Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Department: Department of Labor

Location(s): Washington, District of Columbia

Salary Range: $57736 - $133142 Per Year

Job Summary: This position will serve as a Safety & Occupational Health Specialist within the Dept. of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, within the Directorate of cooperative and State Programs (DCSP), in the Office of Partnerships and Recognition (OPR), located in Washington, D.C. This position is inside the bargaining unit. The full performance level of this position is at the GS-12 grade level. This position is not remote. Selectee will be expected to report to the office above.

Major Duties:

• Major Duties of the Safety and Occupational Health Specialist include, but are not limited to, the following: GS-07: Facilitating compliance with OSHA rules and regulations, and conformance with best practices of other industry regulatory and scientific bodies. Participating in the development of new or revised approaches to resolve problems encountered in Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) application review and on-site verification. Responding to oral and written requests for technical and program information from OSHA field offices, Congressional sources, and program participants. Creating spreadsheets, summaries, graphics, and documents for presentations, web content, training, and policy discussions. GS-09: Compiling information and reports needed to assist the Director in determining whether to concur with recommendations. Assisting in developing new or revised approaches and procedures to resolve critical problems encountered in Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) application review and verification, Responding to oral and written requests for technical and program information concerning policies, procedures, and activities. Providing accurate, timely responses to requests for assistance and information (in-person, telephone, email, postal mail, websites, etc.). GS-11: Reviewing regional recommendations for approval, denial, or termination of Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) participation. Representing OSHA in meetings with industry, labor unions, academics, and national safety organizations, explaining regulatory requirements and negotiating understanding of program expectations. Producing analytical materials-spreadsheets, summaries, graphics, source documentation- for use in program evaluations, briefings, and policy discussions. Monitoring safety and health data from enforcement, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), and other regulatory/scientific bodies, identifying trends that may influence cooperative program policy or procedures. GS-12 Developing background materials and identifying issues of national significance that may require official interpretations or regulatory clarification. Analyzing complex problems encountered by field staff during VPP application reviews and on-site evaluations and developing new or revised approaches and procedures. Providing technical assistance and on-the-job training in management review of safety and health programs to field staff conducting VPP pre-approval and on-site evaluations. Monitoring new or revised regulations, policy memoranda, safety/health studies, and industry best practices, summarizing impacts and developing recommendations. As the employee progresses, the assignments will become more difficult and complex with less supervision.

Qualifications: You must meet the Basic Requirements listed in the Education Requirements section and the Specialized Experience to qualify for Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, as described below. Education For information about the Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR), please see Education section of this announcement. Minimum Qualifications: For the GS-07 level: Specialized Experience: In addition to meeting the individual occupational requirement, applicants must demonstrate 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-5 grade level, in the Federal or Private Sector. Specialized Experience is described as experience that has equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of specialized experience are as follows: Reviewing safety and health-related documents, program materials, or evaluation reports. Analyzing documents to ensure they align with established policies, regulatory requirements, or technical criteria. Assisting with the development of source documentation, spreadsheets or other documentation for use in policy discussions, presentations, or speeches. OR Education: One full year of progressively higher-level graduate education. OR Superior academic achievement in a bachelor's degree program. S.A.A. is based on (1) class standing, (2) grade-point average, or (3) honor society membership. Class standing -- Applicants must be in the upper third of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on completed courses. Grade-point average (G.P.A.)-- Applicants must have a grade-point average of: a. 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) as recorded on their official transcript, or as computed based on 4 years of education, or as computed based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum; orb. 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B+" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field or the required courses in the major field completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum.3. Election to membership in a National Honor Society - membership in a freshman honor society cannot be used to meet the requirements of this provision. OR A qualifying combination of education and competencies as described above. For the GS-09: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position. Examples of specialized experience include: Conducting research on occupational safety and health topics, program practices, or emerging trends. Compiling technical resources to support knowledge management and program improvements. Reviewing training courses to assess appropriateness of policies and procedures. OR Substitution of Experience: Two years of graduate education or a Master's degree in 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. For the GS-11: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-09 that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position, and that is typically in or related to the work of the position. Examples of specialized experience include: Analyzing long range impacts of new initiatives or policy changes. Using analytical methods to assess program performance and progress. Identifying trends that point to the need for corrective action and/or suggesting solutions. Applying measurable, quantifiable criteria for evaluating safety and health programs or initiatives. OR Substitution of experience: Three years of progressively higher level related graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree or Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree in safety or occupational health or related fields. For the GS-12: Applicants must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11. Examples of specialized experience include: Analyzing data to evaluate and improve a program, operation, or process. Evaluating safety and health programs or initiatives to assist with research projects. Participating in agency task forces involving safety and occupational health programs. Providing technical assistance or on-the-job training to safety and occupational health staff. No substitution of education for experience at the GS-12 level.

How to Apply: Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, or have speech disabilities, please dial 711 to access telecommunications relay services. To apply for this position, you must complete the initial online application, including submission of the required documentation specified in the Required Documents section. Your application and ALL required supplemental documents MUST be received by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the vacancy closing date to receive consideration. Important - Save your information before the 30-minute system timeout! For help, go to the USAJOBS Help Center. STEP 1 - Create USAJOBS Account on www.usajobs.gov, including Resume and Saved Documents. For each employment period, include start/end month & year and note full-time or part-time (if part-time, include # of hours worked per week) otherwise, your application may be considered incomplete. STEP 2 - Complete the 1st part of the application process (USAJOBS). Once you have identified a job on USAJOBS that you wish to apply for, click on the job title and then click the Apply button. For questions about the vacancy, contact the Agency Contact at the bottom of the announcement. Proceed through the steps noted at the top of the USAJOBS page. You will be able to select a resume and documents from your USAJOBS Account that you can submit as a package as part of your DOL application. In the final step, once you have certified your application, click the Continue to agency site button. STEP 3 - Complete the 2nd part of the application process (DOL). On the Department of Labor (DOL) page, create a DOL Account if you have not already and click Apply to this vacancy. Continue through the progress steps at the top of the DOL page. The 2nd progress step is where you answer the vacancy-specific questions. The 3rd progress step Documents is where you submit the required documents (only if applicable to you) specified in the Required Documents section of this vacancy. STEP 4 - On the Review and Submit step, verify each section of your application is complete and correct. In order to submit your application, you must have a check mark next to each section listed. If there is an X, return to the appropriate section and follow the prompts. When it is ready for submission, certify your application and click the Submit Application button. STEP 5 - Edit Application as needed by 11:59 pm Eastern Time of Closing Date by returning to USAJOBS, clicking the vacancy, then Update Application. If you are required to complete any USA Hire Assessments, you will be notified after submitting your application. The notification will be provided in your application submission screen and via email. The notification will include your unique assessment access link to the USA Hire system and the completion deadline. Additionally, in USAJOBS you can click "Track this application" to return to your assessment completion notice. Access USA Hire using your unique assessment link. Access is granted through your USAJOBS login credentials. Review all instructions prior to beginning your assessments. You will have the opportunity to request a testing accommodation before beginning the assessments should you have a disability covered under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Set aside about 2 hours to take the USA Hire Assessments; however, most applicants complete the assessments in less time. If you need to stop the assessments and continue later, you can re-use your unique assessment link. Your responses to the USA Hire Assessments will be reused for one year (in most cases) from the date you complete an assessment. If future applications you submit require completion of the same assessments, your responses will be automatically reused. Visit the USA Hire Applicant Resource Center for practice assessments and assessment preparation resources at https://support-usahire.opm.gov/hc/en-us. To view the announcement status or your application status: Visit https://www.usajobs.gov/Help/howto/application/status/. Your application status page is where you can view your application status, USA Hire assessment completion status, and review your notifications sent by the hiring agency regarding your application. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date. For more detailed information on applying for positions with DOL click here to view the U.S. Department of Labor, How to Apply website.

Application Deadline: 2026-05-12