This Safety and Occupational Health Specialist position is located within Facilities Management Service at VA Boston Healthcare System in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts. This position is full-time at 40 hours per week. ***This is an open and continuous job opportunity announcement and may close at any time once the position is filled.***
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/30/2026. 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-11 position, you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. Safety and Occupational Health Management Series, 0018 Individual Occupational Requirements: 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- Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): 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 to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements above, you must possess the required specialized experience, OR education, OR combination of experience and education as identified below: GS-11 Specialized Experience: You must have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-9) in the Federal Service that has given you the particular knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully perform the duties of a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. Qualifying 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. At this level, applicants would have obtained this experience in: performing surveys, inspecting construction projects and designs to determine compliance; recommending corrective measures to eliminate or control hazards with a variety of Subject Matter Experts from various service lines; identifying actual and potential hazards and ability to explain the need to apply specific safety measures. Surveying construction activities, reviewing plans and drawings, emergency exits, and types of construction materials used, interpreting NFPA, JC and OSHA regulations to determine compliance activities and scope of future projects. NOTE: 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. -OR- Education: Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree Or a LL.M, in related field. -OR- Combination: You may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Physical Requirements: The incumbent is sedentary for long periods but is frequently required to make site surveys requiring prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, and other physical movement. Because the incumbent is often exposed to workplace hazards. construction sites and hazardous materials, physical coordination, balance, and good health are 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/.
This is an OPEN CONTINUOUS ANNOUNCEMENT and will remain open until September 30, 2026. The initial cut-off date for referral of eligible applications will be May 13, 2026. After this date, qualified applicants will be considered and referred as vacancies become available. Eligible applications received after the initial cut-off date will be referred as additional vacancies occur on an as-needed basis until positions are filled. The incumbent serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist reporting to the Safety and Occupational Health Manager. Duties for this position include but are not limited to: Conduct safety surveillance audits and inspections on a frequent basis according to required standards and regulations and depending on the degree of hazard. Perform skillfully in safety work that involves a combined approach to unusual or complex safety and occupational health management issues. Review safety policies, procedures, and regulations published by serviced organizations. Conduct comprehensive analytical surveys and/or studies of serviced safety programs. Investigate hazardous conditions, equipment, and practices to identify and analyze the nature and severity of hazards and possible remedial actions. Investigate accidents/mishaps, obtain witness statements, photographs the accident scene, record circumstances and extent of injuries, and estimate cost of property damages. Advise and consult on the overall planning and programming requirements for and problems encountered in the day-to-day operations of a facility. Resolve difficult and complex technical, project management, and organizational problems using innovative and original approaches. Research 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. Develop or adapt materials for safety campaigns and training courses. Maintain historical safety records and notes trends or changing conditions that warrant revision of safety procedures. Provide technical assistance to managers and supervisors necessary to achieve safe and healthy working conditions. Plan, schedule, and conduct 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. Ensure safety programs meet regulatory compliance by oversight agencies. Ensure corrective actions are initiated and consult with personnel/managers on changes in work processes and proposed methods to eliminate unnecessary risks and control hazardous conditions. Regulate and enforce safety policies, programs, or activities. Update education and promotional information bulletin boards and disseminate information via contemporary communication means to all assigned areas. Prepare reports on investigation findings, which includes recommendations to correct unsafe acts or conditions which caused an accident. Ensure information and guidance developed by accident prevention committees is distributed to all pertinent parties. Manage computer programs and databases to enhance management of safety programs. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Specialist/523-00907-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Notifications: This position is in the Competitive Service. Selectee required to serve one year probationary period. Current and former Federal employees may submit copies of their most recent SF-50, (Notice of Personnel Action). The SF-50 must identify the position title, series, grade, step, tenure and type of service (Competitive or Excepted). In some cases, more than one SF-50 may be required to show a higher grade previously held. This position is covered by locality-based comparability pay. Veterans' preference does not apply for internal or other current permanent Federal agency employees. The incumbent may be required to travel to other VA Boston Healthcare System campuses and CBOC's. Incomplete applications will not be considered.