Search

Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Manager-Detail/Temporary Promotion

PublishedPublished: 9/20/2026
Summary

The Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Manager is responsible for development and management of comprehensive programs to include general occupational safety, industrial hygiene, fire prevention/life safety, hazardous materials and waste management, emergency preparedness, environmental risk management, and regulatory compliance.

This is a Temporary Promotion Not to Exceed 120 days but may be extended as needed and or converted to permanent without further competition.

Learn more about this agency

Duties

Help

Duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Provides direct supervision to employees performing a variety of duties within the scope of Safety and Occupational Health Programs.
  • Develop performance standards, writing position descriptions, assigning work to be accomplished, evaluating work performance, schedule work and leave, counseling employees, initiating disciplinary actions, and addressing employee complaints.
  • Initiates recruitment actions, interviews and selects new employees.
  • Determines staff training needs and obtains resources for continuing education.
  • Responsible for program objectives and performance improvement strategies.
  • Sets short and long-range goals, develops strategic plans, leads development and implementation of performance improvement indicators.
  • Monitors regulatory environment to anticipate changing priorities, program objectives, staffing and financial resources.
  • Directs administrative functions of multiple, complex programs; prepares statistical and investigative reports
  • Prepares executive briefings and summary reports fort he Administrative Executive Board, Performance Improvement Board, and Executive Council of the Governing Body.
  • Co-Chairs the Medical Center Environment of Care (EOC) Committee with the Associate Medical Center Director; identifies agenda issues and ensures proceedings comply with VHA and JACHO requirements, including performance improvement indicators and annual EOC management plan reviews; approves minutes for submission to the Associate Director and Director.
  • Plans, organizes, and directs occupational safety and health programs to promote safety of staff, visitors and patients in a wide variety of settings to include: the Medical Center and Extended Care facility, community out-placement facilities (contracted nursing homes, residential care homes, adult day care centers, half-way homes, and community outreach centers), leased spaces and community-based outpatient clinics.
  • Directs surveillance methods and schedules to identify a wide range of hazards, to evaluate facilities' compliance with VHA, JCAHO and NFPA standards, and to minimize risks to staff, visitors, patients, and facilities, lead staff in development of corrective actions and closure.
  • Plans and directs programs for management of hazardous materials and waste; plans policy and procedure to achieve compliance with VHA - GEMS, OSHA, and EPA regulations.
  • Establishes medical center policy and procedures through research, collaboration and publication for: occupational safety and health, incident management, hazard surveillance, life safety, industrial hygiene, hazardous materials and waste management, emergency management, construction safety, and environmental compliance (GEMS).
  • Plans and directs programs for emergency preparedness; develops medical center policy and procedure to include facility-wide response protocols for a comprehensive range of disaster scenarios, both internal and external; directs disaster exercises in accordance with VHA, CARF, CAP and JCAHO requirements, medical center hazard vulnerability assessment and facility experience.
  • Directs medical center-wide staff education and training in all required elements of occupational safety and health, ergonomics, fire safety, hazardous materials, industrial hygiene, emergency procedures, Green Environment Management Systems (GEMS), and other topics as required by standards and regulations.

Work Schedule: Monday -Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm

Telework: Not Authorized

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Position Description/PD#: Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Manager-Detail/Temporary Promotion/PD083500

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Requirements

Help

Conditions of employment

  • You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job
  • To be considered for this position, you must complete all required steps in the process. In addition to the application and questionnaire, this position requires an online assessment. The online assessment measures critical general competencies required to perform the job.
  • Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
  • Physical Requirements: The work required does not inherently include any physical requirements essential for successful job performance that could not otherwise be performed with accommodation or workplace adjustment. A pre-placement physical examination is not required.
  • Subject to background/security investigation
  • Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued identification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
  • Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

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 we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may 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.

Upon completion of your probationary period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/28/2026.

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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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.

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

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR) Requirement: An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for the Safety and Occupational Health Management Series 0018. To qualify for this occupational series, applicants must have one of the following listed 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,
  • 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.

In addition to the above IOR, applicants may qualify based on their specialized experience as described below:

  • Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-12 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 knowledge of safety, fire protection, occupational and environmental health concepts, principles, practices and procedures, bodies of laws, and regulations (i.e., VHA, OSHA, NFPA, EPA, TJC, CARF, CAP, other Federal, state, and local governments); Practical knowledge in techniques and procedures applied by Safety managers, Fire Protection Engineers and Industrial Hygienists to coordinate hazard efforts; Provides expert consultation on the operation, implementation and expectations of the safety, fire protection, occupational and environmental health programs; Develops administrative documents such as performance standards, position descriptions, statistical reports, executive briefings; Develops policy and procedure for incident response, investigation, reporting and analysis; Uses guidelines, including standard instructions, technical literature, department policies and regulations, manufacturer catalogs, precedents and standard practices to manage a Safety and Occupational Health program.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary during non-emergency situations; however, on a regular and recurring basis, the incumbent participate in field exercises and operational support missions may require strenuous physical activity to include carrying persons and equipment, walking long distances, climbing, and working long hours, long periods of standing, bending, and stooping. May include various housing and living conditions to include non-climate controlled, limited privacy sleeping facilities (for example: cots, tents, "hot-bunking", gymnasiums, or similar), limited shower and laundry facilities, and limited feeding options (such as shelf-stable meals, meals-ready-to-eat (MREs), and field kitchens). Incumbent must have and maintain a valid motor vehicle operator's license. During emergency situations the incumbent may be required to remain available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for multiple weeks. Incumbent is subject to work under emergency notification and contact procedures. EMS will be provided and must carry a government-provided mobile communication device.

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….

Education

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

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-qualification….

Additional information

Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.

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 Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments.

Receiving Service Credit for 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. VA 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 job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

TheCareer Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced 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 CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employ….

Expand Hide additional information

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.

Benefits

Help

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.