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Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Department of Agriculture
Food Safety and Inspection Service
This job announcement has closed

Summary

This position is in the Office of Management (OM), Administrative Services Division (ASD), Safety and Physical Security Branch (SPSB).The branch mission is to prevent accidents, injuries and safeguard government employees and property by providing technical assistance and training, performing inspection and reviews to evaluate effectiveness of safety, security and health programs, and by assessing trends.

Overview

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Reviewing applications
Open & closing dates
08/29/2025 to 09/08/2025
Salary
$88,621 to - $115,213 per year

Salary determined by duty location of the selectee. Pay shown is based on Rest of US Locality Pay.

Pay scale & grade
GS 12
Locations
2 vacancies in the following locations:
Springdale, AR
Albany, CA
Lakewood, CO
Atlanta, GA
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
Yes—as determined by the agency policy. FSIS does not currently have a telework policy.
Travel Required
50% or less - You may be expected to travel for this position.
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
FSIS-25-MMP-12789701-DER
Control number
844663300

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

Current permanent Federal employees with competitive status, Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP, VEOA, Farm Service Agency permanent county employees; reinstatement; Individuals with Disabilities; military spouses; 30% or more disabled veterans; former Peace Corps or VISTA volunteers and those eligible for other Special Hiring Authorities.

Duties

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  • Reviews all safety and health hazard reports to assist with corrective actions.
  • Formulates strategies for preventing injuries and illnesses.
  • Conducts education and training in Safety and Occupational Health relating to various hazards in the work environment.
  • Responds timely to emergencies, real or perceived, involving safety and occupational health issues, and assists in their resolution.
  • Responsible for implementing Safety and Occupational Health initiatives.
  • Collaborates with field supervisors and field leadership to investigate occupational illness and injuries.
  • Develops comprehensive approaches to promoting a safe work environment.
  • Collaborates with a variety of organizational levels to assess relevant safety and health issues confronted by inspection and support personnel.
  • Routinely reviews Federal regulatory requirements to ensure compliance.
  • Prepares and disseminates written instructions addressing safety and health issues.
  • Serves as a primary point of contact responding to occupational health and safety inquiries for assigned area.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • May be subject to satisfactory completion of one year probationary or trial period.
  • If you are selected, you may need to complete a Declaration for Federal Employment (OF-306) prior to being appointed to determine suitability for Federal employment and to authorize a background investigation.
  • False statements or responses on a resume or application can jeopardize employment and may be grounds for disciplinary action, including removal from Federal service.
  • Have your salary sent to a financial institution of your choice by Direct Deposit/Electronic Funds Transfer.
  • If you are newly hired, the documentation you present for purposes of completing the Department Homeland Security (DHS) Form I-9 on your entry-on-duty date will be verified through the DHS "E-VERIFY" system.
  • Must pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more, including your rights and responsibilities, visit E-Verify at https://www.e-verify.gov/
  • Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. Failure to successfully meet these requirements could lead to adverse action proceedings including possible termination.
  • Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must complete a Pre-Employment Certification Statement for Selective Service Registration.

Qualifications

Applicants must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements (including time-in-grade restrictions, specialized experience and/or education) by the closing date of the announcement, as defined below:

For the GS-12 level: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience (equivalent to the GS- 11 level) that demonstrates their ability to plan and manage complex safety and occupational health programs or initiatives. Qualifying experience must include:

  • Promoting injury and illness prevention.
  • Developing and recommending safety and occupational health programs or policies to a variety of levels within an organization.
  • Interpreting safety and occupational health laws, regulations, policies, procedures or standards.
  • Inspecting workplaces to determine possible hazards.
  • Conducting education and training in safety and occupational health.

This position has an individual occupational requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the position:

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.
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.

For more information on the qualifications for this position, click here:

Safety and Occupational Health Series 0018

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.

Education

If education is required or you are using education to qualify, you must submit a copy of your college transcripts. An unofficial copy is sufficient with the application if it includes your name and the necessary course information; however, if you are selected, you will be required to submit official transcripts prior to entering on duty. Education must have been successfully obtained from an accredited school, college or university. If any education was completed at a foreign institute, you must submit with your application evidence that the institute was appropriately accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as equivalent to U.S. education standards. There are private organizations that specialize in this evaluation and a fee is normally associated with this service. For a list of private organizations that evaluate education, visit the NACES website. All transcripts must be in English or include an English translation.

Additional information

This announcement may be used to fill additional like vacancies should any occur in the announced duty location(s).

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP), Reemployment Priority List (RPL), or Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP): Visit the OPM website for information on how to apply as a CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP eligible. To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL/ICTAP candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP/ICTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP/ICTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

It is the policy of the Government not to deny employment simply because an individual has been unemployed or has had financial difficulties that have arisen through no fault of the individual. To see more information visit CHCO Council.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Employees: Permanent County employees without prior Federal tenure who are selected for a Civil Service position under Public Law 105-277 will be given a career-conditional appointment and must serve a 1-year probationary period.

Selectee must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance. If selected you will be subject to a National Agency Check and Inquiry (NACI) and a credit report.

More information on applying under special hiring authorities such as the Veteran's Recruitment Act (VRA), 30 percent disabled veterans, certain military spouses and Schedule A Disabled may be found here. For more information on derived/military spouse preference see Military Spouses. For more information regarding Veterans: USAJOBS - Veterans.

- Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary or term employees of federal land management agencies opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better.

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.

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.

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications listed in this vacancy announcement. 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 (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Oral Communication
  • Planning and Evaluating
  • Problem Solving
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Risk Management
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teaching Others
  • Teamwork
  • Writing


Overstating your qualifications and/or experience in your application materials or application questionnaire may result in your removal from consideration. Cheating on an assessment may also result in your removal from consideration.

Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions. Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. Applicants who meet the minimum qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Non-Competitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities need to meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

NOTE: 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 to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action up to including removal from the Federal service.

Clicking the link below will present a preview of the application form; i.e. the online questionnaire. The application form link below will only provide a preview and does not initiate the application process. To initiate the online application process, click the "Apply" button to the right.

To preview the application questionnaire, click the following link:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12789701

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