Safety Technician

Description:

The safety technician coordinates and performs comprehensive safety and occupational health inspections and safety maintenance for the Veterans Administration Ann Arbor Healthcare System (V AAAHS) which includes a main hospital and clinical addition, seven outpatient clinics (Toledo, Flint, Jackson, Adrian, Howell, Canton, and Findlay) and construction sites in those facilities.

Requirements:

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 02/03/2026.

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-7 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-6. 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.

Interchange Agreement: Applicants must be eligible under the VA Interchange Agreement, having served continuously for at least one year in the other merit system under this interchange agreement. For more information regarding the VA Interchange Agreement please visit: https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-authorities/competitive-hiring/.

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-6 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include but are not limited to: (l) identifying, preventing, or eliminating safety hazards in work methods or environmental conditions; or (2) safety training or promotion. Such experience must have provided a practical knowledge of occupational and environmental safety hazards, survey techniques, and control and preventive methods. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: biological technician, medical technician, engineering technician, fire prevention inspector, and environmental health worker. OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one full year of graduate level education that is directly related to the work of the position which may include safety, fire prevention, industrial hygiene or other directly related subjects. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education that equates to one year of experience at the GS 6 grade level. Education must be directly related to the work of the position.

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

• Accident Investigation
• Compliance Inspection
• Public Safety and Security

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 involves sitting at a desk, walking through areas to conduct inspections, lifting fire extinguishers and/or other equipment weighing 40 pounds or more, demonstrating use of equipment as well as frequent walking, bending, climbing and crawling. Occasional periods of physical exertion are required during fire alarms, patient evacuations or any other emergency that may occur or is reported.

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/ .