Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Specialist (Assistant Area

Summary

This position serves as the Assistant Area Director for the OSHA Philadelphia Area Office, which ensures compliance with legislation and regulations involving occupational safety and health activities.

This position is outside the bargaining unit.

Selectee will be expected to report to the Philadelphia Area Office; this is not a remote position.

Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy.

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

All current U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Region 3 employees with competitive status; and CTAP eligibles, within the local commuting area. Current DOL policy requires on-site work at least 5 days per pay period. The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy.

Duties

The major duties for this position include but are not limited to the following:

Serves as Supervisor to a multi-disciplinary group of Industrial Hygienists, Safety and Occupational Health Specialists, and Safety Engineers. Identifies, distributes and balances workload and tasks.

Provides and signs written performance appraisals based on daily observation of work. Approves the use of annual, sick, and/or credit leave of short duration.

Conducts on-the-job assessments of workload progress, productivity, and quality to ensure compliance with policies and procedures.

Reviews case files to ensure proper application of standards and proposed penalties as well as reasonable abatement dates and documentation that is legally sufficient and consistent with OSHA policies and directives.

Serves as a witness before judicial hearing and trials, including criminal investigations, providing technical expertise in occupational safety.

Ensures that OSHA's Strategic Plan, mission, and vision are communicated and integrated into the goals, objectives, work plan, and customer service.

Reviews, comments and makes recommendations on current OSHA standards, development of new standards and operational procedures which affect the compliance program.

Leads inspections/investigations involving difficult and complex cases involving high risk operations, imminent danger, non-existent or inadequate standards where use of the general duty clause would be required.

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen.

Must be at least 16 years old.

Candidate required to obtain the necessary security/investigation level.

Requires a probationary period if the requirement has not been met.

Subject to pre-employment and random drug tests.

Requires medical exam and must maintain physical requirements.

Requires a supervisory probationary period if the requirement has not been met.

Subject to financial disclosure requirements.

Qualifications

The Safety and Occupational Health Series has an Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):

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

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 must meet the "Individual Occupational Requirements" listed above and the "Specialized Experience" to qualify for Supervisory Safety & Occupational Health Specialist (Assistant Area Director), as described below.

For the GS-13: Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-12 in the Federal Service.

Specialized Experience is the experience that equipped the applicant with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to perform the duties of the position successfully, and that is typically in or related to the position to be filled. To be creditable, specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the next lower grade level.

Qualifying specialized experience for the GS-13 includes:

Conducting complex occupational safety and health inspections to ensure employer compliance with federal OSHA standards.

Developing written and/or electronic inspection case files to substantiate identified hazards and/or citations.

Leading teams of occupational safety and health professionals in the investigation and/or documentation of unsafe and/or unhealthful working conditions.

Providing technical advice, guidance or training to employers. employees, labor representatives or other interested parties regarding safe/healthful working conditions, the improvement of operations and/or facilities or voluntary compliance with OSHA's enforcement regulations

Education

Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service.

If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click for more information.

Additional information

The mission of the Department of Labor (DOL) is to protect the welfare of workers and job seekers, improve working conditions, expand high-quality employment opportunities, and assure work-related benefits and rights for all workers. As such, the Department is committed to fostering a workplace and workforce that promote equal employment opportunity, reflects the diversity of the people we seek to serve, and models a culture of respect, equity, inclusion, and accessibility where every employee feels heard, supported, and empowered.

Refer to these links for more information:,,,

As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty:

You may not be aware, but in the regulations for agency ethics programs, there are requirements for supervisors. Section 2638.103 of Title 5 of the CFR states: Every supervisor in the executive branch has a heightened personal responsibility for advancing government ethics. It is imperative that supervisors serve as models of ethical behavior for subordinates. Supervisors have a responsibility to help ensure that subordinates are aware of their ethical obligations under the Standards of Conduct and that subordinates know how to contact agency ethics officials. Supervisors are also responsible for working with agency ethics officials to help resolve conflicts of interests and enforce government ethics laws and regulations, including those requiring certain employees to file financial disclosure reports. In addition, supervisors are responsible, when requested, for assisting agency ethics officials in evaluating potential conflicts of interest and identifying positions subject to financial disclosure requirements.

Supervisory Financial Disclosure: This position is subject to the confidential financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521). Therefore, if selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest(s) and your prospective position with DOL. This information will be required annually.

.

The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. .

The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process .

Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.

All applicants tentatively selected for this position will be required to submit to screening for illegal drug use prior to the appointment.

All Department of Labor employees are subject to the provisions of the Drug-Free Workplace Program under Executive Order 12564 and Public Law 100-71.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

Evaluation Factors (Competencies) - All qualified applicants will be evaluated on the following key competencies:

Leadership

Oral Communication

Problem Solving

Technical Competence

Written Communication

Click for evaluation details.

You may preview questions for this vacancy here:

The information you provide may be verified by a review of your paid, unpaid, volunteer, and other lived experience, as it demonstrates the competencies or skills required for the position to be filled. Your evaluation may include an interview, reference checks, or other assessment conducted by HR specialists, subject matter experts, or panel members and may include other assessment tools (ex. interview, structured interview, written test, work sample, etc.). The examining Office of Human Resources (OHR) makes the final determination concerning applicant ratings. Your resume MUST provide sufficient information to substantiate your vacancy question responses. If not, the OHR may amend your responses to more accurately reflect the level of competency indicated by the content of your resume.

INFORMATION FOR CTAP ELIGIBLE(S) ONLY: If you are eligible for special priority selection under CTAP, you must be well-qualified for the position to receive consideration. CTAP eligible(s) will be considered well-qualified if they attain at least a rating score of 85 in a numerical rating scheme. Be sure to review the eligibility questions to reflect that you are applying as a CTAP eligible and submit supporting documentation.

Required Documents

The following documents must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on the vacancy closing date.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS: Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements of time-in-grade (52 weeks at the next lower grade), time-after-competitive-appointment (90 days), and minimum qualifications (52 weeks equivalent to the next lower grade in federal service). These requirements must be met within 30 days of 10/01/2024 the announcement closing date.

The following documents are required from all applicants (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY):

STATUS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES: If applying as a status candidate with current or former Federal Service, please provide a copy of your last or most recent SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action which shows your appointment eligibility for the position for which you are applying. Your SF-50 must identify the highest grade you held on a permanent basis, Pay Plan/Pay Schedule, Series, Grade/Pay Band, and career status. Multiple SF-50 may be submitted to demonstrate your highest previous rate and eligibility.

*WARNING: An award SF-50 (ex. cash or time off award) may not indicate grade, step, and competitive status. For current DOL employees, an award SF-50 DOES NOT indicate grade and step.

Resumes are required- provide a resume either by creating one in USAJOBS or uploading one from your profile. To receive full consideration for relevant and specialized experience, please list the month, year, and number of work hours worked for experience listed on your resume. We also suggest that you preview the vacancy questions, and confirm that your resume supports your question responses.

Most recent performance appraisal/evaluation signed and dated within 18 months is requested by the agency, but will not disqualify candidates if not submitted. If not submitted during the application process, one may/will be requested at the time of the interview if the opportunity is extended. *In most cases, CTAP applicants must submit this document - see the CTAP link below for more details.

The following documents are required (if applicable):

Displaced Employee Placement Documents: Only required if requesting priority consideration under Career Transition Assistance Plan Eligibility. Click/Review this link to confirm what must be submitted as proof that the requirement has been met.

Unofficial Transcript(s) (in English) - If you are using education as a basis for qualifying for this position, you must submit all applicable academic transcripts demonstrating that you meet the qualifying educational requirements (ex. BA/BS, MA, JD, Ph.D., etc.). If specific coursework is required to qualify, you must supply an unofficial transcript from each academic institution in which the required courses were taken in order to receive credit. You may upload your unofficial transcript(s) as one document with a maximum size limit of 5 MB.

NOTE: The OFFICIAL Transcript(s) MUST BE RECEIVED, if you are selected, and prior to receiving the firm offer with a start date.

Cover Letters are not mandatory and will not be used to verify experience but may be submitted.

Reference the Education Section for College Transcript and Evaluation of Foreign Education.

Do not upload password-protected documents.

Applicants selected for employment who are not current DOL employees will be required to provide, and the system will be used to confirm the employment eligibility of all new hires.

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting