Job Summary

These positions serve as Safety & Occupational Health Specialists in the Safety and Emergency Management Service of the VA Palo Alto Health Care System (VAPAHCS), Palo Alto, CA.. The employees are responsible for an assigned area of the medical center involving a wide variety of high-risk operations, facilities, and environmental conditions, including building inspections and accident investigations.

Job Description

To qualify for this position at the GS-9 grade level, you must meet one of the following: GS-9 Specialized Experience: Possess one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-7) in Federal Service that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, GS-9. Qualifying specialized experience includes 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. These assignments would have been performed of a more limited scope and with less independence than the full performance level, and be performed under supervision, consulting with the supervisor when problems are encountered. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. OR GS-9 Education: A master's or equivalent degree OR successful completion of two (2) full years of graduate level education leading to such a degree or LL.B. or J.D., if related. The major study must be in safety or occupational health field (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or a degree in another related field 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. This education must have been obtained at an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without transcripts. OR GS-9 Combination: An equivalent combination of successfully completed graduate level education (beyond the first year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meets the total experience requirements for this grade level. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-11 grade level, you must meet one of the following: GS-11 Specialized Experience: Possess one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-9) in Federal Service that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, GS-11. Qualifying specialized experience includes 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. At this level, assignments would have been performed with little or no supervision, consulting with the supervisor when unusual problems are encountered. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. OR GS-11 Education: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree OR LL.M., if related. The major study must be in safety or occupational health field (safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene), or a degree in another related field 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. This education must have been obtained at an accredited college or university. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without transcripts. OR GS-11 Combination: An equivalent combination of successfully completed higher level graduate education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meets the total experience requirements for this grade level. NOTE: Transcripts must be submitted with application. Education cannot be credited without transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-12 grade level, you must meet the following: GS-12 Specialized Experience: Possess one (1) full year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-11) in Federal Service that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform the duties of a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, GS-12. Qualifying specialized experience includes all specialized experience listed above for the GS-9 and GS-11 grade levels. At this level, assignments would have been performed independently, with no supervision, only consulting with a supervisor if/when unusual problems are encountered. NOTE: Experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month & year starting and ending dates AND hours worked per week. 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/.