Safety & Occupational Health Specialist
What you'd do
This position is located at the Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System (NAVAHCS), Facilities Management Service, Prescott, AZ. The primary purpose of the Safety and Occupational Health Specialist is to perform the tasks to create a safe environment for our employees to work in. This position ensure employees are working in a safe workplace that meets all regulatory guidelines.
Major duties
Major duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Schedules, conducts, and performs difficult inspections to evaluate potential hazards, risks and unsafe environmental conditions associated with a wide variety of work environments and occupations (clinician, lab personnel, and engineers) that handle high level contaminants, toxins, ionizing and non- ionizing radiation, and infectious diseases at the Medical Center. Conducts audits, evaluations, and inspections of Medical Center areas to locate potential or existing hazards or violations of safety code and policy as per Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) standards, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) standards, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations, American Congress of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA,) The Joint Commission, and various state and county regulations. The incumbent generates all necessary documents to show thorough evaluation and recommends changes to alleviate a hazard or potential hazard to the using Service Supervisor. Schedules and performs required fire alarm tests and drills on all shifts, and follows up the tests and drills with necessary reports. The incumbent independently critiques and makes suggestions to supervisors or management and conducts thorough participant debriefing and question and answer sessions. using established techniques, investigates accidents, mishaps, or other occurrences, obtains statements from witnesses, and photographs the scenes where the accident occurred; records circumstances of accidents and the extent of injury, conducts accident trends and analysis, estimates costs of property damage and prepares reports of findings with recommendations to correct unsafe acts or conditions that caused personnel injury or property damage that fall within the jurisdiction of the Safety Service. reates safety plans and prepare supplements, guidelines, and written procedures to implement technical safety standards, codes and safety requirements for a variety of operations and activities for the different departments in the medical center, clinics, veteran's homes, CBOCs, and community nursing homes. Statistically analyzes and complies data obtained from investigations and studies and develops data tables and graphs to identify hazards, problems or potent threats to the safety of healthcare operations. Inspects construction projects to determine compliance with occupational standards; and is responsible for design review for new areas that are being built or renovated. inspects construction projects to determine compliance with occupational standards; and is responsible for design review for new areas that are being built or renovated. Performs other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Monday-Friday, 08:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/PD11548A 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, 08/21/2026. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 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. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education. This position has an INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT which is a basic requirement that must be met to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that cannot be waived. To meet the basic requirement for the Safety and Occupational Health Specialist Occupational series, applicants must demonstrate one of the following: Undergraduate and/or Graduate Education with Major study as follows -- 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 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. 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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