Federal

Safety and Occupational Health Specialist

Forest Service ยท Department of Agriculture
๐Ÿ“ Salt Lake City, Utah GS-12 $89,508 - $116,362/yr
Posted: Jun 29, 2026 Deadline: Jul 8, 2026 (Closes in 5 days)

About This Position

This position serves as the eSafety manager with Occupational Safety and Health Program. The incumbent will be responsible for assisting the OSOH Director with planning, organizing, leading, controlling, and evaluating the national Forest Service (FS) Safety/Health Information Portal System (SHIPs). For additional information about the duties of this position, please contact Debby Gonzales,at [email protected]

Qualifications

In order to qualify, you must meet the eligibility and qualifications requirements as defined below by the closing date of the announcement. For more information on the qualifications for this position, visit the Office of Personnel Management's General Schedule Qualification Standards. Basic Requirement: GS-0018: Major related to 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 in safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties of the position.

In addition to meeting the basic requirement, you must also possess experience and/or directly related education in the amounts listed below. Specialized Experience Requirement: For the GS-12: You must have one year specialized experience equivalent to the GS-11 in the Federal service. Specialized experience is defined as three or more of the following: Conducting complex safety evaluations and risk assessments for high-risk operations such as wildland fire activities, field operations, and facilities containing hazardous materials, identifying unsafe conditions, and recommending corrective controls to prevent employee injuries and property damage; and/or developing and implementing safety program policies, procedures, and technical guidance for organizational units by contributing to program standards, updating safety processes, and supporting the management and daily operation of safety information systems to enhance agency-wide compliance and program consistency; and/or providing advisory support to managers, supervisors, and safety representatives on occupational safety and health issues including hazard analysis, accident investigation, risk mitigation, ergonomics, and facility modifications, ensuring alignment with agency safety codes, manuals, and regulatory requirements; and/or investigating workplace accidents and hazardous conditions by determining causal and contributing factors, preparing written reports with recommended corrective actions, and coordinating with supervisors and employees to ensure accurate reporting and timely resolution of identified risks; and/or delivering safety education and awareness activities-including training sessions, briefings, and safety committee participation-and collaborated with operational and support personnel to resolve issues related to safety equipment procurement, respirator requirements, and industrial hygiene needs, contributing to measurable improvements in safety culture and program effectiveness.

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. TIME IN GRADE REQUIREMENT: If you are a current federal employee in the General Schedule (GS) pay plan and applying for a promotion opportunity, you must meet time-in-grade (TIG) requirements of 52 weeks of service at the next lower grade level in the normal line of progression for the position being filled. This requirement must be met by the closing date of this announcement.

Major Duties

Responsible for evaluating and assessing a wide variety of high risk operations, facilities, and environmental conditions where the potential for serious employee injuries and/or property damage is high.

Plan and organize continuous assignments in the development of safety program content, standards, procedures, and techniques to provide safety services for region, station and area safety organizations and managers.

Assists safety specialists in resolving the especially complex and difficult problems and cases where guides are very general or lacking.

Recommend application of specific techniques, methods, and procedures to eliminate or control unsafe acts or conditions identified in surveys, inspections or through mishap information sources to management.

Coordinate problem solving activities involved in the procurement of required safety equipment, determination of respirator requirements, and industrial hygiene issues with related operational and support program personnel.

Develop courses of action to minimize or eliminate hazardous operations and conditions and implements program regulations and directives which impact activities of personnel and the occupational environment of the installation.

Conditions of Employment

Must be a U.S. Citizen or National. Males born after 12/31/1959 must be Selective Service registered or exempt. Subject to satisfactory adjudication of background investigation and/or fingerprint check. Per Public Law 104-134 all Federal employees are required to have federal payments made by direct deposit to their financial institution. Successfully pass the E-Verify employment verification check. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, visit e-verify.gov

Education

There is no substitution for education. Please see above.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated based on your qualifications for this position as evidenced by the experience, education, and training you described in your application package, as well as the responses to the Assessment Questionnaire to determine the degree to which you possess the competencies listed below: Your application, including the online Assessment Questionnaire, will be reviewed to determine if you meet (a) minimum qualification requirements and (b) the resume supports the answers provided to the job-specific questions.

Your resume must clearly support your responses to all the questions addressing experience and education relevant to this position. If you meet the qualification requirements and are determined to be among the best qualified, you will be referred to the hiring manager for consideration. Noncompetitive candidates and applicants under some special hiring authorities must meet minimum qualifications to be referred.

Note: If, after reviewing your resume and/or supporting documentation, a determination is made that you inflated your qualifications and or experience, your rating may be lowered to more accurately reflect the submitted documentation. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating. Providing inaccurate information on Federal documents could be grounds for non-selection or disciplinary action. To view the application form, visit: https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12995769

Additional Information

Career Transition Assistance Plan (CTAP) or Reemployment Priority List (RPL): To exercise selection priority for this vacancy, CTAP/RPL candidates must meet the basic eligibility requirements and all selective factors. CTAP candidates must be rated and determined to be well qualified (or above) based on an evaluation of the competencies listed in the How You Will Be Evaluated section. When assessed through a score-based category rating method, CTAP applicants must receive a rating of at least 85 out of a possible 100.

Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act (LMWFA) provides current or former temporary and term employees the opportunity to compete for permanent competitive service positions. Individuals must have more than 24 months of service without a break between appointments of two or more years and the last temporary or term appointment must have been with the Forest Service. Service must be in the competitive service and have been at a successful level of performance or better.

Part-time and intermittent service will be credited only for time actually worked. Non-pay status such as leave without pay is credited for up to six months in a calendar year; anything beyond six months is not credited. Applicants are responsible for providing sufficient information/documentation to determine if the 24 month criteria is met.

This position is not eligible for telework. Position(s) will be located at a Forest Service office, except Atlanta, Georgia; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Portland, Oregon. Final determination of the duty station will be made by the selecting official at the time of the job offer.

A recruitment or relocation incentive, or reimbursement of relocation expenses may be authorized at the discretion of management in accordance with agency policy. Positions filled from this announcement may be a bargaining or a non-bargaining unit position represented by either NFFE, AFGE or NAGE. Forest Service daycare facilities not available.

Government Housing not available.

How to Apply

Please view Tips for Applicants - a guide to the Forest Service application process. Please read the entire announcement and all instructions before you begin.

You must complete this application process and submit all required documents electronically by 11:59p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the closing date of this announcement. Applying online is highly encouraged.

We are available to assist you during business hours (7:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mountain Time Zone, Monday - Friday). If applying online poses a hardship, contact the Agency Contact listed below well before the closing date for an alternate method. All hardship application packages must be complete and submitted no later than noon ET on the closing date of the announcement to be entered into the system prior to its closing.

Resumes must not exceed two pages. This agency provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities on a case-by-case basis; contact the Agency Contact to request this. To begin, click "Apply Online" and follow the instructions to complete the Assessment Questionnaire and attach your resume and all required documents.

Please verify that documents you are uploading from USAJOBs transfer into the Agency's staffing system as there is a limitation to the number of documents that can be transferred. However, once in the Agency's staffing system, you will have the opportunity to upload additional documents. Uploaded documents must be less than 5MB and in one of the following document formats: GIF, JPG, JPEG, PNG, RTF, PDF, TXT or Word (DOC or DOCX).

Do not upload Adobe Portfolio documents because they are not viewable. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration. Please ensure your resume does not exceed two pages.

Applicants who submit a resume that exceeds two pages will be removed from consideration. Our office cannot be responsible for incompatible software, your system failure, etc.

Required Documents

The following documents are required for your applicant package to be complete. Encrypted documents will not be accepted. Failure to submit required, legible documents may result in loss of consideration.

Resume that includes: Personal Information: name, address, contact information; Education; Work Experience related to this position as described in the major duties including work schedule, hours worked per week, dates of employment; title, series, grade (if applicable); other qualifications. Resume cannot exceed 2 pages. Current Forest Service employees: Most recent non-award Notification of Personnel Action (SF-50) showing you are/were in the competitive service, highest grade held (or promotion potential) on a permanent basis, position title, series and grade AND Most recent performance appraisal (dated within 18 months) showing the official rating of record, signed by a supervisor, or statement why the performance appraisal is unavailable.

A performance plan is not an acceptable substitute. Surplus or displaced employees eligible for CTAP, RPL, or ICTAP priority must provide: proof of eligibility (RIF separation notice, notice of proposed removal for declining a transfer of function or directed reassignment to another commuting area, notice of disability annuity termination), SF-50 documenting separation (as applicable), current performance appraisal with rating of at least "Fully Successful" or equivalent, and your most recent SF-50 noting position, grade level, and duty location with your application per 5 CFR 330. Land Management Workforce Flexibility Act: Copies of Notification of Personnel Action(s) (SF-50) showing the employee served in eligible appointment(s) for a period(s) of more than 24 mos w/o a break between appointments of two+ years.

Include initial hire actions, extensions, conversions and separation Sf-50s for each period. Submit performance rating(s) showing acceptable performance for each period counted towards eligibility signed by supervisor(s). If documentation does not exist for one or more periods, submit a statement from supervisor(s) indicating acceptable performance.

Applicants who do not have performance documentation for any period shall provide a reason why the documentation is not available and statement that performance for all periods was at an acceptable level.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary for the Safety and Occupational Health Specialist position at Forest Service?
The salary range for this position is $89,508 - $116,362/yr. This is a GS-12 position on the General Schedule pay scale. Actual pay may vary based on locality adjustments.
Where is the Safety and Occupational Health Specialist job located?
This position is located in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is an on-site position.
What qualifications do I need?
There is no substitution for education. Please see above.
How do I apply for this position?
Apply through USAJobs.gov by clicking the 'Apply on USAJobs' button. You'll need a USAJobs account, a federal-style resume, and supporting documents. The deadline is Jul 8, 2026.
Is a security clearance required?
No security clearance is required for this position.
What benefits do federal employees receive?
Federal employees receive comprehensive benefits including health insurance (FEHB), retirement through FERS, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) with government matching, paid annual and sick leave, paid parental leave, life insurance, and student loan repayment programs.