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Summary The Safety and Occupational Health Specialist position is located in the Safety and Emergency Management service line at the West Haven VA Medical Center. This position serves as the Safety, Occupational Health, and Environmental Compliance Specialist, providing technical assistance and program support for the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. Responsibilities Major duties include but are not limited to: Assisting the Safety Officer in the planning, organizing, directing, and evaluation of the Medical Center's Safety, Occupational Health, and Environmental Compliance Programs. Planning and organizing requirements in support of compliance and safety programs and activities. Assisting in the coordination of priority setting, internal and external communications, and correction of program deficiencies. Assisting with data collection and management to identify areas needing improvement. Administering safety programs which can include investigations of injuries, fires, and vehicle damages Preparing reports of investigations for VA leadership. Reviewing safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, occupational safety standards, and environmental compliance regulations, codes, and guidelines as received from VA, OSHA, JCAHO, EPA, DEP-CT, NFPA, and other regulatory agencies. Advises the VA Medical Center's Safety and Environmental Compliance Engineering Officer of methods to comply with standards. Assisting in the development and follow through of corrective action plans based on assessments of drills, exercises, events, investigations, inspections, and discovered deficiencies. Preparing documents for contracting and purchasing of services. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00am-4:30pm. Schedule may be adjusted to support facility needs. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Specialist/PD02469A Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP) Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/18/2024. 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. The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. (This is separate from your experience and is mandated by statutory and regulatory requirements.) For a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. 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. You must qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) 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 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, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. Degree must be relevant to the position to be filled. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 1 year of graduate level education may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-09. The education and experience must be directly related to the work of the position to be filled. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and Management Communication Fire Management Health Physics 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: Survey or inspection work requires regular and recurrent physical exertion such as walking, standing, bending, climbing, crouching, reaching, and lifting of a variety or moderately heavy items such as large metal lids on storage containers, and entry into confined spaces. Work Environment: Regular and recurring onsite evaluations and inspections involve exposure to chemical and biological hazards while performing laboratory, maintenance shop, nursing home, clinic, and CBOC surveys. Where there are more moving machine parts, acid fumes, irritant chemicals, and high noise levels, protective clothing and equipment is frequently required. 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/. Education A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.