Job Summary

As Chief of Health and Safety, the incumbent has direct responsibility for the development, implementation and monitoring of the Richard L. Roudebush VAMC, Industrial Hygiene and Safety Program. The incumbent is responsible for the supervision of and for planning and directing work operations and daily operational activities requiring the leadership of the Safety Officer.

Job Description

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 07/06/2026. 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. Individual Occupational 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. You must also qualify based on your experience described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: ensure that comprehensive risk assessments are performed to identify, eliminate or control hazards; investigating accidents involving personnel, visitors, and/or damage to machinery, tools, materials, or equipment; evaluate work performed to ensure quality of work, regulatory compliance, and ability to assist VAHCS services within reasonable time standards; experience in inspection of healthcare system buildings, grounds, and operations of physical plant facilities regarding safety, health, and fire deficiencies; provide guidance on safety and health issues regarding OSHA, Joint Commission, VA policies, NFPA and/or other pertinent organizations and regulations for all healthcare system activities, professional and administrative services, and management. Preferred Experience: Experience with making recommendations on Healthcare System construction to verify compliance with VA, Federal, National Fire Agency (NFPA), OSHA, EPA, ADA, state, local and any other relevant safety codes or requirements to ensure compliance. 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/. Physical Demands: The work requires regular and recurring field visits to complete investigations. The work requires some physical exertion, such as extended periods of standing, recurring bending, crouching, stooping or the lifting of light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle when conducting onsite evaluations or training. The incumbent may be involved with emergency response incidents and work closely with the VISN to investigate hospitalizations or fatalities that are work related. Work Environment: The work is generally performed in an office setting involving everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions. The incumbent is required to inspect all areas within the medical center and may have the potential to be exposed to a wide array of hazards encountered within healthcare facilities. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites. The incumbent may encounter infectious diseases such as COVID 19, tuberculosis, or legionella. In addition, training and evaluation may require the use of PPE and use of equipment in hot or cold weather. The employee may be exposed to a variety of health and safety hazards requiring the use of protective equipment and clothing such as protective clothing, respirators, safety glasses, safety shoes, and hard hats, and shall be capable of working while exposed to health hazards and safety hazards without unusual sensitivity. The work environment may be stressful at times and require professional skills, leadership abilities to respond to emergency incidents and take charge or participate in emergency preparedness command post operations and work with inter-agency organizations such as Homeland Security, Local Emergency Preparedness Committee (LEPC), Department of Labor (OSHA), Fire Departments, Police, etc.