Videos

***THIS IS NOT A VIRTUAL POSITION, YOU MUST LIVE WITHIN OR BE WILLING TO RELOCATE WITHIN A COMMUTABLE DISTANCE OF THE DUTY LOCATION***

This is a supervisory position with responsibility to plan, direct, coordinate, and evaluate agency programs requiring the application of unusual or complex criteria to eliminate or control serious hazards encountered in the construction, operation, and maintenance of a wide variety of facilities including inpatient wards, clinics, and laboratories. Duties will include, but may not be limited to the following:

• Plans, develops, directs, and coordinates a comprehensive hospital occupational safety and health (OSHA), industrial hygiene, and emergency management programs.
• Ensures medical center activities meet or exceed compliance with applicable environmental, public health, and resource protection laws and regulations.
• Prepares policy memoranda related to hospital safety, occupational health, and emergency management.
• Conducts periodic program evaluations and performance of the safety, occupational health, and emergency management program.
• Prepares reports of evaluations for management review.
• Conducts inspections of worksites, noting which operations could constitute potential health problems.
• Takes environmental samples where ceiling limits have been established, taking note of suspected hazards.
• Arranges for shipment of samples to laboratory for analysis and performs limited in-house sample analysis.
• Prepares reports of inspection findings, to include recommendations to alleviate hazardous conditions.
• Provides technical advice to medical center personnel on a wide range of occupational health issues.
• Follows-up to ensure that required abatement measures are completed.
• Inspects hospital buildings, grounds, operations of physical plant facilities, and motor vehicle operations.
• Investigates accidents (including fires) involving personnel and/or significant damage to machinery, tools, materials, or equipment.
• Analyzes investigation findings, prepares reports, and recommends measures to eliminate similar accidents.
• Consults with medical center services regarding types of protective apparel and equipment needed to protect personnel from harmful work environmental factors.
• Reviews drawings and specifications for VA or private contractors for construction and/or renovations to determine compliance with standards and regulations and makes recommendations for changes to eliminate hazards or improve safety requirements.
• Performs special studies and participates in the development of hospital policy concerning health hazards and possible approaches to their control.
• Performs other duties as necessary.

Work Schedule: Full-Time, Monday-Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm

Recruitment & Relocation Incentives: Not authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

Basic Individual Occupational Requirement: Requires 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. (Copy of Certification Required)

AND
Specialized Experience: Requires at least one year of specialized experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. 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. 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.
• In addition, at this GS-13 grade: experience supervising and/or leading safety and occupational health staff/teams.

You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position:

• Communications
• Compliance
• Problem Solving
• Safety Engineering
• Technical Competence

IMPORTANT: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. All experience listed on your resume must include the month and year start/end dates. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. 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.

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS: The incumbent is sedentary for long periods but is frequently required to conduct site surveys requiring prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, and other physical movement. Because the incumbent is often exposed to fire situations, 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/.

How you will be evaluated

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

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume does not support your questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s).

Your responses to the assessment questionnaire will be reviewed along with the information provided in your resume and supporting documentation to determine if you are qualified for the position. If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you have inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered and/or you may lose consideration for this position. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your eligibility.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

Candidates who apply under All U.S. Citizens announcements will be rated and ranked using Category Rating procedures. Qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The categories are defined as follows:

• Best qualified - applicants possessing experience that substantially exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are highly proficient in all requirements of the job and can perform effectively in the position;
• Highly qualified - applicants possessing experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the requirements of the job;
• Well qualified - applicants possessing experience that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in some, but not all, of the requirements of the job; and
• Qualified - applicants possessing experience and/or education that meets the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors.

Application of Veterans' Preference: Category rating and selection procedures place those with veteran's preference above non-preference eligibles within each category. Preference eligible applicants that meet the eligibility and qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent are listed in the highest quality category (except when the position being filled is scientific or professional at the GS-09 grade level or higher).

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.