Health & Safety Specialist

Position Information

Announcement Number: STAFF - VA - 22413

For questions regarding this position, please contact: Ryan Brickman at 406-994-7760 or at ryan.brickman@montana.edu

Classification Title:  Health Professional

Working Title:  Health & Safety Specialist

Brief Position Overview:  Safety & Risk Management protects MSU’s people, property and assets through excellent service in environmental, health and safety programs, loss control, and liaising with our State insurance experts.

Position Number 4M0060

Department: Safety & Risk Mgmt

Division: University Services

Appointment Type:  Classified

Contract Term: Fiscal Year 

FLSA:  Exempt

Union Affiliation: Exempt from Collective Bargaining

FTE:  1.0

Benefits Eligible:  Eligible

Salary:  Minimum of $80,000 annually, commensurate with experience, education, and qualifications.

Contract Type: Classified Salary

Recruitment Type: Open

Position Details:
General Statement:  The Occupational Health & Safety Specialist is responsible for the development, implementation, management, and promotion of compliant and effective health and safety programs in support of academic, research, facilities management and support service organizations. This includes performing comprehensive regulatory, risk, exposure, compliance, and policy assessments along with providing related assistance and guidance to campus stakeholders.

This position will lead medical surveillance, respiratory protection, hearing conservation, ergonomics, indoor air quality, personal protective equipment, exposure assessments other occupational health and safety programs as needed. Position will support research committees and associated research protocol lab saftey.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Manage occupational medical surveillance, ergonomics, hearing conservation, respiratory protection, indoor air quality, personal protective equipment, and other assigned programs. Maintain expertise on current regulatory requirements and best practices to maintain effective and compliant programs, standard operating procedures, training and outreach on managed programs. Audit and update programs to ensure effectiveness. Conduct workplace assessments, exposure assessments and research protocol reviews to identify safety and health hazards and to provide recommendations for engineering controls, standard operating procedures, personal protective equipment, training and inclusion in medical surveillance. Advise and consult with department heads, administrators, researchers and staff on occupational safety and health programs, regulatory requirements, workplace hazards, and mitigation strategies. Conduct safety and health investigations as part of injury/illness follow-up including field/laboratory investigations, exposure assessments, and exposure monitoring. Partner with stakeholders to identify root and contributing causes and recommend corrective actions to prevent recurrence.

• Support Institutional Care and Use Committee (IACUC) and Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) as related to occupational health-related matters. Perform classroom and remote training on health and safety programs. Serve as a technical expert in occupational safety and health independently and in conjunction with Safety & Risk Management staff.

Required Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills:

1. Bachelor’s degree in environmental health, health & safety, or related field with 2-5 years of work experience in health and safety; or an equivalent combination of education and/or experience. Demonstrated working knowledge of OSHA regulations governing programs mentioned (medical surveillance, PPE, hearing conservation, respiratory protection, HazCom, etc.). Demonstrated working knowledge of CDC & NIOSH guidance and relevance to occupational, environmental, and public health. Demonstrated experience managing EHS programs. Demonstrated computer skills (MS Office suite, MS Teams, web, etc.).

Preferred Qualifications – Experience, Education, Knowledge & Skills:

1. Certification as ASP, CSP, CIH, CRM, CHMM and/or others; Asbestos certification(s) Experience in a University setting and/or a research setting (with laboratories and skilled trades staff). Familiarity with National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Intramural Research regulations and standards.

The Successful Candidate Will:

• Ability to foster positive, customer-service-oriented working relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Being a continuous learner. Strong attention to detail with an ability to interpret and comply with extensive regulatory guidelines from OSHA. Function autonomously as a program or as a team member. Successful in organizing and prioritizing heavy workloads, meeting a variety of simultaneous deadlines, and adapting to changing priorities in a positive, effective and professional manner. Ability to foster and maintain strong relationships at all levels of the organization. Strong written and verbal communication skills.

Position Special Requirements/Additional Information:
This job description should not be construed as an exhaustive statement of duties, responsibilities or requirements, but a general description of the job. Nothing contained herein restricts Montana State University’s rights to assign or reassign duties and responsibilities to this job at any time.
Must possess currently or be eligible to obtain a valid State of Montana Driver’s license and have an acceptable driving record (less than 12 points). Do NOT send a copy of the driver’s license.

Physical Demands:

• Position requires remaining in a stationary position, positioning self to stooping, ascending/descending ladders, and transporting up to 50 pounds. Position requires working in laboratory environments, and outdoors in all weather conditions. Position may encounter confined spaces, tunnels, work-at-height, hazardous materials and waste, noise, dust, and temperature extremes. Position requires ability to wear PPE such as safety glasses and goggles, respiratory protection, and protective coveralls.
  To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily with or without reasonable accommodations. The requirements listed above are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required.

This position has supervisory duties?
No

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies:  1

Desired Start Date:  Upon completion of a successful search

Applications will be:  Screening of applications will begin on December 15, 2022; however, applications will continue to be accepted until an adequate applicant pool has been established.

Special Instructions:  Montana State University values diverse perspectives and is committed to continually supporting, promoting and building an inclusive and culturally diverse campus environment. MSU recognizes the importance of work-life integration and strives to be responsive to the needs of dual career couples. https://www.montana.edu/hr/recruitment/dualcareer.html.

Diversity Statement:  In compliance with the Montana Veteran’s Employment Preference Act, MSU provides preference in employment to veterans, disabled veterans, and certain eligible relatives of veterans. To claim veteran’s preference please complete the veteran’s preference information located in the Demographics section of your profile. https://www.montana.edu/hr/recruitment-guidelines/affirmative_action_plan.html.

MSU’s Non-Discrimination Policy and Discrimination Grievance Procedures can be located on the MSU Website: https://www.montana.edu/policy/discrimination/index.html.

Applicant Documents:
Required Documents

1. Resume Cover Letter addressing each of the Required and Preferred Qualifications