Clarification from the agency

This position is open to qualified applicants who are current, permanent employees of the Department of Veteran Affairs and those eligible under Career Transition (CTAP).

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Duties may include but are not limited to;

• Serves as the principal authority for safety and occupational health for the Martinsburg West Virginia (MWV) Veteran Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) and all affiliated facilities, with full authority to take immediate corrective action when hazardous conditions pose risks to life, health or property.
• Plans, develops implements, and manages a comprehensive safety program that meets the requirements of VA, OSHA, NFPA, EPA, ADA, Joint Commission, and other regulatory agencies.
• Identifies safety risks through inspections, audits, and investigations; develops strategies for hazard mitigation and prevention.
• Directs the facility's accident and incident investigation program, including root cause analysis, corrective actions, and reporting.
• Manages and directs a comprehensive Safety and Occupational Health Program, ensuring compliance with Federal, State and local codes as well as VA and Joint Commission standards.
• Manages the Environment of Care Program, including safety management, life safety, hazardous materials, emergency preparedness, utilities, equipment, and security management, coordinating with the Quality and Patient Safety to ensure closed-loop reporting and resolution of issues.
• Prepares and maintains the Statement of Conditions (SOC) for Joint Commission and recommends Fire Safety Equivalencies (FSEs) when required.
• Reviews and approves policies, procedures, and protocols to always maintain accreditation readiness.
• Provides expert review of construction and renovation projects (major, minor, NRM, and SLP) to ensure conformance with life safety, Fire Protection, and Occupational Safety standards; Prepares statements of conditions and recommends fire safety equivalencies for accreditation compliance.
• Provides expert consultation to engineers, architects, and contractors during project design and construction phases.
• Makes recommendations for structural modifications to achieve compliance when deficiencies are identified.
  Industrial Hygiene & Occupational Health - 10%.
• Manages a comprehensive and industrial hygiene program, identifying, evaluating and controlling chemical, biological, physical, and ergonomic hazards; investigates occupational health complaints and negotiates corrective action with management and union representatives.
• Maintains expertise in regulatory changes and ensures adoption of new standards.
• Supervises subordinate staff, including: two Safety Specialist, one Industrial Hygienist, GEMS Coordinator, one administrative officer with full authority over recruitment, appraisals, promotions, training and disciplinary actions.
• Exercises full supervisory authority: hiring, promotions, performance appraisals, awards, discipline, leave approval and training.
• Ensure staff development through succession planning, skills training, and mentoring.
• Manages section resources, prepares budgets, and promotes cost-effective operations which may include but is not limited to contract management.
• Provides safety education, training, and consultative services to staff, clinicians, and leadership on PPE, fire safety, hazard recognition, and emergency preparedness.
• Develops and delivers facility-wide safety training programs to ensure compliance and promote a culture of safety.
• Other tasks and duties as assigned.

Work Schedule: Full time. Monday through Friday 8:00am to 4:30pm.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Manager/PD266840
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized.
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized.

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 identification 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 may 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 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, 08/03/2026.

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 GS-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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.

You may qualify based on your experience as described below:

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): Applicants applying for the Safety and Occupational Health Management Series must meet one of the requirements listed below.

• 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 (for positions above GS-5): 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,

• Certificate: Holds 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.

Grade Level Determinant: Safety and Occupational Health Manager GS-0018-GS-13:

Specialized Experience: Have at least one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level (GS-12) in the Federal Service, that is directly related to the work of the position and has equipped you with the particular knowledge, skills and abilities to successfully perform the duties as a Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Manager.

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.

NOTE: 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.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Communications
• Decision Making
• Health Risk Analysis
• Project Management
• Public Safety and Security
• Safety Engineering

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: This position is split between office work and field environments. Office duties are mostly sedentary, while field duties require prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, and other physical movement to conduct site surveys. Good health, physical coordination, and balance are required due to frequent exposure to workplace hazards, construction sites, and hazardous materials."

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.

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.