Safety & Occupational Health Specialist
What you'd do
This position is assigned to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, at the Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, MO. It falls under the Assistant Director, Safety and Occupational Health Department. This position is to assist in the development, coordination, implementation and management of safety, fire prevention, and occupational health programs, included in the main hospital and associated Community Based Outpatient Clinics.
Major duties
The incumbent independently conducts surveys and inspections at assigned areas to assess work practices and environmental conditions for safety and health hazards, and to ensure fire protection devices and safety equipment are working properly.Other duties include but are not limited to: Surveying work areas and inspecting equipment for compliance with EPA, NFPA, OSHA, The Joint Commission, VA, and all other applicable regulations and codebooks, within established timeframes. Inspecting contract nursing homes, halfway houses, homeless shelters, and other work areas in accordance with the latest edition of NFPA 101, Life Safety Code, and other applicable codes. Providing timely and accurate reports of these inspections. Inspecting and testing fire extinguishing equipment, fire safety and fire suppression systems. Coordinating and performing quality surveillance of related work completed by contractors. Inspecting construction sites for compliance with VA, the Joint Commission, and OSHA regulations with regard to exits and stairs, floor load capacity, aisle space, adequacy of sprinkling systems, safety features on storage tanks containing flammable and volatile liquids, and the adequacy of scaffolding erected to facilitate painting of buildings, etc. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD096220 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement 08/06/2026. 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 7 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 6. For a GS 9 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 7. 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 Basic Requirements: 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. OR Certificates: Certification as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), or Certified Health Physicist (CHP). Applicants may also qualify for higher grade levels based on their education and/or experience. (Must provide copy) In addition to the Basic Requirements, applicants MUST also meet the Specialized Experience. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-7 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-5) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Safety, methods and standards, regulations, policies, laws, regulations, policies, VA safety, Occupational health, terminology, and environmental hazards. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for the GS-7 grade level you must have one year of graduate-level education or superior academic achievement. (Transcript required). Superior academic achievement (SAA) provision is to be used to determine eligibility for applicable GS-7 level positions of persons who have completed (or expect to complete within 9 months) all the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. Senior students can apply for positions prior to graduation and be considered for a GS-7 appointment based on their grades at the time of application. SAA is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. OR, Combination: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level. GS-9 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-7) 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, 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, OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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. Such education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade levels specified in the table, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9. 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/.
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