Summary

The Robert J. Dole VA Medical Center is seeking a highly qualified candidate for the Safety & Occupational Health Manager position in Wichita Kansas

Duties

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1. Developing local policies, regulations, and policies pertaining to facility safety, GEMS, and emergency management, as well as mission statements, performance standards and functional and organizational charts as they apply to the service. Evaluating new policies and directives to determine the impact on Safety, GEMS, and Emergency Management Services.

2. Planning, organizing, coordinating, analyzing, and administrating a series of comprehensive inspections of the Medical Center's facilities in patient care areas, laboratory areas, engineering shops, offices, as well as community nursing homes, Adult Day Care Centers, Grant and Per Diem facilities and residential board and care homes. S/he provides management with reports on compliance and violations of safety, industrial hygiene, environmental and fire protection mandates, in compliance with the guidelines and regulations developed by VA Central Office (VACO), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Institute for Safety and Occupational Health (NIOSH), The Joint Commission (T JC), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), and other agencies. S/he issues notices of unsafe working conditions to management when inspection findings warrant and recommends methods for hazard abatement and the correction of unsafe conditions or practices

3. Managing, planning, developing and implementing various Safety, GEMS, and Emergency Management Service related projects and programs affecting the medical center, and its CBOCs and satellite operations. The incumbent is required to give technical interpretations of complex regulations to his/her staff as well as various services within the RJDVAMC system. Accurate interpretations of these regulations and directives are essential.

4. Ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations concerning the management of hazardous materials and wastes, and universal waste from the point of entry into the facility to its final disposal. This includes overseeing industrial hygiene evaluations, asbestos monitoring, lead abatement, hazardous waste disposal, medical surveillance, permitting, (Material) Safety Data Sheets, and training.

5. Analyzing new or proposed legislation, directives or measures affecting Safety, GEMS, and Emergency Management Services, to determine the impact on medical center operations, funding, workload, and resources. Identifying and developing data required for use in the management and direction of these and related programs.

6. Overseeing and providing technical assistance for projects to resolve emergency management problems, including but not limited to emergency preparedness drills, decontamination procedures and training of personnel in all aspects of decontamination of personnel; recalling personnel using the cascade system; facilitating Interaction between the facility and the community by means of the Local Emergency Preparedness Committee (LEPC).

7. Overseeing and providing technical expertise for the design, modification, operation and maintenance of the facility and infrastructure to ensure compliance with safety, environmental and emergency management requirements.

8. Overseeing the execution of the facility safety and fire prevention program, including preparation of all policies, reports, safety, occupational health and fire prevention-related correspondence.

9. Overseeing the environmental management programs throughout the health care facility. The incumbent ensures compliance with all provisions and regulations of this program and initiates or completes corrective actions as needed.

10. Planning, conducting or directing special studies concerned with emergency response compliance problems which require the development or modification of protective devices or the evaluation of control measures for a specific operation, such as decontamination team response to hazmat or WMD incidents. Often serves as team leader during drills.He/she exercises financial management responsibilities for all fund control points of the Service and develops workload and cost data for the preparation of the medical center budget in relationship to the fund control points. The incumbent will formulate annual budgetary information and forward such to the Chief Financial Officer.Develops both long and short-range plans for the Safety, GEMS, and Emergency Management Service by coordinating the administration needs of the Service. Incumbent is responsible for making and implementing decisions directly affecting patient care.

Compressed/Flexible: Not Available

Telework: Not AvailableVirtual: This is not a virtual position.

Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

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
• 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 or 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, 08/18/2026.

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 12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS 11. 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.This occupational series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR). An IOR is a basic requirement that must be met in order to qualify for entry into this job series, and it is something that can't be waived.The Individual Occupational Requirement for the Safety & Occupational Health Manager position is:

EducationUndergraduate 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.

ORExperienceSpecialized 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.

You must also possess the following Specialized Experience::

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS 11 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: developing local policies and regulations pertaining to facility safety, GEMS, and emergency management; overseeing the facility safety and fire prevention programs; overseeing and providing technical assistance for projects to resolve emergency management problems to include emergency preparedness drills, decontamination procedures and training, and facilitating interaction between the facility and community by mean of the Local Emergency Preparedness Committee; oversee and provide technical expertise for the design, modification, operation, and maintenance of the facility and infrastructure to ensure compliance with safety, environmental, and emergency management requirements; developing workload and cost data for and prepare a budget; ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations concerning the management of hazardous materials and wastes, and universal waste from the point of entry to it's final disposal; plan, organize, coordinate, analyze, and administrate comprehensive inspections in patient care areas, the laboratory, engineering offices as well as nursing homes and report on compliance and violations of safety, industrial hygiene, environmental, and fire protection mandates.

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

• Compliance
• Emergency Management
• Financial Management
• Technical Competence

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: Work is chiefly sedentary, but occasional standing, walking, stooping, bending and carrying items weighing 25 pounds, may be required. The work involves activities related to an enthusiastic teaching/learning environment. Assignments regularly involve long periods of standing, bending, and stooping to observe and facilitate group activities. The incumbent is often required to travel and attend functions during other than normal duty hours. The work does include high stress with frequent short deadlines.

Work Environment: The work environment involves normal everyday risks and discomforts of office settings. The area is lighted, heated and ventilated. Coordination and participation in meetings and other activities requires presence in a variety of in-house and off-station areas and facilities.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 qu