What are the responsibilities and job description for the Safety & Occupational Health Specialist position at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs?
Summary
This position is located at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - Chicago - IL and is organizationally aligned under the Research and Development Service Line. The primary purpose of this position is to act as a laboratory safety and hygiene resource for Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - in their medical Research and Development Service. This position identifies and initiates corrective action on potentials for risk arising from medical research and its related activities.
Qualifications
IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-11 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-9) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is 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. 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. ADDITIONAL SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE INCLUDES: experience in research laboratory safety and occupational health laws - regulations - principals - theories - practices and procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing with research laboratory occupational safety. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE.) ~OR~ SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: You must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. - if related. Education must include a major study 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. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION) ~OR~ COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You must possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. Only graduate education in excess of two years (excess of master's degree or 36 semester hours) is creditable. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE AND COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION) 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/.
Duties
This position is located at the Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - Chicago - IL and is organizationally aligned under the Research and Development Service Line. The primary purpose of this position is to act as a laboratory safety and hygiene resource for Jesse Brown VA Medical Center - in their medical Research and Development Service. This position identifies and initiates corrective action on potentials for risk arising from medical research and its related activities.
Qualifications
IN ORDER TO QUALIFY FOR THIS POSITION AT THE GS-11 LEVEL YOU MUST MEET THE FOLLOWING: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: You must possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-9) in the Federal service. Specialized experience is 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. 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. ADDITIONAL SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE INCLUDES: experience in research laboratory safety and occupational health laws - regulations - principals - theories - practices and procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing with research laboratory occupational safety. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE.) ~OR~ SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE: You must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M. - if related. Education must include a major study 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. (COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION) ~OR~ COMBINATION OF EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION: You must possess equivalent combinations of successfully completed graduate education and specialized experience to meet total qualification requirements. Only graduate education in excess of two years (excess of master's degree or 36 semester hours) is creditable. (THIS EXPERIENCE MUST BE SUPPORTED BY YOUR RESUME TO BE CREDITABLE AND COPY OF TRANSCRIPTS ARE REQUIRED AT TIME OF APPLICATION) 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/.
Duties
- ***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION - YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION*** Major duties and responsibilities include: Conducting safety surveillance audits and inspections on a frequent basis according to required standards - regulations and depending on the degree of hazard
- Reviewing safety policies - procedures - and regulations published by serviced organizations
- Conducting comprehensive analytical surveys and/or studies of serviced safety programs
- Investigating hazardous conditions - equipment - and practices to identify and analyze the nature and severity of hazards and possible remedial actions
- Investigating accidents/mishaps - obtaining witness statements - photographing the accident scene - recording circumstances and extent of injuries - and estimating cost of property damages
- Researching various sources of information for promotional items and campaigns to initiate and maintain interest in accident prevention and occupational health for at-work and off-the job employee activities
- Developing or adapting materials for safety campaigns and training courses
- Maintaining historical safety records and noting trends or changing conditions that warrant revision of safety procedures
- Planning - scheduling - and conducting difficult inspections in establishments and worksites where there is a strong probability of encountering hazardous work processes and materials - and unsafe environmental conditions - involving a substantial number of employees
- Ensuring safety programs meet regulatory compliance by oversight agencies
- Preparing reports on investigation findings - which includes recommendations to correct unsafe acts or conditions which caused an accident
- Managing computer programs and databases to enhance management of safety programs
- Performing other duties as assigned
- Work Schedule: Monday-Friday - 8:00am to 4:30pm Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved
Salary : $83,482 - $108,533