Job Summary

This position, located at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist and acts under the authority of the Chief, Environment of Care, Directors Office, on matters relating to occupational safety and health at the VA Medical Center and outpatient care facilities

Job Description

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/25/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks (1 Year) at the GS-09 level. 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. This position has the following Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR): 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, You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade of GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to....a comprehensive knowledge of safety and occupational health principles, methods and standards, regulations, policies, and procedures applicable to a broad range of safety and occupational health duties in one or more specific areas of safety and occupational health; technical knowledge sufficient to analyze safety design features and specifications and to develop new methods and procedures to identify or control hazardous construction processes and equipment usage; knowledge of safety, occupational health, and industrial hygiene principles, practices, and procedures, and regulations applicable to the performance of the full range of complex safety and occupational health management responsibilities in the hospital environment; ability to organize material for making presentations and conducting training, including skill in written and oral communication; knowledge of VA safety, fire, and health policies is required to establish a workable program and to evaluate existing programs...OR, Education: Applicants may also qualify for this position at the GS-11 level based on their education. 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related... OR, Combination: Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification for this position at the GS-11 level. Only graduate level education more than the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for this position. Selective Placement Factor: Knowledge in fire and life safety requirements and general safety and regulatory requirements regarding occupational health and safety Preferred Experience: Experience in observing environmental conditions and employee performance patterns to identify hazards, detect risks, and determine casual relationships; developing abatement recommendations for safety and occupational health hazards; searching for clues, studying variables, questioning witnesses, and retracing sequences to uncover the sources of reported injuries and illnesses; assuring the validity of data collected, accurate documentation of occurrences and data summaries, and maintenance of program information; examination of available data to identify possible sources of losses experienced, determining critical factors prior to occurrence, and recommendation of alternative adjustments to eliminate or minimize losses from injuries and illnesses; defining terminology, writing summaries, and preparing summary documentation related to safety and occupational health; knowledge in fire and life safety requirements and general safety and regulatory requirements regarding occupational health and safety. Drivers License: This position does require to have Valid State Drivers License. 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/.