or occupational health program elements; develop & recommend safety & occupational health policy to higher levels; apply safety & occupational health laws, regulations, principles, theories, practices & procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing w/ occupational safety & health requirements; develop safety & occupational health standards, regulations, practices, & procedures to eliminate or control potential hazards; develop or implement programs to reduce the frequency, severity, & cost of accidents & occupational illnesses; analyze or evaluate new & existing jobs, processes, products, or other systems to determine the existence, severity, probability, & outcome of hazards; design or modify workplaces, processes, products to control or eliminate hazards; inspect or survey workplaces, processes, products for compliance w/ established safety & occupational health policies or standards & to identify potential new hazards; train workers, supervisors, managers, or other safety & occupational health personnel in safety or occupational health subjects; work in occupational fields such as industrial hygienist, safety engineer, fire prevention engineer, health physicist, & occupational health nurse; OR, Education: May substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education you must have an undergraduate or graduate education w/ a major in safety or occupational health fields (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or degree in another related field 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, Certificates: Certification as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certificated 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 above Individual Occupational Requirements, applicants must also meet the following grade specific specialized experience as described below: An IOR for Supervisor Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, Series (0018) is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and cannot be waived. Education must be accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education at the time the degree was obtained. Grade Level Requirements: Specialized Experience: 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: plans and develops construction safety criteria, guidelines, standards, and directives based on studies of technical data and information including findings published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, National Fire Protection Association, American National Standards Institute, National Safety Council, and Associated General Contractors. Evaluates technical comments on proposed standards received from agency field offices and private sector associations, societies and other interested organizations and individuals; determines if additional study, modification or deletion is required, prepares summary report of comments including controversial viewpoints and recommends approval of a final standard and promulgation in the Federal Register. Analyzes and critically reviews proposed national consensus standards developed by private construction associations, councils, and societies to ensure their technical feasibility, accuracy and applicability to construction industry requirements and to determine their possible adoption and use by the agency. Interprets existing standards including definitions, applicability, and relationship to other standards to representatives of major private contracting firms, labor unions, and trade associations; represents the agency at conferences and workshops and discusses technical content in proposed or established standards with business managers, representatives of employee groups, and staff members of private organizations who are preparing safety construction criteria. Studies requests for private contractors for variance from applicable construction standards, evaluates possibility of serious risks and severe hazards identified with unsafe act or condition cited and recommends approval or disapproval of request. Conducts in depth studies of established standards to determine their current feasibility and applicability and recommends as appropriate their modification or the development of a construction standard where coverage is inadequate or nonexistent. 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: May require long periods of standing, stretching, crouching, lifting, reaching, and other physical activities. The position requires mobility and a sense of purpose. The incumbent may also be exposed to hazards when performing tests and monitoring. Preferred Experience: 5 years experience as a safety officer or safety committee/subcommittee chair 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/. Safety and Occupational Health Service is recruiting for a well-qualified Safety and Occupational Health Specialist. This position will be within the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center. Incumbent will plan, direct, coordinate, and evaluate a comprehensive safety and research safety program. The program requires the development of safety criteria to eliminate or control serious hazards encountered in the construction, operation, and maintenance of research laboratories.