Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

This position is located at the Cheyenne VAMC located in Cheyenne WY. The position is a direct report to Facility Management Services. The primary function of the position is to organize, lead, and conduct full administration of the water safety program. The incumbent leads an interdisciplinary team of clinical, professional, and trains staff in completing the essential functions of the water safety program.

Major Duties

• Major duties include but are not limited to: The occupational safety and health specialist is responsible for the implementation and management of the facility water safety program. The incumbent manages all aspects and requirements of the program as defined by VHA Directive 1061. The incumbent leads a multidisciplinary team to evaluate and determine course of action to maintain facility compliance with the directive and ensure a safe patient care environment. The employee develops water safety program governing documentation for the facility to follow. Incumbent will have to oversee all potable water and Critical Steam and Critical Water as well as oversee the legionella. Systems knowledge is required such as basic cooling tower knowledge as well as basic reverse osmosis system knowledge so that this position can give guidance on noncompliant regulations. The position is required to hold a minimum of quarterly meeting as a chair for the water safety program. This position coordinates with all departments in to non-compliant or out of scope water issues and works with end user until systems are back within acceptable range. Receives and records reports, or records of actions taken by a multidisciplinary team to validate program requirements are met. This employee ensures that policies and procedures are updated annually. This position acts as a POC (point of contact) for contracts if needed for for water technical advice. This position collects samples for legionella and submits them to laboratory. Anything out of range from the directive, policies, or procedures the employee is responsible for providing issue brief to VISN 19 water safety program manager. The employee advises senior level management officials of the medical center regarding additional actions, or program changes that should be taken by a multidisciplinary team to meet water safety program goals. The employee participates with and receives guidance from program leads at VISN 19, HEFP, or VACO as applicable. The employee implements any policy changes directed from offices into the facility specific program. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00am to 3:30pm Position Description/PD#: Safety and Occupational Health Specialist/PD138340 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not authorized

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 06/29/2026. 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-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9. 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. Individual Occupational Requirements 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: General Experience (for GS-5 positions): Experience in scientific or technical work that provided an understanding of the basic principles and concepts of the safety and occupational health field. Creditable general experience must have demonstrated the achievement of knowledge equivalent to the education described above. Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): 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 Certificates 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 meets the requirements for GS-5. Applicants may also qualify for higher grade levels based on their education and/or experience. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Applying safety and occupational health principles, developing reports compiled of trends or statistical data, technical knowledge of water chemistry, using regulatory authorities and standards such as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Occupational Safety and Health Authority (OSHA), American Society of Healthcare Engineering (ASHE), Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JACHO), applying comprehensive knowledge of safety and occupational health principles, methods and standards, regulations, policies, and procedures applicable to a broad range of water safety, analyzing safety design features and specifications and to develop new methods and procedures to identify or control hazardous construction processes and equipment usage. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have 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, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to such a degree. 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/.

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-qualifications/.

Salary

$74,678 - $97,087 Per Year

Application closing date: 2026-06-29

This position is with the Veterans Health Administration. Apply via USAJOBS using the link below.