Summary

The Division of Safety and Risk Management (DSRM) is seeking a detail-oriented Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, to contribute to the mission of the DSRM by serving as the technical expert in OSHA, Industrial safety and occupational health and advising the Safety Manager for consultative service, trouble shooting and technical guidance throughout Indian Affairs (IA). This position is physically located in Albuquerque, NM, and has a strong focus in aspects of construction and design.

This job is open to

The public

U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.

Native Americans

Native Americans or Alaskan Natives with a tribal affiliation.

Clarification from the agency

• United States Citizens

Duties

Conducts is technical reviews of preliminary, completed, and final building construction design development documents, including specifications and shop design submittals for new construction and rehabilitation of facilities for compliance with IA.
Conducts safety program evaluations, inspections, surveys, and reviews of facilities and identifies findings to provide recommendations.
Provides technical guidance in matters pertaining to materials, workmanship, and construction methods to ensure compliance with building safety codes and standards in plans and specifications.
Investigates serious accidents, providing written reports and analysis to determine causal factors.
Develops safety procedures, practices, occupational health concepts, principles, and bulletins to plan, organize, lead, enhance, and promote safety programs.

Requirements

Conditions of employment

U.S. Citizenship Required
Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act of 1934 (title 25, USC Section 472). Form BIA-4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference.
You will be required to have federal payments made by Direct Deposit.
As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period OR 2-year trial period during which your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest will be evaluated
A background security investigation will be required for all new hires. Appointment will be subject to the applicant's successful completion of a background security investigation and favorable adjudication.
If you are a male applicant born after 12/31/1959 and are required to register under the Military Selective Service Act, the Defense Authorization Act of 1986 requires that you be registered or you are not eligible for appointment in this agency.
The full performance level of this position is GS-11. Promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date.
Career ladder promotions are at the discretion of management, and in no way guaranteed.
Additional selections may be made from this announcement if identical vacancies occur in the same location within 90 days from the closing date.
Indian Affairs has determined that the duties of this position are suitable for situational telework or during an emergency or natural disaster per agency policy.

Qualifications

GS-09:

Experience:
To qualify at the GS-09 grade level, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-07 grade or equivalent performing the following: 1) Assisting in the inspection of building plans and construction sites and identifying potential hazards; 2) Preparing formal inspection reports, including identifying potential hazards; and 3) Providing information regarding workplace safety.

OR

Education:
A master's degree or equivalent graduate degree or two full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Master's degree in Safety or an Occupational Health field (Safety, Occupational Health) 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, and Engineering.

OR

Combination:
A combination of specialized experience and required education as described above.

GS-11:

Experience:
To qualify at the GS-11 grade level, you must have one year of specialized experience at the GS-09 grade level or equivalent performing the following: 1) Evaluating building plans and construction sites and identifying potential hazards; 2) Recommending corrective actions to determine compliance with requirements and other regulatory compliance and conducting follow-up inspections; 3) Preparing a summary report of findings in construction methods, including recommendations regarding prevention of re-occurrence, abatement of hazard and employee retraining; and 4) Conducting formal training and developing training materials, such as outlines handouts, articles, films exhibits and visuals aids to reinforce information related to safe work practices, accident prevention and mishap reporting requirements.

OR

Education:
PhD or equivalent degree or 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education with the major study in Safety or Occupational Health fields (safety, Occupational Health) 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, and Engineering.

OR

Combination:
A combination of specialized experience and required education as described above.

All qualification requirements must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

If you are qualifying based on your 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.

If more than 10 percent of your undergraduate course work (credit hours) were taken on a pass/fail basis, your claim of superior academic achievement must be based upon class standing or membership in an honor society.

One academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credits hours your graduate school has determined to represent one academic year of full-time study. Such study may have been performed on a full-time or part-time basis. If you cannot obtain your graduate school's definition of one year of graduate study, 18 semester hours (or 27 quarter hours) should be considered as satisfying the requirement for one year of full-time graduate study.

If you are using education completed in foreign colleges or universities to meet the qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education which shows 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://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html

Additional information

All new hires earn the beginning salary of their pay grade (Step 1). See 2025 Salary Tables and select the pay chart for Albuquerque, New Mexico. If no specific chart is listed for this geographic location, see the "rest of U.S." chart.

The full performance level of this position is GS-11. Promotion potential in this announcement does not constitute a commitment or an obligation on the part of management to promote the employee selected at some future date. A career ladder promotion is at the discretion of management, and in no way guaranteed.

The [probationary or trial] period is an extension of the appointment process and therefore requires the agency to determine if continued employment would advance the public interest, meet the organization goals and mission of the agency, and/or otherwise promote the efficiency of the service. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, the agency will consider:

your performance and conduct;
the needs and interests of the agency;
whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Under applicable law, the employment of an individual serving a probationary or trial period automatically terminates when that period ends unless the agency affirmatively certifies, in writing, that the individual's employment should continue and that their appointment should be finalized. In the absence of agency action to affirmatively certify continued employment beyond the probationary or trial period, such appointments are terminated. Upon completion of your [probationary period -OR- trial period] your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

CAREER TRANSITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS: These programs apply to employees who have been involuntarily separated from a Federal service position within the competitive service or Federal service employees whose positions have been deemed surplus or no longer needed. To receive selection priority for this position, you must: (1) meet CTAP or ICTAP eligibility criteria; (2) submit the appropriate documentation to support your CTAP or ICTAP eligibility. For more information visit: http://www.opm.gov/rif/employee_guides/career_transition.asp .

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

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.

Your application package will be evaluated against the minimum qualification requirements specified above. In order to qualify, your resume must specifically describe your work history and the duties you performed in each position. Your resume will be evaluated after the closing date of 12/29/2025 to determine whether you meet the minimum qualification requirements for this position.

DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE: PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. If your resume/application does not support your Assessment Questionnaire answers, we will not allow credit for your response(s). Your resume must contain sufficiently detailed information upon which to make a qualification determination. Please ensure that your resume contains specific information such as position titles, beginning and ending dates of employment for each position, average number of hours worked per week, and if the position is/was in the Federal government, you should provide the position series and grade level.

Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 (Title 25, USC, Section 472). Verification Form BIA-4432 must be submitted with the application if claiming Indian Preference. Indian Preference eligibles not currently employed in Federal service may be appointed under the Excepted Service Appointment Authority Schedule A, 213.3112(a)(7). Consideration will be given to Non-Indian applicants in the absence of qualified Indian Preference eligibles. For more information, please visit: https://www.bia.gov/jobs.
REVIEW BEFORE YOU SUBMIT: You may preview the assessment questions here in the https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12851971.

Required Documents

The following documents are required for this position:

Resume which details work experience including dates worked (mm/yy-mm/yy), position title, Grade (if federal service), and hours worked per week. Please limit your resume to no more than 2 pages. If more than 2 pages are submitted, only the first 2 pages will be reviewed to determine your eligibility/qualifications.
On-line Assessment Questionnaire
Transcripts (if using education to qualify) - Unofficial transcripts are acceptable; however, an official transcript may be requested at a later time.
Veteran's documentation -

For 5-point veterans' preference, please provide your DD-214, Copy 4 that MUST show an Honorable Discharge (Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty), official statement of service from your command if you are currently on active duty, or other official documentation (e.g., copy of military orders, campaign documents as or expeditionary award citation, etc.) proving your military service was performed under honorable conditions.
For 10-point veterans' preference, you must submit a Standard Form (SF) 15, Application for 10-Point Veteran Preference and the supporting documentation required by that form.
If you are a disabled veteran you must submit a Veterans Affairs (VA) letter on VA letterhead that states your overall combined rating and a DD214 (copy 4) reflecting an honorable discharge.

ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE RECEIVED BY 11:59PM Eastern Time ON THE CLOSING DATE OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. If your application package is incomplete in any way, you will not be considered for this position, and requests for extensions will not be granted. Please double check your application package before you submit it.

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

To apply for this position, you must complete the online application and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below.

To begin, click Apply to access the online application. You will need to be logged into your USAJOBS account to apply. If you do not have a USAJOBS account, you will need to create one before beginning the application.
Follow the prompts to select your résumé and/or other supporting documents to be included with your application package. You will have the opportunity to upload additional documents to include in your application before it is submitted. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
After acknowledging you have reviewed your application package, complete the Include Personal Information section as you deem appropriate and click to continue with the application process.
You will be taken to the online application which you must complete in order to apply for the position. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation is included with your application package, and submit the application.

To verify the status of your application, log into your USAJOBS account (https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login ); all of your applications will appear on the Welcome screen. The Application Status will appear along with the date your application was last updated. For information on what each Application Status means, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/application/status/PLEASE NOTE - NO APPLICATION MATERIAL WILL BE ACCEPTED VIA E-MAIL.

Agency contact information

Diane Manzavinos

Phone: 000-000-0000
Email: Diane.Manzavinos@bia.gov

Address: AS-IA Human Resources
12220 Sunrise Valley Dr., Room 4047
Reston, VA 20191
US

Next steps

Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. Your application will be evaluated by the Human Resources Office to determine your eligibility for the position. After the evaluation is complete, you will receive another notification regarding the status of your application.

Safety and Occupational Health Specialist Job in Albuquerque, NM