Safety and Occupational Health Specialists work with supervisors, union officials, and safety and occupational health committees to eliminate or control hazardous operations or conditions at the Veterans Health Care System of the Ozarks located in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Safety and occupational health specialists perform nonsupervisory work in one or more of the following areas: Inspecting, investigation, recording, analyzing, and/or reporting.
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 05/18/2026. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05; for a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07; and 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 (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 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 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. 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. In addition to the IOR, the following must also be met: You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: GS-07 Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience conducting Safety and Health inspections; assists in interpreting and applying OSHA and NFPA codes and regulations; conducting accident investigations under guidance and supervision. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. OR, GS-07 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 1 full year of graduate level education or superior academic achievement that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. (Transcript Required). OR, GS-07 Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond a bachelors degree may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-07 level. NOTE: If using education combined with specialized experience to qualify, a copy of your transcript is required. GS-09 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience conducting Safety and Health inspections; interpreting and applying OSHA and NFPA codes and regulations; conducting accident investigations; and usage of electronic databases or devices for documentation of safety inspections. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. OR, GS-09 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a master's or equivalent graduate degree, 2 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or an LL.B. or J.D., if related. (Transcript Required). OR, GS-09 Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education in excess of the first year (18 semester hours) may be used to qualify applicants for the GS-09 level. (Transcript Required). GS-11 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. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: experience conducting Safety and Health inspections; interpreting and applying OSHA and NFPA codes and regulations; conducting accident investigations; conducting training on varying safety related topics; Performance Logic computer software for Environment of Care inspections. NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. OR, GS-11 Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related. (Transcript Required). OR, GS-11 Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education in excess of the of a masters or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher level graduate education or LL.B, or J.D., if related. (Transcript Required) 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/.
Major duties include, but not limited to: apply working knowledge and a general understanding of safety and occupational health principles, regulation, and requirements to support safety program planning and implementation activities; comply and analyze accidents and injury data, studies data to discover trends and mishap causes, and develops recommendations for eliminating or controlling the hazards detected; member of an inspection team, led by a higher graded safety and occupational health specialists, and conducts a limited segment of a major inspection of a VA facility to identify hazards and violations of standards and to draft reports of findings proposing corrective measures for unsafe conditions and hazardous work practices; independently conducts small inspections, where exposure and the type of hazards is predictable in advance; administers safety and occupational health programs to assure compliance with applicable standards and requirements; advise senior level management officials within the assigned area on the status of the safety and occupational health programs and recommends changes in the design of work programs to meet new safety and occupational health standards; identify hazards related to new equipment, process, projects or other areas and to become familiar with evolving techniques and protective devices for controlling or eliminating potential safety hazards; determine the extent to which mechanical and physical conditions comply, and makes decisions regarding adherence to established safety policies and procedures; consults with specialists from related occupations concerning work process modifications and recommends corrective or remedial safety measures; train other employees and lower grade occupational safety and industrial hygiene staff, providing instruction on a variety of subjects, including chemical, biological, or physical safety topics; and participate in the facility Safety, Accident Review Board (ARB), and/or Environment of Care (EOC) committees. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am to 4:30pm (Subject to change based on the needs of the agency.) Telework: This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Specialist/PD03210-A, PD03211-A, and PD03212-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized. Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Physical Requirements: Sedentary for long periods but is frequently required to make site surveys requiring prolonged standing, walking, climbing, bending, stooping, stretching, reaching, and other physical movement. Because the incumbent is often exposed to fire situations. construction sites. and hazardous materials. physical coordination, balance, and good health are required.