Safety & Occupational Health Manager

This position is located at the Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Nevada Health Care System (VASNHCS), a major inpatient and outpatient medical center. The incumbent serves as the designated Safety Officer for VASNHCS, responsible for supervising and managing a comprehensive safety management program and life safety program to provide a physical environment free of hazards and activities that could risk human injury.

Responsibilities

• Oversee, monitor, and evaluate safety activities to manage the overall facility safety program, ensuring the highest attainable level of safety for patients, visitors, and staff.
• Identify opportunities for improvement through problem identification, evaluation, resolution, monitoring, and re-evaluation.
• Define safety issues, collect reports, investigate accidents and incidents, and assist in prioritizing the activities of the Accident Review Board.
• Assist in defining solutions implementable by supervisory line officials at all management levels.
• Review, analyze, and make recommendations on VASNHCS construction projects during all phases—from conceptual design to final acceptance—to verify compliance with VA, NFPA, and other safety codes.
• Ensure technical conformance with safety criteria and recommend structural changes to achieve compliance when deficiencies are detected.
• Prepare the Statement of Construction and Fire Protection for the facility as required by The Joint Commission (TJC) for healthcare occupancies.
• Recommend structural changes or seek approval for fire safety equivalencies to ensure compliance with life safety codes and TJC accreditation.
• Implement, manage, and monitor a comprehensive Safety Program as defined by Department policy, meeting VA and TJC Safety and Life Safety requirements.
• Oversee an aggressive program of industrial hygiene, biohazards management, hazardous materials management, chemical hygiene, and environmental safety and compliance with assistance from a subordinate Industrial Hygienist.
• Interact with the facility Office of Quality Management to ensure a "closed loop" management process for handling and documenting significant safety issues.
• Independently plan, design, and implement programs, projects, studies, or other work; results are considered technically authoritative.
• Develop supplemental materials to explain VA Central Office and other regulatory guidelines at the station level.
• Perform other relative duties as assigned.

Requirements

• Applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement (07/31/2026).
• Time-In-Grade Requirement: Current Federal employees must have held a GS grade for at least 52 weeks in the past 52 weeks to qualify for a GS-13 position. The grade may have been in any occupation but must have been held in Federal service. An SF-50 demonstrating time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted.
• Specialized Experience: One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12). Examples include:
  • Managing safety program elements and developing safety policies.
  • Applying safety laws, regulations, principles, and practices to advise on or resolve technical safety matters.
  • Developing safety standards, regulations, practices, and procedures to eliminate or control hazards.
  • Implementing programs to reduce accident frequency, severity, and cost.
  • Analyzing and evaluating jobs, processes, or systems to identify hazards.
  • Designing or modifying workplaces, processes, or systems to control or eliminate hazards.
  • Inspecting workplaces for compliance with safety policies and identifying new hazards.
  • Training workers, supervisors, managers, or safety personnel in safety or occupational health subjects.
• Competencies: Accountability, Customer Service, Decisiveness, Environmental Engineering, Flexibility, Interpersonal Skills, Leadership, Problem Solving, Resilience, Safety Engineering.
• Physical Requirements: The position requires considerable and strenuous physical effort, including crawling in confined building areas, frequent walking between buildings and clinics, outdoor work, and travel to construction sites and inspections.

Qualifications

• Experience includes paid and unpaid work, such as volunteer experience through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) or other organizations.
• A full year of work is considered 35-40 hours per week; part-time experience is credited based on actual hours worked.

Benefits

• Incentives may be authorized for highly qualified candidates.
• Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized.

Schedule

Monday - Friday, 07:30 AM - 04:00 PM.

Travel

Yes, up to 25%.