Safety & Occupational Health Specialist Job in Washington, DC

Vacancy No. OFAS-DE-25-12727477MR Department Office of the Secretary of the Interior
Salary $84,601.00 to $131,826.00 Grade 11 to 12
Perm/Temp Permanent FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 4/23/2025 Close Date 5/5/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Washington, DC


Summary

This position is part of the Office of Facilities and Administrative Services. The incumbent serves as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist in the Safety, Health, and Environmental Branch in the Administrative Services Division within the Office of Facilities and Administrative Services (OFAS). The incumbent supports the Office of the Secretary (OS) and other non-Bureau safety and health programs nationwide, and manages the Stewart Lee Udall Building and OFAS's safety and health program.

Duties

This position will not be exempt from future organizational actions unifying and consolidating functions in order to enhance the Department's ability to deliver on its core mission.

Plans, organizes, and evaluates safety and occupational health programs within the assigned areas for the following type of operations: building maintenance, construction, hazmat/hazwaste storage, weapons/ammunition use and storage, motor vehicle, aviation maintenance/ground safety, wildland fire operations, childcare facilities, and administrative facilities.

Assist with the development of the OS/OFAS safety and health directives and initiates the communication and training of supplements and Standing Operating Procedures on safety and occupational health, to include the criteria and guides pertaining to unique OS operations in the absence of direction from the Department of the Interior (DOI).

Manage, plan, organize and conduct the OS/OFAS inspection program in the Stewart Lee Udall Building. Additionally, the incumbent will assist with the nationwide comprehensive evaluation program as assigned. The incumbent will evaluate the effectiveness of occupational safety, health, and a wellness center requirements in the work environment, assesses the degree of compliance with applicable regulations and standards, and develops changes and modifications to a broad range of work processes, equipment operations, and protective devices to minimize injuries to employees and damage to agency property.

The incumbent will be the occupational safety, health, and wellness subject matter expert for OFAS within the footprint of the Stewart Lee Udall Building. Work with the OFAS Facility Maintenance Division on matters relating to the confine space program, hazardous material program, HazCom Program, indoor air quality program and processes, equipment and machinery, project and design reviews, fall arrest and protection program, respiratory program, and partnering with FMD personnel to schedule and perform cyclic inspections.

The incumbent is appointed as the safety representative for OFAS on safety committees, work groups, cross-functional teams, and as a member of the nationwide safety management group. Additionally, the incumbent is assigned as the collateral duty emergency management coordinator for OFAS.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • U.S. Citizenship is required.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, determined by background investigation.
  • Direct Deposit of pay is required.
  • Selective Service registration required for male applicants, unless exempt.

Qualifications

Basic Qualifications: Applicants must meet the following basic qualification requirements for this position listed below.

Education: An undergraduate or graduate degree in 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

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. Applicants may also qualify for higher grade levels based on their education and/or experience.

In addition to meeting the basic qualification requirements, applicants must also meet the experience requirements below.

At the GS-11 level, you must meet one of the following qualifications:

A. One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-9 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes experience implementing occupational health and safety regulations, standards, and procedures; planning and evaluating safety and occupational health hazards; applying safety and occupational health program guidelines, policies, and procedures; providing safety and occupational health instructional training; coordinating or conducting safety and health management training (in the field or classroom); participating in accident investigations, after-action reviews, or learning analyses; reviewing, preparing, and implementing project job hazard analyses; OR
B. 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; OR
C. A Combination of education and experience as list above.

At the GS-12 level, you must meet the following qualification:

One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-11 level. Specialized experience is that which has equipped the applicant with the competencies to successfully perform the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. Specialized experience for this position includes experience managing a comprehensive safety and occupational health Safety Management System (SMS) and its safety program elements involving a wide variety of hazards to a large organization; evaluating operational procedures and programs, analyzing unsafe conditions, and providing technical guidance and recommendations for abatement; developing, managing, conducting, and advising on implementing comprehensive safety and occupational health training program within a large organization; managing and assessing safety and occupational health program objectives, procedures, best practices, strategic plans, and progress across a range of stakeholders; applying qualitative and quantitative methods to analyze, and improve safety and occupational health programs' effectiveness and performance.

Only experience and education obtained by the closing date of this announcement will be considered.

This position requires 40 words per minute typing ability.

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; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

Education

If qualifying based on EDUCATION you MUST provide transcripts or other documentation to support your educational claims. Unless otherwise stated: (1) official or unofficial transcripts are acceptable, or (2) you may submit a list with all of your courses, grades, semester, year, and credit for the course. All materials must be submitted by the closing date of the announcement. Note: PDF Portfolio documents will not be processed or accepted as they appear as a one-page document.

Only education from institutions which are accredited or preaccredited/candidate for accreditation may be used to meet education requirements.

FOREIGN EDUCATION: If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must show that the education credentials have been evaluated by a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign education programs and such education has been deemed equivalent to that gained in an accredited U.S. education program; or full credit has been given for the courses at a U.S. accredited college or university. For further information, visit: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/

Additional information

Reasonable Accommodation (RA) Requests: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a RA in your online application. Requests for RA for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for RA must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for RA are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, based on your adjudication decision. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a RA, please review the Procedures for Requesting a RA for Online Assessments.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: CTAP/ICTAP provides placement assistance to permanent Federal employees who are surplus, displaced, or involuntarily separated. To be considered under CTAP/ICTAP, applicants must be well-qualified (i.e., meet the minimum qualification requirements, including any selective placement factors; education, and experience requirements), score at least 85 on the assessment questionnaire, and be able to perform the duties of the position upon entry. Please refer to Required Documents section for additional details. For information on CTAP and ICTAP visit here.

Telework Suitability:
Situational Telework Eligible, as determined by agency policy.

Stipulations of Employment:

Selection may require completion of a 1-year probationary period.

Work Schedule:

This position allows for a flexible work schedule.

Miscellaneous:
DOI uses E-Verify to confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify.

This vacancy announcement may be used to fill similar positions within 90 days.

If selection is made below the full performance level, promotion up to the full performance level may be made without further competition. However, promotion(s) will depend on the performance of the incumbent and are not guaranteed.

This position is being advertised concurrently with vacancy announcement #OFAS-MP-25-12727478MR using the Merit Promotion procedures. If interested, refer to that announcement to determine if you meet the program requirements and can apply to that announcement.

Benefits

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 windowLearn more about federal benefits.

Review our benefits

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.

For Category Rating: Once the application process is complete, qualified candidates will be assigned to a quality category. The category assignment is a measure of the degree in which your background matches the competencies required for this position. The categories for this announcement are defined as: Best-Qualified, Well-Qualified, and Qualified. Your resume and supporting documentation will then be used to determine if you are qualified for this job. If you rate yourself higher than is supported by your application materials, your responses may be adjusted and/or you may be excluded from consideration for this job. If you are found to be among the top candidates, you will be referred to the selecting official for employment consideration. The Category Rating Process does not add veterans' preference points or apply the "rule of three," but protects the rights of veterans by placing them ahead of non-preference eligible within each category. Preference eligibles who meet the minimum qualification requirements and who have a compensable service-connected disability of at least 10 percent must be listed in the highest quality category (except in the case of scientific or professional positions at the GS-09 level or higher).

You will be evaluated based on how well you meet the qualifications and competencies listed in this vacancy announcement. Your qualifications will be evaluated based on your application materials (e.g., resume, supporting documents), the responses you provide on the application questionnaire, and the result of the USA Hire Competency Based Assessment(s) required for this position (if applicable). You will be assessed on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics):

Note: Duplicative competencies indicate that the competency is being assessed in both the Assessment Questionnaire and USA Hire Competency Based Assessment.

  • Attention to Detail
  • Customer Service
  • Flexibility
  • Influencing/Negotiating
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Oral Communication
  • Problem Solving
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Reasoning
  • Safety and Occupational Health
  • Self-Management
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Teamwork
  • Technical Competency - Program Management
  • Written Communication


In order to be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and application questionnaire, this position requires an online USA Hire Competency Based Assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:
1. Your Resume listing work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment mm/yy and duties performed. If multiple resumes are submitted, only the most current resume will be reviewed for qualifications.
2. Other supporting documents:

  • College transcript(s), if qualifying based on education or if this position has a basic education requirement
  • Veterans' Preference documentation, if applicable (e.g. DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service, SF-15 Form and related documentation, VA letter, etc.)
  • Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program Documentation: If you are applying under CTAP or ICTAP, you MUST submit proof of eligibility under 5 CFR 330.602(a) for CTAP and 5 CFR 330.704 for ICTAP. This includes a copy of the agency notice, a copy of your most recent performance rating, and a copy of your most recent SF-50 (Notification of Personnel Action) showing your position, grade level, and duty location. Please annotate your application to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP or ICTAP eligible
  • Cover Letter, optional
If you are a veteran with preference eligibility and you are claiming veterans' preference, you must submit a copy of your DD-214 or other proof of eligibility. If applicable, you must also submit an SF-15, "Application for 10-Point Veterans' Preference" plus the proof required by that form. Failure to provide this documentation may result in a non preference determination. For more information on veterans' preference (see https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/veterans-employment-initiative/vet-guide/).

Do not submit photographs with your application package. Documents with photographs may not be seen by hiring officials - you must remove your image from any badges, licenses, etc.

Do not upload Adobe portfolio documents. Adobe portfolio documents are not viewable by our agency's staffing offices. Note: A PDF Portfolio contains multiple files assembled into an integrated PDF unit. The files in a PDF Portfolio can be in a wide range of file types created in different applications. To ensure the document is not a PDF Portfolio document, open the document and if there are multiple different documents with a variety of extensions, it is a PDF Portfolio document and will not be processed.

It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted prior to the closing date of the announcement.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

Please read the entire announcement and all the instructions before you begin an application. To apply and be considered for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include the initial online assessment and submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy.

The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the closing date to receive consideration or when the announcement reaches 150 applicants.

The application process is as follows:
  1. To begin the application process, click Apply Online button.
  2. Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all necessary supporting documentation. You may preview the Application Questionnaire at:https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12727477
  3. Click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59PM (ET) on the announcement closing date.
  4. Read the Eligibility questions carefully. The questions address if you are eligible to apply to this JOA. Your responses will affect your consideration for the position. You may qualify for more than one eligibility, so please choose carefully. You will only be considered under the options you have selected. If you respond that you do not meet any of the eligibility questions, you will not be considered for this position.
  5. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice.
  6. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials.
  7. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended.
  8. Set aside at least 3 hours to take the assessment; however, most applicants complete the assessment in less time. If you need to stop the assessment and continue at a later time, you can re-use your unique assessment link.
  9. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused.
Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for general information, practice assessments and assessment preparation resources.

To update your application, including supporting documentation: During the announcement open period, return to your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login). There you will find a record of your application, the application status, and an option to Edit Application. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

To view the announcement status or your application status: Click on this: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application.

Agency contact information

Michael Robie
Address
Office of Facilities and Administrative Services
1849 C. Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
US

Next steps

If you have questions about this job, please contact the HR Office representative listed in the "Agency Contact Info" section of this vacancy announcement.

For status updates on your application, please follow the directions listed above in the How to Apply section. Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. If you are selected for an interview for this position, you will be contacted directly. A final job offer for this position is typically made within several weeks after the closing date of the vacancy announcement. After confirming a job offer, all other applicants will be notified of their non-selection.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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