Job Summary

The Safety & Occupational Health Specialist supports safety and health staff in regulatory compliance, research, training, program development, accident prevention, and safety surveys in a healthcare environment. The employee assumes additional responsibilities for all aspects of the safety program while conducting comprehensive inspections related to safety, occupational health, construction, fire prevention, fire protection, and/or fire inspection programs.

Job Description

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/19/2026. 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-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07. For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-09. 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 Requirement - 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 may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-09 Minimum Qualifications: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying specialized experience includes what is stated above as well as: observing workplace conditions to identify hazards, risks, and causal relationships; collecting and analyzing data; preparing a variety of written reports and/or other documents; and making recommendations to try and eliminate workplace hazards. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a master's or equivalent graduate degree or successfully completed two (2) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, LL.B or J.D. in a related field of the position to be filled (i.e., safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, or related fields that included coursework in closely related disciplines - such as occupational medicine, toxicology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, and industrial psychology). OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate education beyond the first year. GS-11 Minimum Qualifications: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-09) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Qualifying specialized experience includes what is stated above as well as: observing workplace conditions to identify hazards, risks, and causal relationships; collecting and analyzing data; preparing written procedures for implementing safety precautions; reviewing proposed corrective actions to identified hazards/risks; and recommending alternatives to eliminate or minimize losses. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree OR three (3) full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree, Or LL.M in the related field of the position to be filled (i.e., safety, occupational health, industrial hygiene, or related fields that included coursework in closely related disciplines - such as occupational medicine, toxicology, public health, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biological sciences, engineering, and industrial psychology). R, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and graduate education beyond the first two years. 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 Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. The incumbent is sedentary for long periods but is frequently required to make site visits to conduct surveys; these requiring prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, and other physical movement. Because the incumbent is often exposed to fire code inspections, construction sites, and hazardous materials, high levels of physical coordination, balance, and good health are required. Work Environment: Approximately 50 percent of the work takes place in an office setting; however, frequent exposure to construction hazards, high noise levels, toxic substances, equipment and machinery, temperature extremes, dust, fumes, and adverse weather conditions is sometimes required. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) may be required when conducting surveys and investigating hazardous operations.