What are the responsibilities and job description for the Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Specialist position at US Department of Veterans Affairs?
The incumbent is the Supervisory Safety and Occupational Health Specialist and acts under the authority of the Chief of Quality, Safety, and Improvement Service on matters relating to occupational safety and health and industrial hygiene at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System. EDUCATION: There is no educational substitution at this grade level.
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/ . RESPONSIBILITIES: Major duties include, but are not limited to:
Supervises and directs Job Hazard Assessments and Annual Safety Inspections affecting facility employees.
Advises accident investigation boards convened to ascertain causal factors precipitating fatalities, series injuries or substantial property damage by recommending specific investigative techniques and the application of appropriate standards and sound safety practices necessary to the effective conduct of a comprehensive study that fully and accurately documents final conclusions.
Serves as the primary agency representative for the regional review of safety and occupational health programs of Federal agencies to assist them in the development of plans and programs to achieve and maintain compliance with agency regulations and standards
Provides for training assistance to Federal agency management personnel, supervisory employees, and employees' representatives.
Develops policies to comply with specific federal, state, and local laws and regulations while minimizing adverse impact to patient care for PVAHCS.
Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, 07:00am - 15:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/ PD14038O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized QUALIFICATIONS: To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/02/2026.
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. 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.
Quality Ranking Factor: OSHA, TJC and/or Environment of Care experience.
You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS:
Must meet one of the following Education or Experience:
EDUCATION: 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
EXPERIENCE: Specialized Experience: 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. 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.
In addition, you must meet the grade requirements listed below.
GS-12 Grade Requirements You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (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: A broad knowledge of safety and occupational health concepts, principles, techniques, practices, laws, and regulations sufficient to plan, organize, administer, coordinate, and evaluate occupational safety and health programs. Knowledge to provide technical advice and guidance to the Health Care Center organizations and managers concerning difficult or unusual safety and occupational health issues. Investigating and analyzing a wide variety of problems and making recommendations. Planning, developing, and executing a variety of new safety projects and assessing their effectiveness. Interpreting regulations or policy and properly implementing their provisions. Experienced managerial skills in order to inspect, coordinate, and oversee the work of subordinates; and provide training, advice, and guidance. Ability to communicate both orally and in writing.
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/ . SALARY: QuantitativeValue EMPLOYMENT TYPE: Other