Safety Technician

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Spokane (WA); On-site; USD 52,000 - 83,000; Full time

Job summary

Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, WA, seeks a Safety Technician to help identify and mitigate safety hazards across clinical and non-clinical areas. You will conduct inspections, support compliance with safety standards, and assist in training staff on occupational health practices.

The role emphasizes hands-on hazard prevention, incident reporting, and collaboration with Environmental Health & Safety professionals to maintain a safe healthcare environment.

Qualifications

• One year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the GS-5 level, involving identifying hazards or safety promotion.
• Education can substitute experience if directly related to the duties.
• For GS-7, one year of specialized experience equivalent to GS-06 or 18 semester hours of related graduate education; combination allowed.

Responsibilities

• Perform inspections of clinical and non-clinical worksites to identify hazards and assess risk.
• Conduct workplace inspections and support compliance with safety laws and regulations.
• Respond to unsafe conditions and advise on corrective actions.
• Monitor safety checklists and report findings to the service chief and Occupational Health staff.
• Train leaders and employees on general safety and occupational health topics.

Skills

Hazard identification

Safety inspections

Regulatory compliance

Emergency response

Safety training

Tools

Computer applications for safety management

Job description

Summary

You will serve as a Safety Technician with the Environmental Health & Safety department of the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center located in Spokane - Washington.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position - applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement - 10/05/2026. 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-6 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-5 - and 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. Individual Occupational Requirements (IOR): The Safety Technician 0019 series requires specific education or experience to be met in order to be appointed into a position of this series. Applicants must have one (1) year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level. Applicants may also qualify by substituting education for experience - or with a combination of education and experience. The IOR is set by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) includes Specialized Experience: Experience that involved: (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. You may qualify for the GS-6 level 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-05 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: knowledge of fire prevention and fire protection standards to identify and evaluate life safety requirements and construction building codes - and to eliminate risks in environmental - fire and building construction areas; knowledge of fire extinguishers - emergency eyewash and showers - hazardous material storage - handling and disposal - and respiratory protection equipment; and knowledge of computer applications for hazardous material management - safety incident record keeping - fire prevention inspection reports - and respiratory protection fit testing. OR - EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed 6 months (9 semester hours) of graduate education that is directly related to the duties of the position. You may qualify for the GS-07 level 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-06 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include - but are not limited to: technical knowledge of hazards present in a health care facility - hazard abatement and surveillance procedures and ability to correct hazards identified; knowledge of safety and occupational health standards including environmental - occupational safety and health and fire protection policies and procedures - pertinent to clinical and industrial settings - to identify and evaluate a wide variety of environmental risks and conduct meaningful inspections; knowledge of fire prevention and fire protection standards to identify and evaluate life safety requirements and construction building codes - and to eliminate risks in environmental - fire and building construction areas; knowledge of fire extinguishers - emergency eyewash and showers - hazardous material storage - handling and disposal - and respiratory protection equipment; and knowledge of computer applications for hazardous material management - safety incident record keeping - fire prevention inspection reports - and respiratory protection fit testing. OR - EDUCATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have successfully completed one (1) year of graduate education (18 semester hours) that is directly related to the duties of the position. OR - COMBINATION (TRANSCRIPTS REQUIRED): Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond 6 months (9 semester hours) of graduate level education may be used to qualify applicants at the GS-7 grade level. This education must have been obtained in an accredited college or university. (To compute the percentage - divide your total months of qualifying experience by 12. Then divide your semester hours of graduate education beyond two years by 18. Add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify.). 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/.

Duties

• Duties include - but are not limited to: Perform inspections of clinical and non-clinical worksites - buildings - plants - and grounds to identify hazards and assess the potential for harm to employees of the facility and the environment
• Conduct workplace inspections and provide assessments relating to compliance and non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations and will assist higher-graded staff with environmental - occupational safety and health - and fire and life safety inspections and assignments
• Respond to reports of unsafe conditions and work practices that resulted or could result in injury - illness - or exposure to persons and/or damage to property
• Observe safety practices and procedures - including equipment utilization
• Monitor safety checklists for compliance with safety requirements
• Report findings to the appropriate service chief and delegated occupational health Industrial Hygienist
• Identify violations of established requirements and safe practices and make recommendations to eliminate identified hazards through the implementation of applicable guidelines - regulations - and recommended practices
• Support various phases of occupational health and safety inspection
• Prepare reports of findings to propose corrective measures
• Train leaders and employees with guidance on general safety and occupational health subjects to include mishap prevention and how to maintain safe working practices
• Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory - qualification - and performance requirements are met
• Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level
• Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm Telework: This position may be authorized for telework
• Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process
• Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Position Description/PD#: Safety Technician/PD70632-0 and PD70631-0 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized