Skip to main content
U.S. flag
Back to results
 

Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Department of the Interior
Bureau of Land Management
Colorado State Office

Summary

Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our most precious resource.

These positions are located in the cities below. Information about the Colorado locations and the surrounding area can be found at:

We expect to fill 3 vacancies at this time in any of these locations; however, additional positions may be filled from this announcement if they become available.

Overview

Help
Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
12/17/2025 to 12/26/2025
This job will close when we have received 50 applications which may be sooner than the closing date. Learn more
Salary
$61,111 to - $96,116 per year

Salary reflects Rest of US locality, salary MAY change based on selected duty location.

Pay scale & grade
GS 9 - 11
Locations
3 vacancies in the following locations:
Rocky Mountain District
Canon City, CO
Northwest District
Craig, CO
Upper Colorado River District
Grand Junction, CO
Northwest District
Kremmling, CO
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy.
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
11
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Moderate Risk (MR)
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
COMP-26-128479242-JA
Control number
852685000

Duties

Help
  • Duties include, but are not limited to:
  • Plans, schedules and conducts safety and health inspections of all facilities within the District/Field Office, to determine compliance with OSHA
  • Serves as member or lead on accident investigations.
  • Summarizes investigation findings, develops conclusions, and makes recommendations to eliminate or control hazards.
  • Program lead for matters involving Continuity of Operations, facility emergency management, occupant emergency planning, and OSHA.
  • Develops and implements safety and occupational health policies and work practices to assure safe, healthful, and efficient operations for permanent and seasonal employees, volunteers, and the public.

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Be sure to read the 'How to Apply' and 'Required Documents' Sections.
  • You cannot hold an active real estate license: nor can you have an interest or hold stocks in firms with interest in Federal Lands.
  • Direct Deposit Required.
  • Appointment will be subject to a favorably adjudicated background/suitability investigation/determination.
  • Your resume must contain enough information to show that you meet the qualification requirements as defined in the announcement. In addition, your responses to the questions must adequately reflect in your resume.
  • An applicant appointed to this position must possess (or obtain within 30 days of entrance on duty) and maintain a valid state driver's license while employed in this position.
  • May require a one-year probationary period.

Qualifications


In order to be rated as qualified for this position, we must be able to determine that you meet the basic requirements as well as the qualification requirements - please be sure to include this information in your resume. No assumptions will be made about your experience.

Basic Requirements for the 0018 Safety and Occupational Health Specialist:

Degree: Major study in 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. I will provide a copy of my transcripts to support this.

OR

Experience in a related field to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. See examples of specialized experience listed below.

OR

Hold 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.

Minimum Qualifications for the 0018 Safety and Occupational Health Specialist at the GS-09:

You must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-07 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples:

  • Applying, safety and occupational health methods and practices sufficient to conduct standard safety inspections and investigate accidents.
  • Conducting surveys to identify and/or evaluate hazardous work operations and conditions.
  • Developing, coordinating, and conducting standardized safety training programs, and/or train and brief managers, supervisors, and employees on occupational safety and health laws, regulations, and guidelines.
  • Obtaining data and information regarding work operations, mishaps, and safety practices.
  • Communicating with a variety of individuals such as managers, employees, volunteers, and visitors to encourage individuals to observe safety and occupational health regulations and policies.
OR

You must possess two years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a master's degree OR master's or equivalent graduate degree, related to the position.

OR

You must possess an equivalent combination of the type and level of experience and education described above.

Minimum Qualifications for the 0018 Safety and Occupational Health Specialist at the GS-11:

You must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at or equivalent to the GS-09 level that is equivalent in difficulty and complexity as indicated by the following examples:
  • Serving as an administrative and technical lead for safety and occupational health programs involving hazards encountered in work operations.
  • Conducting accident investigations to identify causal factors through interviews, study of the sequence of events, and environmental circumstances.
  • Evaluating compliance with safety and occupational health criteria applicable to storage of flammable and hazardous materials, fire protection, ventilation, electrical, water/gas utilities, and the disposal of waste materials.
  • Devising innovative safety procedures to minimize potential injury and property damage from unsafe conditions and practices.
  • Communicating with a variety of individuals such as managers, employees, volunteers, visitors, to encourage individuals to observe safety and occupational health regulations and policies.
OR

You must possess three years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, related to the position.

OR

You must possess an equivalent combination of the type and level of experience and education described above.

Experience
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.

You must meet all qualification requirements within 30 days of the closing date of the announcement.

Federal employees in the competitive service are also subject to the Time-In-Grade requirement in accordance with 5 CFR 300.604. If you are a current Federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must have completed a minimum of 52 weeks at the next lower grade level.

Physical Demands: The work requires the incumbent to visit field locations and inspect working conditions such as construction work sites, outlying buildings, recreation areas, and other facilities and equipment in various remote locations. The performance of inspections and investigations of mishaps requires frequent standing, walking, climbing, bending, and traveling off road. Office work is mostly sedentary.

Work Environment: Work involves a mixture of time in the office, spent traveling and performing field related activities such as inspecting facilities or investigating accidents. The incumbent may be exposed to a variety of climatic and travel conditions while working in the field. Travel may include flying in small aircraft or helicopters, riding or driving in cars, trucks or off highway vehicles over rugged terrain in remote areas in quickly changing and sometimes hazardous conditions or in extreme hot or cold outdoor temperatures. Additionally, there may be exposure to unusual or potentially dangerous conditions, such as contaminated materials, unexploded ordinance, wildfires, industrial plants with high-frequency noise, scenes of hazardous or toxic material spills and various hazardous chemicals or substances. Because of these environments, the position may require the incumbent to utilize personal protective equipment i.e., metatarsal shoes, hard hat, eye and hearing protection, respirator, and gloves for conducting inspections.

Education

If using education to qualify, you must submit copies of all transcripts or a list of college courses that include hours and grades from an accredited U.S. college/university, related to the position. See Required Documents section for more information.

Additional information

This announcement will close when we have reached 50 applications, which may be sooner than the closing date listed.

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP)/interagency Career Transition Assistance Program (ICTAP): These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority, you must: 1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; 2) be rated well qualified for the position with a score of 90 or above; and 3) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information: CTAP or ICTAP. Males born after 12/31/59 must be registered for Selective Service

The official worksite for the selectee is the duty station identified in this vacancy announcement. The selectee will typically report to this duty location on a regular and recurring weekly basis. The selectee may be allowed to telework with supervisor approval.

Travel and relocation expenses will not be paid by the Department of the Interior. Certain incentives (such as Recruitment, Relocation or Student Loan Repayment) may be authorized to eligible selectees. If eligible and qualified, you may be offered a recruitment or relocation incentive. The decision to offer an incentive will be made on a case-by-case basis and is neither promised nor guaranteed. For information visit: Recruitment Incentive or Relocation Incentive or Student Loan Repayment.

** THIS IS A READVERTISEMENT OF ANNOUNCEMENT COMP-25-12758958-JA **
Applicants who applied to the previous announcement MUST reapply.

This position is considered a career ladder opportunity, with a full performance level of GS-11. If selected at a lower grade level, you may be non-competitively promoted to the next grade level at the discretion of your supervisor and is contingent upon meeting regulatory and legal requirements for promotion, satisfactory performance, and the availability of higher-level work. Promotion is not guaranteed, and no promise of promotion is implied.

Reasonable Accommodation Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here: https://help.usastaffing.gov/Apply/index.php?title=Reasonable_Accommodations_for_USA_Hire

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

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

Resumes must not exceed two single-sided pages and resumes longer than two pages will not be accepted. The minimum font size is 10-point for all body text. Headers may be slightly larger but must remain legible. All resumes must maintain a minimum 0.5-inch margins on all sides to ensure readability and prevent excessive content compression. Including supplemental pages or attachments disguised as resume extensions are prohibited and will not be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.

Your answers to the online questionnaire will be used to evaluate your competencies in the following areas:

  • Accident Investigation
  • Compliance Inspection
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Risk Management
You will be evaluated based on how your application materials reflect the qualification requirements of this position. Once the application process is complete, HR will review your application to ensure you meet eligibility and minimum qualifications. To determine if you are minimally qualified for this position, HR will complete a review of your resume, supporting documentation and responses to the online questionnaire. In addition to meeting the minimum qualifications requirement(s), The best qualified candidates will be identified through a structured panel review that will result in a ranking referral to the hiring manager. The assessment will measure the specialized experience and critical competencies and/or job elements listed below that are required to successfully perform in the position. In the evaluation process, due weight will be given to job related experience, education, training, incentive awards and performance appraisals. Applicants must have a performance rating of at least the equivalent of fully successful to be eligible for promotion or placement. Applicants may provide a copy of a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months. If the applicant is unable to provide a performance appraisal of record dated within the last 18 months, the applicant may provide a written explanation as to why.

In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job. The assessment includes a cut score based on the minimum level of required proficiency in these critical general competencies. You must meet or exceed the cut score to be considered. You will not be considered for the position if you score below the cut score or fail to complete the assessment. Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on the online assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Your session is about to expire!

Your USAJOBS session will expire due to inactivity in 8 minutes. Any unsaved data will be lost if you allow the session to expire. Click the button below to continue your session.