Summary This position serves as the Area Director for the OSHA Philadelphia Region Norfolk Area Office. Assigned Safety and Occupational Health Programs cover a range of industries including a variety of high-hazard and high-risk operations with exposure to chemicals and physical agents. The selectee will be expected to report to the Norfolk Area Office; this is not a remote position. This position is outside the bargaining unit. Responsibilities The major duties for this position include but are not limited to the following: Serves as Supervisor to a multi-disciplinary group of Industrial Hygienists, Safety and Occupational Health Specialists, and Safety Engineers. Identifies, distributes and balances workload and tasks. Establishes and maintains liaison with other Federal regulatory and research agencies regarding worker safety and occupational health, and resolving jurisdictional issues. Negotiates and initiates appropriate measures to resolve serious safety and occupational health problems, violations, and abatement schedules concerning safety and occupational health matters that often involve controversial or unprecedented issues. Participates with the agency Regional Administrator and top Regional staff in program planning, evaluation, redirection and modification of policy and program criteria. Initiates efforts to prepare safety and occupational health criteria applicable to complex industrial work operations and safety and occupational health hazards for which precedents are inadequate or nonexistent. Cooperates with regional officials in responding to significant occurrences such occupational catastrophes, fatalities, imminent danger situations, and issues involving organized groups. Evaluates work performance of subordinates. Gives advice, counsel, or instruct employees on both work and administrative matters. Plans, develops, directs and evaluates comprehensive safety and occupational health surveillance and enforcement programs for industry operations which are covered by the OSH Act. Requirements Conditions of Employment Qualifications This series has an individual occupational requirement: Education: Undergraduate and Graduate 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 Experience: (for positions above GS-5): Experience in or related to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Managing safety or occupational health program elements. Developing and recommending safety and occupational health policy to higher levels of management. Applying safety and occupational health laws, regulations, principles, theories, practices, and procedures to advise on or resolve technical matters dealing with occupational safety and health requirements. Developing safety and occupational health standards, regulations, practices, and procedures to eliminate or control potential hazards. Developing or implementing programs to reduce the frequency, severity, and cost of accidents and occupational illnesses. Analyzing or evaluating new and existing jobs, processes, products, or other systems to determine the existence, severity, probability, and outcome of hazards. Designing or modifying workplaces, processes, products, or other systems to control or eliminate hazards. Inspecting or surveying workplaces, processes, products, or other systems for compliance with established safety and occupational health policies or standards and to identify potential new hazards. Training of workers, supervisors, managers, or other safety and occupational health personnel in safety or occupational health subjects. Work in occupational fields such as industrial hygienist, safety engineer, fire prevention engineer, health physicist, and occupational health nurse. OR Certificates Certification as a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), or Certified Health Physicist (CHP), or similar certification that included successful completion of a written examination meets the requirements for GS-5. Applicants may also qualify for higher grade levels based on their education and/or experience. You must meet the "Individual Occupational Requirements" listed above and the "Specialized Experience" to qualify for Supervisory Safety and Occupational Health Specialist (Area Director), as described below. Applicants must have 52 weeks of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade level, GS-13, in the Federal Service. In describing your experience, please be clear and specific. We will not make assumptions regarding your experience. Specialized Experience Requirement: In order to meet the specialized experience requirements for this position, the candidate must have experience in or related to safety and occupational health that provided the specific knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of the position. Examples of qualifying specialized experience include: Overseeing the operations and operating efficiency of a team by providing technical and/or administrative guidance. Managing safety or occupational health enforcement/compliance program elements. Making recommendations on current Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards or developing new standards and operational procedures. NOTE: IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Education Any applicant falsely claiming an academic degree from an accredited school will be subject to actions ranging from disqualification from federal employment to removal from federal service. If your education was completed at a foreign college or university, you must show comparability to education received in accredited educational institutions in the United States and comparability to applicable minimum coursework requirements for this position. Click Evaluation of Foreign Education for more information. Additional Information Refer to these links for more information: GENERAL INFORMATION, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION, ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION, FORMER FEDERAL EMPLOYEES As a condition of employment, all personnel must undergo a background investigation for access to DOL facilities, systems, information and/or classified materials before they can enter on duty: BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION Click here for Career Ladder Promotion Information You may not be aware, but in the regulations for agency ethics programs, there are requirements for supervisors. Section 2638.103 of Title 5 of the CFR states: Every supervisor in the executive branch has a heightened personal responsibility for advancing government ethics. It is imperative that supervisors serve as models of ethical behavior for subordinates. Supervisors have a responsibility to help ensure that subordinates are aware of their ethical obligations under the Standards of Conduct and that subordinates know how to contact agency ethics officials. Supervisors are also responsible for working with agency ethics officials to help resolve conflicts of interests and enforce government ethics laws and regulations, including those requiring certain employees to file financial disclosure reports. In addition, supervisors are responsible, when requested, for assisting agency ethics officials in evaluating potential conflicts of interest and identifying positions subject to financial disclosure requirements. Supervisory Financial Disclosure: This position is subject to the confidential financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-521). Therefore, if selected, you will be required to complete a Confidential Financial Disclosure Report (OGE Form 450) to determine if a conflict or an appearance of a conflict exists between your financial interest(s) and your prospective position with DOL. This information will be required annually. Click here for Telework Position Information. This is not a remote work position. The selectee will report to an assigned DOL office location on a regular basis and is eligible for participation in telework as determined by management in accordance with DOL policy. Based on agency needs, additional positions may be filled using this vacancy. The Department of Labor may use certain incentives and hiring flexibilities, currently offered by the Federal government to attract highly qualified candidates. Click here for Additional Information. The Fair Chance Act (FCA) prohibits Federal agencies from requesting an applicant's criminal history information before the agency makes a conditional offer of employment. If you believe a DOL employee has violated your rights under the FCA, you may file a complaint of the alleged violation following our agency's complaint process Guidelines for Reporting Violations of the Fair Chance Act. Note: The FCA does not apply to some positions specified under the Act, such as law enforcement or national security positions.