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Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
VA Manchester Healthcare System

Summary

The purpose of the position is to perform occupational hazard and safety surveys of a medical facility; study and review inspection safety records; plan and conduct survey or inspections that identify safety hazards and violations; and analyze accident and injury reports.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
02/11/2026 to 02/20/2026
Salary
$57,150 to - $109,959 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 7 - 11
Location
2 vacancies in the following location:
Manchester, NH
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc.
Travel Required
25% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time - Monday-Friday; 7:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
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
CBTD-12879598-26-NS
Control number
857315000

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Duties

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  • Prepares written procedures for implementation of life safety/fire protection, employee safety, construction safety, and occupational safety and health policies.
  • Prepares monthly, quarterly, and annual occupational safety and health reports as specified VA Directives and Handbooks, OSHA and other federal, state, or local regulations.
  • Coordinates safety and occupational health activities with medical and administrative personnel and other medical center representatives.
  • Conducts safety and life safety, and/or Environment of Care (EOC) orientation classes for all employees. Conducts training classes for supervisors in fire/life safety, general safety, construction safety, accident prevention and reporting, etc., and conducts safety promotional programs for all services as scheduled.
  • Conducts administrative inspections of workplaces for hazards and occupational safety and fire/life safety code violations.
  • Investigates alleged adverse incidents involving hazardous materials, machinery. or other items that have an impact on employee/patient safety or occupational health.
  • Performs other related work as assigned

Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday; 7:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m.
Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad-hoc.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Specialist/PD03407A, PD03406A, and PD03405A
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • 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 or 2-year trial 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

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/20/2026.

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 within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. 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.

  • For a GS7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS5
  • For a GS9 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS7
  • For a GS11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS9

INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS (IOR) BASIC REQUIREMENTS: You must meet one of the following Education or Experience 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: 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, education, or combination of experience and education as identified below:

GS-7 Specialized Experience:
  • Assists with surveys, inspects construction projects and designs to determine compliance.
  • Assists in the recommends corrective measures to eliminate or control hazards.
  • Identifies actual and potential hazards of various workplace settings
  • Reviews construction activities and assists in on-site inspections.
OR

Education: One full year of graduate level education or SAA (Superior Academic Achievement) GPA=3.5 or above.

OR

Combination: You may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

GS-9 Specialized Experience:
  • Performs surveys, inspects construction projects and designs to determine compliance.
  • Recommends corrective measures to eliminate or control hazards.
  • Identifies actual and potential hazards and ability to explain the need to apply specific safety measures.
  • Surveys construction activities, reviews plans and drawings, emergency exits, and types of construction materials used.
OR
Education: A master's degree or equivalent graduate degree in a related field OR 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree in a related field OR LL.B or J.D in a related field.
OR
Combination: You may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level.

GS11 Specialized Experience:
  • Performs surveys, inspects construction projects and designs to determine compliance.
  • Recommends corrective measures to eliminate or control hazards.
  • Identifies actual and potential hazards and ability to explain the need to apply specific safety measures.
  • Surveys construction activities, reviews plans and drawings, emergency exits, and types of construction materials used.
  • Interprets NFPA, JC and OSHA regulations to determine compliance.

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.

Preferred Experience: Knowledge in Occupational Safety and Health management including industrial and construction practices. Lockout/tagout, electrical, fall protection, & training concepts.

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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA 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, based on your adjudication decision. 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 RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. VA may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), your responses on the application questionnaire, and your responses to all assessments required for this position. You will be assessed on the following Competencies for this position:

  • Accident Investigation
  • Attention to Detail
  • Compliance Inspection
  • Customer Service
  • Customer Service (Clerical/Technical)
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competence


Your experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. 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. IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. 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.

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; religions; 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.

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator

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.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

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