Safety Technician
Veterans Health Administration - Department of Veterans Affairs
To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 11/08/2024. 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-06 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-05. 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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENT (IOR): An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can’t be waived. To qualify for the GS-0019 occupational series, applicants MUST possess the following: Specialized Experience (for positions at GS-4 and above): Experience that involved: (l) identifying, preventing, or eliminating safety hazards in work methods or environmental conditions; or (2) safety training or promotion. Such experience must have provided a practical knowledge of occupational and environmental safety hazards, survey techniques, and control and preventive methods. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: biological technician, medical technician, engineering technician, fire prevention inspector, and environmental health worker. Grade Determination: GS-6: 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: Assist with training schedule and providing training Data entry within computerized systems Recordkeeping schedule and management of the document control Review monthly service-level safety inspections, Develop handouts, training materials, and visual aids OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 9 semester hours of graduate education. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond graduate level. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Safety Hazard Prevention Communication Follow Directions 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: Inspection work requires frequent visitations into areas that are cramped, noisy, or where temperature extremes or inclement weather conditions exist. Such inspection work may require long periods of standing, crouching, stretching, reaching, lifting and other physical movement. Since areas are sometimes under construction, or not easily accessible, incumbent should have fair degree of coordination to prevent injuring self. Incumbent will occasionally be required to lift and move heavy or awkward objects, usually not exceeding 40 lbs. 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/.
The incumbent will perform support work for Safety, Green Environmental Management System (GEMS), Emergency Management and Facilities Management Service (FMS). Incumbent may be required to work additional hours to conduct training activities, such as fire drills and training classes, for employees working irregular tours.