Summary

This position is located at the Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), which is a major inpatient and outpatient medical center. Incumbent is the designated Safety Officer for VASNHCS with the responsibility to supervise and manage a comprehensive safety management program, as well as the management of a life safety program, designed to provide a physical environment free of hazards and activities which would cause a risk of human injury.

Duties

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The Safety Manager's job, with the assistance of his subordinate staff, is to oversee, monitor and evaluate safety activities; to manage the overall facility safety program to provide the patients, visitors and staff of VASNHCS the highest attainable level of safety possible, and to identify opportunities for improvement through an ongoing effort of problem identification, evaluation, resolution, monitoring and evaluation. The Safety Manager is also responsible for defining safety issues, collecting reports, investigating accidents and incidents, assisting in prioritizing the activities of the Accident Review Board, and assisting in defining solutions that can be implemented by supervisory line officials at all management levels.

The Safety Manager reviews, analyzes and makes recommendations on VASNHCS construction projects during all phases from conceptual design through final acceptance of construction to verify compliance with all applicable VA, NFPA and other safety codes and requirements, to ensure technical conformance with safety criteria, and/or to make safety recommendations for structural changes to achieve full compliance when deficiencies are detected. The Safety Manager prepares the Statement of Construction and Fire Protection for the facility as required by The Joint Commission (TJC) for health care occupancies. Based on the Statement of Construction, incumbent makes recommendations for structural changes or seeks approval for fire safety equivalencies to bring the Medical Center into compliance for life safety code compliance and for TJC accreditation.

The Safety Manager has total responsibility for implementing, managing and monitoring a comprehensive Safety Program as defined by Department policy and meeting the Safety and Life Safety requirements of both the Department of Veterans Affairs and TJC. These guidelines emphasize integration of safety management and clinical responsibilities, and a "closed loop" safety cycle of communication and documentation for significant safety issues and incidents, which consists of problem identification and prioritization, problem analysis, problem resolution and monitoring and evaluation.

With the technical assistance of a subordinate Industrial Hygienist, the Safety Manager oversees an aggressive program of industrial hygiene, biohazards management, hazardous materials management, chemical hygiene and environmental safety and compliance.

The Safety Manager interacts with the facility Office of Quality Management (which includes quality assurance, utilization management and risk management) headed by the medical center's Quality Manager to assure a "closed loop" management process is followed in handling and documenting significant issues.

The Safety Manager has responsibility for independently planning, designing and implementing programs, projects, studies or other work. Results are considered technically authoritative and are normally accepted without significant change. If the work is reviewed, the review concentrates on such facts as fulfillment of program objectives and effect of advice and influence on overall programs. Recommendation for new programs and alteration of objectives are usually evaluated for availability of funding and other resources, broad program goals and medical center priorities. The Safety Manager uses guidelines, including standard instructions, technical literature, Department policies and regulations, manufacturers' catalogs, precedents and standard practices to manage program. Since these guidelines are often inadequate when dealing with the many complex and unusual challenges encountered, the Safety Manager must use resourcefulness, initiative and judgment based on experience to deviate from or extend traditional safety methods and precedents. The Safety Manager is responsible for developing material to supplements and explains VA Central Office and other regulatory guidelines at the station level.

Other relative duties as assigned.

Incentives may be authorized for highly qualified candidate.

Work Schedule:

Compressed/Flexible: Not Available

Telework: No

Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Travel: Yes 25%

Position Description/PD#: Safety & Occupational Health Manager/PD00948O

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized

Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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 dentification 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 trial 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, 07/31/2026.

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.

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:

• 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: Managing safety program elements; developing and recommending safety policy to higher levels of management; applying safety laws, regulations, principles, theories, practices and procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing with safety requirements; developing safety standards, regulations, practice and procedures to eliminate or control potential hazards; developing/implementing programs to reduce the frequency, severity and cost of accidents; analyzing/evaluating new and existing jobs, processes, products or other systems to determine the existence, severity, probability, and outcome of hazards; designing/modifying workplaces, processes, products or other systems to control or eliminate hazards; inspecting/surveying workplaces, processes, products or other systems for compliance with established safety policies or standards and to identify potential new hazards; training workers, supervisors, managers or other safety personnel in safety or occupational health subjects..

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Accountability
• Customer Service
• Decisiveness
• Environmental Engineering
• Flexibility
• Interpersonal Skills
• Leadership
• Problem Solving
• Resilience
• Safety Engineering

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: The position requires you to exert considerable and strenuous physical effort on a regular basis while performing the functions required of the position. The functions are normally performed while the incumbent conducts safety surveys and inspections that require crawling in confined building areas. This position involves walking frequently back and forth between buildings and, also traveling among all community clinics. The individual spends additional time outdoors in conjunction with projects taking place and spends time at construction sites and on VASNHCS inspections.

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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Additional information

Special Employment Consideration: VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply, including those eligible for hiring under 5 CFR 213.3102(u), Schedule A, Appointment of persons with disabilities [i.e., intellectual disabilities, severe physical disabilities, or psychiatric disabilities], and/or Disabled veterans with a compensable service-connected disability of 30% or more. Contact the Agency Contact for information on how to apply under this appointment authority via the Selective Placement Coordinator.

The Interagency Career Transition Assistance Plan (ICTAP) and Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) provide eligible displaced Federal/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 ICTAP and CTAP eligibility is on OPM's Career Transition Resources website at http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/employee-guide-to-career-transition/.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

If you are unable to apply online vie