Oct 13, 2024

Safety and occupational health specialist

Job Description

Full job description

Duties

As a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist at the full performance level, you will:

  • Provide input in the development of the Region's safety policy and participate with the Regional Safety and Occupational Health Manager, managers, and supervisors in formulation of Regional safety policy. This includes implementation of WAPA's safety and occupational health program; risk analysis; WAPA and Regional safety orders, as they relate to WAPA and contractor personnel; and other activities.
  • Inspect, investigate, record, analyze, and report, related to the safe operation, maintenance, and construction of high voltage transmission lines, substations, and related facilities.
  • Research Federal OSHA, State OSHA, National Fire Protection Association, DOE, WAPA, and industry consensus standards.
  • Serve as a technical advisor to contracting officers, field engineers, construction engineers/representatives, maintenance personnel, and procurement officials regarding safety matters.
  • Investigate accidents involving employees, contractors, or the public, resulting in personal injury or property damage.
  • Develop and implement a safety awareness program, utilizing posters, literature, awards, and other methods to develop employee interest and awareness in all types of activities.
This is a developmental position with full promotion potential to the GS-12; however, selections can be made at the GS-11 or GS-12.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen or National.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males born after 12/31/1959 must be registered for Selective Service.
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
  • This position requires a pre-appointment physical and annual physical exam at Federal expense.
  • This position requires the ability to operate a Government vehicle. The incumbent must be able to obtain and maintain Defensive Driver's certification and have a valid state driver's license. Defensive Driver's Training will be completed upon employment.
  • The incumbent of this position is subject to inclement weather conditions such as high temperatures, rain, sleet, snow, and extreme cold.
  • The incumbent is required to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
  • The incumbent must wear Arc Rated protective clothing when in proximity to exposed energized circuits.
  • Overtime may be required on short notice to include nights, holidays, and weekends in support of related mission requirements.
  • This position is in Bargaining Unit 1154.

Qualifications

Qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements are based on the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Qualification Standards Handbook, which contains federal qualification standards. This handbook is available on the Office of Personnel Management's website located at: https://www.opm.gov/policy.

This position has Individual Occupational Requirements for the 0018 Series that must be met:

EDUCATION: 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: 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.

AND

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience equivalent in difficulty and responsibility to the next lower grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience is experience that has equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position. The experience need not have been in the federal government.

To qualify for the GS-11:

Applicants must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the GS-09 grade level or equivalent pay band. This experience includes all the following:

  • Ensuring occupational safety and health standards are met and maintained during construction activities regarding the building, modifying, or relocating electrical power transmission and distribution in high voltage facilities.
  • Assisting in workplace safety training and/or hazard prevention education.
  • Collecting and/or analyzing safety data for conformance to OSHA standards and other applicable policy or regulations.
OR

SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION: A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree; or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree; or a LL.M., if related.

OR

COMBINATION OD EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE: Combination of education and experience to successfully perform the duties of the position.

To qualify for the GS-12:Applicants must have one year (52 weeks) of specialized experience at the GS-11 grade level or equivalent pay band. This experience includes all the following:
  • Ensuring occupational safety and health standards are met and maintained during construction activities regarding the building, modifying, or relocating electrical power transmission and distribution in high voltage facilities.
  • Conducting safety and occupational health program elements, developing and recommending policy to senior-level management.
  • Developing workplace safety and occupational health standards, regulations, practices, and procedures to eliminate or control potential hazards and to reduce the frequency, severity, and cost of accidents and occupational illnesses.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. 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.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The work requires regular and recurring physical exertion related to frequent inspections and surveys requiring considerable standing, walking, climbing, bending, crouching, stretching, reaching or similar movements. Occasionally there may be a need to lift and carry moderately heavy objects. The work may require some degree of agility and dexterity when, for example, it involves inspecting rights of way, substation equipment, heavy equipment or construction sites.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work involves regular and recurrent exposure to hazards, unpleasantness, and discomforts such as moving machine parts, shielded radiation sources, irritant chemicals, acid fumes, physical stresses, high noise levels, adverse weather conditions, lead, asbestos and rugged terrain, Protective equipment and clothing may be needed, including hardhat, metatarsal shoes, earmuffs or plugs, goggles, respirators and/or gloves.

Education

This vacancy education may be substituted for the GS-11 grade. In order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Department of Education Accreditation Search to verify school accreditation.

Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website. DO NOT email or mail in any of your application documents. Documents will not be accepted outside of the online application system.

Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible". A copy of your formal transcripts must be provided before a formal job offered is rendered.

Additional information

The U.S. Department of Energy fosters a diverse and inclusive workplace and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

  • This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional similar vacancies across DOE.
  • For general information on government-wide Telework polices visit: www.telework.gov.
  • If selection is made at a lower grade, 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.
  • The selectee for this position may be eligible to receive a recruitment or relocation incentive. You will need to sign an employment agreement to be eligible for this incentive.
  • Permanent Change of Station (PCS) costs are not authorized.
  • This position may be eligible for creditable service towards annual 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. DOE may offer newly-appointed Federal employee's credit for their job-related non-federal experience or active duty uniformed military service. 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.
This position is also being announced under vacancy 25-WB-00553-12572216-MP, open to Status candidates. To be considered for each, you must apply to each vacancy.

  • 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.

    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.

Once the application process is complete, your resume and supporting documentation will be used to determine whether you meet the job qualifications. If you are minimally qualified for this job, your responses to the self-assessment questions (True/False, Yes/ No, Multiple Choice questions) will be evaluated and you will be placed into one of three pre-defined quality categories under Category Rating procedures. These categories are "Best Qualified", "Well Qualified", and "Qualified. 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.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Accident Investigation
  • Oral Communication
  • Safety Engineering
  • Technical Competence


Application of Veterans' Preference: If you are a preference eligible candidate, you will be listed at the top of whichever quality category your rating places you in. CP/CPS veterans are placed at the top of the highest category for all positions except professional and scientific positions at GS-9 and higher.

Career Transition Assistance Programs: To receive selection priority for this position, you must: 1) meet the eligibility criteria; and 2) be rated "well-qualified", which is defined as scoring in the Well Qualified category (or higher).

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (10/23/2024) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12572217

  • 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.

    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.

  • Required Documents

    As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.

    To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:

    • Your RESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of the each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).
    • Transcripts, if specific educational requirements are indicated in this job announcement.Unofficial transcripts or any report listing institution, course title, credits earned (semester or quarter hour) and final grade is acceptable. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the educational requirements.
    • Veterans' Preference documentation,if applicable, DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members- certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information.
    • Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable(e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.) For more information see the OPM Guide to Career Transition.

    Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

    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 for this position, you must complete the initial online application, to include submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. A complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (EST) on the announcement closing date to receive consideration.

    The application process is as follows:

    • You must have a login.gov account to sign into USAJOBS: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/how-to/account/.
    • To begin the application process in USAJOBS, click the Apply Online button.
    • Answer the questions presented in the application and attach all required and supporting documentation.
    • You must click the Submit Application button prior to 11:59 pm (ET) on the announcement closing date.
    You may update your application, including supporting documentation, at any time during the announcement open period by returning to your USAJOBS account, select Update Application: https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login. This option will no longer be available once the announcement has closed.

    To verify the status of your application, during and after the announcement open period, log into your USAJOBS account; 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/.

    If you need help with login.gov or USAJOBS (e.g., account access, Resume Builder) visit the USAJOBS Help Center: https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/

    If you experience difficulty applying on USAJOBS, after clicking the Apply Online button, or you are experiencing a significant hardship hindering your ability to apply online, the Agency Contact listed in the announcement can assist you during normal business hours. If you receive any system error messages, take screenshots if possible, to aid technical support.

    Agency contact information

    Kimberly Hicks
    Email
    khicks@wapa.gov
    Address
    WAPA-UGP-Upper Great Plains
    12155 W. Alameda Pkwy
    Lakewood, CO 80228
    US

    Next steps

    Once your online application is submitted you will receive a confirmation notification by email. The status of your application will be updated in USAJOBS as it is evaluated.

    You can check the status by logging into USAJOBS. You may also sign up to receive automatic emails anytime the status of your application changes by logging into your USAJobs Account and editing the Notification Settings.

    You will be contacted directly if an interview is required.

  • Fair and Transparent

    The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.

    • Criminal history inquiries
    • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
    • Financial suitability
    • New employee probationary period
    • Privacy Act
    • Reasonable accommodation policy
    • Selective Service
    • Signature and false statements
    • Social security number request

Required Documents

To apply for this position, you MUST provide a complete application package which includes:

  • Your RESUME showing all relevant work experience (paid and unpaid) including: duties performed; full name and address of the each employer; start and end dates (month/day/year); work schedule (part-time, full-time, number of hours if intermittent); salary; and any completed education and training (program title, subject area, number of hours completed, and completion date).
  • Transcripts, if specific educational requirements are indicated in this job announcement.Unofficial transcripts or any report listing institution, course title, credits earned (semester or quarter hour) and final grade is acceptable. It is your responsibility to provide adequate proof that you meet the educational requirements.
  • Veterans' Preference documentation,if applicable, DD-214 Member Copy 4 showing type of discharge/character of service; current active duty members- certification of expected discharge or release from active duty under honorable conditions dated within 120 days; SF-15 Form and related documentation; VA letter. For more information visit the USAJOBS Help Center & OPM CHCOC website for VOW information.
  • Career Transition Assistance Program/Interagency Career Transition Assistance Program documentation, if applicable(e.g., Certification of Expected Separation, Reduction-In-Force Separation Notice, or Notice of Proposed Removal; SF-50 that documents the RIF separation action; and most recent performance appraisal.) For more information see the OPM Guide to Career Transition.

Failure to submit any of the above mentioned required documents may result in loss of consideration due to an incomplete application package. It is your responsibility to ensure all required documents have been submitted.

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.


Help

This job is open to

  • The public

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

Career transition (CTAP, ICTAP, RPL)

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

Clarification from the agency

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