Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Summary

You will serve as a Safety and Occupational Health Specialist for Bureau of Land Management. This position is open to status candidates under announcement BLM-MT-MP-26-13046894-RH. You must apply to each announcement separately if you wish to be considered for both recruitment methods. First time hires to the Federal government normally start at the step 1 rate.

Duties

Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Develop/implement safety and occupational health policies and work practices to assure safe, healthful, and efficient operations for permanent and seasonal employees, volunteers and the public. Review engineering and hazardous waste cleanup project proposals for compliance with applicable safety and health standards. Investigate on the job accidents and analyze data to determine root cause and provide information to management on ways to mitigate. Conduct formal and informal training sessions on basic safety concepts, design features and specifications. Write and publish safety articles on a variety of subjects covering several different occupational trades, activities, or processes. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.

Qualifications

All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement-10/08/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. All candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements. To receive credit for experience, your resume MUST state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. Failure to adequately provide information needed to determine number of hours worked in each position may result in that time not being credited when evaluating qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the full and/or part-time hours requirement as the service dates will be reflected. Minimum Qualification Requirements: To qualify for this position, you must meet the following minimum qualifications: To qualify for this position at the GS-07 grade level: Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: (1) assisting in safety and health inspections of facilities or operations to determine compliance with applicable safety and occupational health standards; (2) preparing reports of findings or analysis of mishap trends; (3) assisting an investigation team in securing accident details, causal factors, witnesses, or reports. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Successful completion of at least one full year of Graduate Level 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- Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a directly related field AND meet one of the following: (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper 3rd of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on the completed courses; OR (2) Grade-Point Average (GPA): earn a GPA of (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on 4 years of education, or based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum -or- (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field, or the required courses completed during the final two years. Note: GPA will be rounded to the one decimal place, for example, 2.95 = 3.0, 2.94 = 2.9; OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society. -OR- Combination of Education and Experience: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above NOTE: You must submit a copy of your transcripts. To qualify for this position at the GS-09 grade level: Specialized Experience Requirement: you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: (1) applying safety and occupational health methods and practices to conduct standard safety inspections; (2) leading and/or participating in after action incident reviews or facilitated learning analyses; (3) conducting surveys to identify and evaluate hazardous work operations and conditions; conducting and/or organizing safety training in the field or classroom. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Successful completion of master's or equivalent graduate degree or 2 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree in 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- Combination of Education and Experience: Successful completion of a combination of education and experience as described above NOTE: You must submit a copy of your transcripts. Volunteer Experience: 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; religious; 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.

Education

You must submit a copy of your transcript(s) to support claimed education if substituting education for experience. Transcripts must include your name, school name, grades, credit hours earned, major(s), grade point average or class ranking, and date the degree was conferred, if applicable. A typed list of courses, grades, semester/quarter hours, GPA, etc. will not be accepted. Non-submission may result in being rated not qualified for the position. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable, but if you are selected for this position and you used your education to qualify, you must provide official transcripts before you begin work. Foreign Education: To receive credit for education completed outside the United States, you must show proof that the education has been submitted to a private organization that specializes in interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education has been deemed at least equivalent to that gained in conventional U.S. education programs. Recognition of Foreign Qualifications | U.S. Department of Education. https://www.ed.gov/about/initiatives/international-affairs/recognition-of-foreign-qualification