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Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Department of Veterans Affairs
Veterans Health Administration
Veterans Health Administration

Summary

Serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist at the Eastern Kansas Healthcare System Medical Center. Reports to the safety and occupational health manager, office of the assistant director. Responsible for supporting the safety and occupational health program through the development, administration, organization, evaluation, analysis of data, and implementation of the required modifications to ensure a comprehensive program of fire prevention, life, safety, and hazard surveillance.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
03/30/2026 to 04/03/2026
Salary
$75,897 - $118,261 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 12
Location
1 vacancy in the following location:
Topeka, KS
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Not required
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
12
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
CBSS-12920976-26-TD
Control number
862981200

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Duties

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Major duties include but are not limited to:

  • Plans, conducts and assesses fire drills according to the most current NFPA and VHA requirements.
  • Ensures that documentation for all required inspection, testing and maintenance of the fire alarm and suppression system is maintained for review by external auditors.
  • Responds and investigates the cause when fire alarms are activated in the facility.
  • Serves as technical support to the Evaluates the Environment of Care (EOC) Committee preparing and presenting quarterly reports related to Safety and Occupational Health Specialist responsibilities.
  • Reviews applicable guidelines and regulations including VHA Directives, OSHA regulations, National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Codes, Joint Commission Standards, and recognized industry standards to develop hospital policies and procedures ensuring ongoing compliance and adherence to safety and is responsible for the development and ongoing revision of medical center policies.
  • Acts as the primary medical center educator for issues related to life safety, fire prevention and hazard surveillance. Develops training and education based on national guidance, regulations, standards, and code.
  • Keeps abreast of current industry best practices and uses professional judgement to reduce or eliminate safety risks and hazards within the organization.
  • Ensures reports are directed to appropriate parties to effect correction, and that problems of an urgent nature are immediately brought directly to the attention of responsible staff to ensure prompt resolution.

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: 8:00AM - 4:30PM, Monday - Friday
Telework: Ad-hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Specialist/PD10343A and PD10342A
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
  • 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 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 or trial 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, 04/03/2026.

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 position For a GS-11 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. For a position For a GS-12 you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirements

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.

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 fire safety program elements.
  • Developing and recommending fire safety 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 fire 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 fire safety 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 meets the requirements for GS-5. Applicants may also qualify for higher grade levels based on their education and/or experience.
In addition to meeting the Individual Occupational Requirements, you must possess the required specialized experience, education, or combination of experience and education as identified below. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:
  • Specialized Experience GS-11: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Identifies hazardous operating conditions and hazardous environmental conditions and recommends appropriate controls and safety measures.
  • Performs surveys, inspects construction projects and designs to determine compliance.
  • Prepares reports of findings with recommendations to correct unsafe acts or conditions.
  • Interprets NFPA, JC and OSHA regulations to determine compliance.
OR,
  • Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree Or a LL.M, in related field. .
OR,
  • Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 2 years of graduate level education.

Specialized Experience (GS-12): You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to:
  • Reviews previous surveys to determine effectiveness of corrective actions.
  • Identifies actual and potential hazards and ability to explain the need to apply specific safety measures.
  • Investigates mishaps, obtains statements from witnesses, and photographs mishap scenes.
  • Participates as a member of survey and inspection teams that identify fire safety hazards and violations.
You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:
  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork


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.

Note: 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.

Physical Requirements: "Physical aspects associated with work required of this assignment are typical for the occupation and would generally not require a pre-placement examination."

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

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. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. 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.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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.

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.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

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.

Veterans Health Administration

OUR MISSION: To fulfill President Lincoln's promise "To care for those who have served in our nation's military and for their families, caregivers, and survivors" - by serving and honoring the men and women who are America's Veterans. How would you like to become a part of a team providing compassionate whole health care to Veterans?


The VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System (VAEKHCS) serves the health care needs of Veterans across 20,000 square miles and 39 counties in eastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri. By employing nearly 2,000 full-time employees, VAEKHCS cares for over 40,000 Veterans each year. At VAEKHCS, Veteran and Employee Whole Health is our goal, and High Reliability is how we get there together.

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Agency contact information

Toyia Duke
Phone
910-322-6038
Email
toyia.duke@va.gov
Address
VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System
2200 SW Gage Blvd
Topeka, KS 66622
US

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http://www.va.gov/jobs

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