Laboratory Safety Specialist

Commonwealth of VA Careers; Richmond (VA); On-site; USD 59,000 - 72,000; Full time

Job summary

Commonwealth of VA Careers seeks a Laboratory Safety Specialist within the Occupational Health & Safety team to foster a strong safety culture and ensure chemical hygiene across VCU and health system laboratories.

The role emphasizes inspections, risk mitigation, policy enforcement, and collaboration with faculty and staff to maintain compliant, safe laboratory environments while supporting ongoing professional development in environmental health and safety.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, or related field.
• Strong knowledge of federal, state, and local safety and environmental codes.
• Solid understanding of laboratory processes and chemical hazard mitigation.
• Ability to collaborate with stakeholders to identify operational risks.
• Technical writing skills for incident reports and safety reviews.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills.
• Advanced analytical and critical thinking to resolve safety issues.
• Excellent organizational skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Willingness to adapt to evolving compliance requirements.

Responsibilities

• Laboratory inspections and assessments across VCU and VCU Health laboratories.
• Risk mitigation and advisory to faculty, staff, and students.
• Enforce OHS policy with 30-60-90 day escalation procedures to resolve safety issues.
• Maintain the OHS Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) to ensure laboratory compliance.
• Engage stakeholders to foster safety culture and collaborate on mitigation strategies.
• Support safety training delivery for departmental leadership and staff.
• Provide technical/operational EHS support including IH surveys and incident response.
• Maintain accurate reports and records in SciShield and shared drives.
• Pursue ongoing professional development in environmental health and safety.

Skills

Laboratory safety

Chemical hygiene

Regulatory knowledge

Technical writing

Communication

Time management

Safety training

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering

Job description

Department

Occupational Health & Safety

Summary

Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) partners with the VCU community to promote and facilitate a positive, campus-wide attitude of safety excellence and environmental stewardship to protect university assets and reduce risks.

The primary mission of Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Health & Safety is to advance and support a safe and healthy environment at VCU and VCU Health. This work is accomplished through surveys, consultation, teaching, advising, auditing and environmental monitoring. As the University liaison for safety and compliance we work with outside agencies and organizations to address all applicable standards.

The Laboratory Safety Specialist plays a pivotal role in fostering a positive safety culture, minimizing operational risk, and maintaining compliance with federal and state regulations governing hazardous chemicals and research across university and health system laboratories.

Duties & Responsibilities

• Laboratory Inspections & Assessments: Conduct safety inspections and evaluations across VCU and VCU Health Systems laboratories to identify and address safety concerns.

• Risk Mitigation & Advisory: Support faculty, staff, and students in identifying, evaluating, and mitigating laboratory safety risks.

• Policy Implementation & Escalation: Enforce the University’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) policy, utilizing 30-60-90 day escalation procedures to ensure timely resolution of safety issues.

• Chemical Hygiene Management: Maintain, update, and enforce the OHS Chemical Hygiene Plan (CHP) to ensure comprehensive laboratory compliance.

• Culture & Stakeholder Engagement: Serve as an ambassador for safety culture change by engaging with research programs, conducting risk-based assessments, and collaborating with laboratory staff on practical mitigation strategies.

• Safety Training Support: Assist departmental leadership in maintaining and delivering comprehensive laboratory safety training modules.

• Technical & Operational Support: Assist team members with specialized EHS functions, including Industrial Hygiene surveys, respiratory fit testing, hazardous waste management, indoor environmental quality investigations, laboratory closeouts, and incident response (during regular hours and on-call rotation).

• Data & Records Management: Maintain accurate reports, documentation, and records within shared drives, spreadsheets, and the EHS-OHS management system (SciShield).

• Professional Development: Continuously expand expertise in Environmental Health and Safety, focusing on laboratory safety and chemical hygiene.

Qualifications

Minimum Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, or a closely related discipline.

• Regulatory Knowledge: Strong working knowledge of federal, state, and local safety and environmental codes applicable to academic, research, and clinical laboratory settings.

• Laboratory & Chemical Safety Knowledge: Solid understanding of general laboratory processes, clinical/research best practices, and the ability to apply chemical hazard categorization and risk mitigation strategies.

• Ability to Collaborate With Stakeholders: Proven capability to collaborate with key stakeholders to identify operational risks, propose innovative solutions, and serve as an ambassador for safety culture change.

• Technical Writing Skills: Strong technical writing skills with experience producing reports (e.g., incident reports, indoor environmental quality assessments, and lab safety reviews).

• Communication & Customer Service Skills: Exceptional interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, paired with a strong commitment to customer service.

• Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving Skills: Advanced analytical and critical thinking skills to evaluate and resolve complex safety issues effectively.

• Time Management Skills: Excellent organizational and time management skills, with a track record of prioritizing tasks to consistently hit individual and team deadlines.

• Professional Growth: Willingness to acquire new professional skills and adapt to evolving compliance requirements.

• Ability to promote a positive culture: Demonstrated ability to work in and foster an environment of respect, professionalism and civility with a population of faculty, staff, and students from all backgrounds and experiences, or a commitment to do so as a staff member at VCU.

Preferred Qualifications

• Minimal to moderate understanding of industrial hygiene monitoring techniques and how to use monitoring equipment.

• Minimal to moderate understanding of federal, state and local fire safety regulations.

• Minimal to moderate understanding of federal, state and local occupational safety regulations.

• Minimal to moderate understanding of CDC and NIH Biological Safety Principles.

• Certification in 40 hour HAZWOPER course

Salary Range

$59,400 - $72,000

Benefits

All VCU employee types are eligible for a wide array of benefits to support you during your employment at VCU. Consult the benefits website for information on benefits eligibility according to employee type.

FLSA Exemption Status

Exempt

Hours per Week

40

ORP Eligible

No

Flexible Work Arrangement

Fully Onsite

University Job Title

16211N - Specialist ES 1

Contact

Larry Mendoza ([e-mail])