Safety & Occupational Health Manager

Summary

The Occupational Safety and Health Service Program Manager with oversight for the Occupational Safety and Industrial Hygiene and Construction Safety programs for the MTVAHCS. The incumbent has responsibility in all areas of the Health Care System (HCS) involving a wide variety of high-risk operations, facilities operations, and environmental conditions.

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Overview

• Accepting applications

• Open & closing dates

06/20/2024 to 06/28/2024

• Salary

$86,962 - $113,047 per year

• Pay scale & grade

GS 12

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Location

1 vacancy in the following location:

• Fort Harrison, MT 1 vacancy

• Remote job

No

• Telework eligible

Yes-as determined by the agency policy.

• Travel Required

25% or less

• You may be expected to travel for this position.

• Relocation expenses reimbursed

No

• Appointment type

Permanent

• Work schedule

Full-time

• Service

Competitive

• Promotion potential

None

• Job family (Series)

0018 Safety and Occupational Health Management

• Supervisory status

Yes

• Security clearance

Other

• Drug test

No

• Position sensitivity and risk

Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

• Trust determination process

Suitability/Fitness

Credentialing

• Announcement number

CBSU-12443482-24-KB

• Control number

796510500

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This job is open to

• Internal to an agency

Current federal employees of this agency.

• Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

Federal employees who meet the definition of a "surplus" or "displaced" employee.

Clarification from the agency

Open to current permanent employees of the Montana VHA (including the facility and CBOC's where this vacancy is located) serving on career/career conditional appointments including Canteen employees on excepted appointment covered by the interchange agreement and those eligible under CTAP.

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Duties

This position has the following Major Duties include but are not limited to:

• Provides guidance to customers concerning everyday safety issues.

• Responsible & accountable for directing /managing an integrated Occupational Safety and Health Program.

• Provides direct support to the Executive Leadership Team in planning, designing, integrating, implementing, modifying, and administering the Occupational Safety and Health Program.

• Collaborates with and provides guidance to the leadership team on safety and Health, Joint Commission (JC) Environment of Care, Fire/Life Safety, and Construction issues throughout the HCS.

• Formulates strategic planning goals for the OSH program and develops performance goals to measure activities on and annual basis, keeping the leadership team appraised of OSH priorities, performance measures and trends in the OSH program that Impact the safety of staff and quality of healthcare delivered to Veterans.

• Develops strategy to ensure compliance with all safety related performance measures/monitors identified in the Facility Director Performance Standards and tracks facility compliance.

• Provides expert interpretation of regulations, directives, and guidelines and assures that specific policies are consistent with federal, state, and local regulations that may affect VA related activities.

• Leads organizational effort to achieve compliance with the requirements and recommendations in OSH established by VACO,OSHA, TJC, NRC, CDC, EPA, NCPS, CARF, CAP and other regulatory and/or accrediting agencies.

• Prepares technical documents and guidance to support safety and occupational program implementation.

• Coordinates communication of information between the VISN, and the Facility on any potentially hazardous condition that may cause damage to property or cause injury to patients, visitors, or employees.

• Utilizes all VHA required reporting databases (i.e. Performance Logic, Facility safe, ECOMP etc.)

• Evaluates the industrial hygiene programs with the Facility to identify hazards associated with areas such as radiation, airborne chemical or biological contaminants, nose, temperature extremes, asbestos, laser, and other occupational health issues as deemed appropriate.

• Has substantial and continuous responsibility to initiate action when imminent danger situations arise posing an immediate risk of death or physical harm, by informing affected employees and management to ensure that work can be stopped until the hazard is corrected They identifies specific hazardous conditions that require in-depth analyses and subsequent implementation of measures to control or eliminate unhealthy conditions.

• Leads the Accident Review Board and is the designated facility ECOMP Coordinator.

• Works closely with the Workers' Compensation Coordinator to promote and improve data acquisition and flow at the facility level.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 8:00 am

• 4:30pm

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Manager/PD134580

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

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Requirements

Conditions of Employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job

• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.

• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959

• You may be required to serve a probationary period

• Subject to background/security investigation

• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process

• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/28/2024.

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-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11. 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): This occupational series has a minimum qualifications entry requirement. You may qualify with education and/or experience.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:

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,

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.

• 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.

In addition to the IOR, you must also meet the minimum qualification requirement listed below.

Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Expert level knowledge of safety and occupational health concepts, principles, techniques, practices, laws, and regulations sufficient to enable the manager to plan, organize, administer, coordinate, and evaluate wide-ranging occupational health and occupational safety programs as a technical authority, for the area assigned that includes problems that are not readily addressed by accepted methods or involve far reaching decisions or recommendations: Expert level knowledge and skill in the use of innovative criteria, data, and techniques to identify and analyze safety and occupational health problems sufficient to recommend substantive program changes that solve highly technical/complex problems and challenges requiring new or modified concepts and theories: Demonstrates leadership and management skills which require the development of safety criteria to eliminate, mitigate and control serious hazards.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Administration and Management

• Analytical Thinking

• Planning and Evaluating

• Public Safety and Security

• Technical Competence

Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religions; spiritual; community; student; social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. 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.

Physical Requirements: Most work is performed in an office or workplace setting, and the work is sedentary in nature. There may be some walking, standing, bending, and carrying of light items, occasionally carrying moderate weight items, but no specific physical demands are required to perform the work.

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/.

Education

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education to meet the IOR requirement.

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Additional information

Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/VA competitive service employees with selection priority over other candidates for competitive service vacancies. To be qualified you must submit appropriate documentation (a copy of the agency notice, your most recent performance rating, and your most recent SF-50 noting current position, grade level, and duty location) and be found well-qualified for this vacancy. To be well-qualified: applicants must possess experience that exceeds the minimum qualifications of the position including all selective factors, and who are proficient in most of the required competencies of the job. Information about ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions.

This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process.

If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement.

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• Benefits

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A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new window

Learn more about federal benefits.

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Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.