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Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Legislative Branch
Architect of the Capitol
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is located in the Architect of the Capitol (AOC), Office of the Chief of Operations, Superintendent, Capitol Building (CB). As a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist you will develop safety program requirements, perform safety inspections and instruction and carry out environmental health monitoring. You will serve as a technical expert on safety and occupational health, providing information on existing program policies and requirements. 

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
09/18/2024 to 10/04/2024
Salary
$82,764 to - $107,590 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Washington DC, DC
1 vacancy
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position is eligible for telework as determined by agency policy.
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent - Permanent, Full Time.
Work schedule
Full-time - This is an Excepted Service position and does not require or confer Civil Service Competitive Status.
Service
Excepted
Promotion potential
13 - Position has non-competitive promotion potential to the GS-13.
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Other
Drug test
Yes
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CB-2024-484
Control number
810424800

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

See Requirements section of this announcement for information on who may apply.

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Duties

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Tour of Duty: Monday through Friday, 6:00 am to 2:30 pm

Safety Policy and Procedures Formulation

  • Develops trade focused safety policies, methods, approaches and/or technology applicable to unique AOC project management requirements.
  • Updates components of the safety and occupational health program for the CB.
  • Examines workforce statistics, researches occupational data, identifies populations and trends, obtains information on agency and contractor capabilities, develops work plans, briefs managers, writes specifications and scope-of-work statements and makes recommendations regarding accident and illness prevention.
  • Provides instruction to staff on safe work practices, emphasizing statistically relevant accident trends.
  • Evaluates training needs, develops training materials and provides classroom formal and work site instruction.
  • Conducts program compliance reviews to reinforce attention to safety requirements.
  • Serves as a Contracting Officers Representative, monitoring safety deliverables, contractor performance and provides review and comment and technical reports.
    • Develops the safety requirement portion of Contractor Scopes of Work.
  • Monitors and provides technical direction for hazardous material removal or abatement, including asbestos and lead.
    • Tests suspected materials.
    • Determines approach.
    • Designs and or consults on abatement plans; including scope and cost, coverage of equipment, unique situations and environmental exposure to hazards.
  • Monitors certifications of employees performing hazardous tasks; assists with the identification and purchase of appropriate personnel protective equipment.
  • Maintains state of the art safety strategies and assesses cost/benefit issues related to implementing safety programs, policies and procedures for major projects.
  • Reviews and analyzes specifications, blueprints, submissions and other technical data on construction and renovation projects for completeness and technical accuracy and develops reviews and reports on the safety and occupational health issues presented by these projects.

Conducts Safety Reviews

  • Plans, coordinates and conducts occupational health and safety inspections, audits, surveys, tests and evaluations of AOC facilities and operations including construction and renovation sites.
    • This may include: office space, shops, steam, chilled water and co-generation facilities, oil and coal handling, trenching, scaffolding, grounds operation and maintenance, equipment storage and kitchen and other work areas.
  • Applies and interprets applicable regulations, standards and guidelines.
  • Identifies problems and deficiencies and takes appropriate action to correct situations which are dangerous to life and health.
  • Informs supervisors of situations requiring immediate action, informally resolves problems on the scene, writes reports, makes recommendations and follows-up to determine compliance.
  • Inspects and surveys building spaces and employee worksites on a recurring basis to identify and evaluate conditions which may be hazardous to workers' safety and health.
  • Conducts Job Hazard Analysis. 
  • Performs safety and occupational health tests for hazardous substances such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, natural gas, propane, ozone, volatile organic compounds, asbestos, lead and others.
  • Establishes standards by which to judge program effectiveness and plans for evaluation of compliance with those standards for a major agency organizational component.
  • Analyzes existing health and safety program evaluation criteria procedures and guidelines and develops innovative new procedures.
  • Evaluates, modifies and improves existing test technologies including methods, concepts and procedures.
  • Develops and implements test initiatives and test technologies that address program compliance with all applicable health and safety regulations.

The Safety and Occupational Health Specialist responsible for utilizing a thorough knowledge of and compliance with applicable AOC and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) rules and regulations to ensure that work progresses in a safe manner and to initiate or take corrective action on unsafe conditions in managed areas.

Performs other related duties as assigned.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Your resume and question responses must demonstrate the job-related KSAs.
  • You must meet the definition of specialized experience.
  • You must be able to pass a drug test.

To be employed by the Architect of the Capitol in a paid position, an individual must meet one of the categories below:

  • A citizen of the United States;
  • A person who is lawfully admitted for permanent residence and is seeking citizenship as outlined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3)(B);
  • A person who is admitted as a refugee under 8 U.S.C. 1157 or is granted asylum under 8 U.S.C. 1158 and has filed a declaration of intention to become a lawful permanent resident and then a citizen when eligible;
  • A person who owes allegiance to the United States (nationals of American Samoa, Swains Island, and the Northern Mariana Islands, and nationals who meet other requirements described in 8 U.S.C. 1408); or
  • A person who is currently an officer or employee of the Government of the United States

Qualifications

You must meet the United States Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) qualification requirements (including specialized experience and/or educational requirements) for the advertised position. You must meet all eligibility and qualifications requirements by the closing date of the job announcement. Additional information on the qualification requirements is outlined in the OPM Qualifications Standards Handbook of General Schedule Positions. It is available for your review on the OPM web site at http://www.opm.gov/qualifications.

1. Specialized Experience

Experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, candidates must have at least 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 grade level in the Federal service.  Specialized experience is defined as: 1) Managing occupational safety and health programs (e.g., hazardous materials management, construction safety, and safety training); 2) Reviewing, updating and creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) in compliance with safety standards (e.g., 1926 OSHA Standards, 29 CFR 1910); 3) Creating, reviewing, editing and updating Job Hazard Assessments to ensure workplace safety; and 4) Conducting safety inspections and audits of facilities to develop corrective actions for maintaining a safe work environment.

--OR—

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

In addition to meeting the specialized experience requirements for this position, applicants must meet the Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR) for the 0018 series. 

Fulfillment of the Individual Occupational Requirements is demonstrated by: 

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: 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.

--OR--

Certificates

Certification as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), or Certified Health Physicist (CHP), or similar certification that included successful completion of a written examination.

Special Instructions for Foreign Education

Education completed outside of the United States must be deemed equivalent to that gained in conventional/accredited U.S. education programs to be acceptable for Federal employment.

Qualifying education from colleges and universities in foreign countries must be evaluated in terms of equivalency to that acquired in U.S. colleges and universities. Applicants educated in whole or in part of foreign countries must submit sufficient evidence, including transcripts, to an accredited private organization for an equivalency evaluation of course work and degree.

You must provide a copy of the letter containing the results of the equivalency evaluation with a course-by-course listing if selected.

Additional information

Welcome Veterans. The Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) gives veterans' preference rights in the legislative branch to certain veterans as applied by the Congressional Accountability Act. Veterans' preference is applied on this vacancy announcement. If you are a veteran and have been separated under honorable conditions, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility; SF-15, if applicable; and Department of Veterans Affairs documentation of disability, if applicable. For more information, please visit OPM vet guide

If you are a male applicant born after December 31, 1959, you must certify that you have registered with the Selective Service System. If you are exempt from registration under Selective Service Law, you must provide appropriate proof of exemption. Please visit the Selective Service System website for more information.

DRUG TESTING: The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is a Drug Free Workplace. As part of the AOC’s suitability assessment, a candidate tentatively selected for a position who is not currently an AOC employee is required to submit to screening for illegal drug use. Satisfactory completion of a drug test is a condition of employment with the Agency. A candidate must test negative prior to being eligible for appointment into a position. We will schedule, provide and cover the cost for the drug test.
 
The selectee(s) under the vacancy announcement for this position is subject to a criminal record check by the U.S. Capitol Police and satisfactory adjudication to be eligible for employment at the Architect of the Capitol.
 
The Architect of the Capitol is an E-VERIFY Participant. E-VERIFY is an Internet-based system that compares information from an employee's Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, to data from U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration records to confirm employment authorization in the United States. If you are selected for this position, the documentation that you present for purposes of completing the DHS Form I-9 will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" electronic system. For more information on E-Verify, please visit http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1185221678150.shtm

The Architect of the Capitol is an Equal Opportunity Employer and prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information and/or disability.

This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and hiring process, please notify the agency. The decision on granting reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis.
 
Moving expenses are not authorized.
 
Relocation expenses are not authorized.
 
Probationary Period A newly appointed selectee is subject to the completion of a one-year trial/probationary period, regardless of whether or not a trial/probationary period has been completed previously with the Architect of the Capitol or another Federal agency.

This vacancy announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies in any of the jurisdictions of the Architect of the Capitol.

All application materials become the property of the Architect of the Capitol.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Review your resume and responses carefully. Your eligibility for consideration and qualifications for the position will be determined based upon a review of your detailed resume and your responses to job specific self-assessment questions. 

Your resume will be evaluated based on evidence of your ability to demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) for this position, possession of any specialized experience, and how well your background and experience relates to the self-assessment questions in the job announcement. The self-assessment questions relate to the following knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies:

Hazardous Materials - Knowledge of hazardous materials and waste and their uses, interactions, dangers, production, handling, storage, and disposal.

Accountability - Holds self and others accountable for measurable high-quality, timely, and cost-effective results. Determines objectives, sets priorities, and delegates work. Accepts responsibility for mistakes. Complies with established control systems and rules.

Compliance - Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance.


Your responses to the self-assessment questions serve as the basis for your initial rating. You will receive a numerical score based on your responses to these questions.  Next, your responses will be evaluated by a Human Resources Specialist and/or a subject matter expert against the information provided in your resume and optional cover letter. Your resume must support your answers to the self-assessment questions. Falsifying your background, education and/or experience is cause for non-selection or disqualification from further consideration.

Please note that a complete application is required for consideration. (Please review the “Required Documents” section of this job announcement to see what must be included in a complete application).


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