Occupational Health & Safety Specialist

University of Washington•Seattle, WA

1d•$90,000 - $105,000

About The Position

The Environmental Health and Safety Department (EH&S) supports and advances the teaching, learning, and research activities of the University of Washington by providing programs and services that foster a safe and healthy campus community. We are seeking an occupational health and safety specialist that will be a key team member in the UW EH&S Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) unit. The EH&S OSH unit is responsible for managing and implementing over 20 institution-wide health and safety programs that are regulated by federal and state regulations, funding agency requirements, and University accreditation requirements. Reporting to the Occupational Health and Safety Manager, the occupational health & safety specialist will have a specific focus on supporting research-related health and safety. This position is primarily responsible for facilitating the Research Occupational Health and Safety Program (ROH) which includes occupational health and safety in the animal care and use environment and support for the Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) Program. These programs ensure the environmental and occupational health and safety of University personnel and students in environments involving biohazardous agents, research animal care and use, chemical and radiological agents, and physical hazards. This position provides and serves as the department’s technical subject matter expert for these program areas. These programs ensure compliance with federal, WA state Department of Safety and Health, local, accreditation requirements and funding agency requirements (e.g., National Institutes of Health) for work in these settings. This person attends and supports institutional safety committees, including the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) and Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC). This position is responsible for managing, developing, and maintaining policy and program documents, managing data and information, developing and delivering education and training, website, and outreach content and communications. This position is responsbile for animal and research protocol reviews and risk assessments, coordination for animal research safety support, developing occupational health and medical management protocols, and for conducting root cause investigations for occupational injuries, illness and incidents. This position provides compliance oversight and monitoring and technical support and consultation on occupational health and safety considerations. The position requires a thorough understanding and knowledge of occupational health, bloodborne pathogens and other biohazardous agents, hazardous materials, occupational hazard and risk assessment, toxicology, risk mitigation and communication, and applicable safety regulations. It requires the ability to interpret, apply, and assess compliance for regulations for research safety and BBP. It also involves knowledge of exposure pathways of hazardous materials and physical hazards and exposure prevention strategies using a hierarchy of exposure controls. The position requires sound judgment, innovation, and advanced technical expertise in applying regulations and best practices to hazard prevention. This position assists University units in meeting their responsibilities to provide a safe and healthy work environment and to comply with health and safety regulations and best practices as defined by regulatory (e.g., CDC, WA Department of Safety and Health), funding agencies (e.g., NIH) and accrediting agencies (e.g., AAALAC).This position requires minimal supervision and is expected to regularly exercise independent decision-making, advanced technical expertise and judgment on program development, direction, and client service delivery.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree, preferably in occupational health, occupational hygiene, exposure sciences, research safety, biosafety, nursing, or related field.
4 years of full-time, directly-related professional experience in occupational health and safety or related field.
Equivalent education and/or experience may substitute for minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license, certification, and/or registration.
Experience applying scientific or technical information in a work, academic, or customer facing setting.
Familiarity with occupational safety and health principles and applications, specifically in how they apply to an animal care or research-related environment. This may include but is not limited to the following programs; industrial hygiene, confined space, electrical, fall protection, hazardous energy control safety programs, respiratory protection, personal protective equipment, chemical and physical agent exposure assessment, hearing loss prevention, and ergonomics
Familiarity with applicable federal, state and local laws, regulations, consensus standards, and current technology concerning health and safety issues, and ability to interpret and apply them
Ability to research, summarize and communicate reputable information on research-related subjects and/or health and safety issues
Ability to effectively communicate clearly, both orally and written, with diverse audiences at all levels of the institution including faculty, staff and students
Demonstrated teamwork, client service, and decision-making skills, and ability to foster collegial and cooperative relationships with co-workers and clients.
Exceptional problem solving skills.
Experience working with metrics, data and databases.
Strong organizational and administrative skills and ability to follow established procedures and workflows
Ability to manage time and priorities effectively.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degree in occupational hygiene, exposure sciences, biosafety, public health, occupational safety, nursing or related field
Experience leading safety programs, research safety, or occupational health programs.
Experience with clinical research or infection prevention
Experience in higher education, research environments, or other complex organizations.
Experience in working with regulatory agencies in Washington State
Experience handling data, documentation, and record keeping in an administrative or scientific setting.
Experience using standard office software (Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Teams)

Responsibilities

Provides occupational health and safety services for personnel working in animal research and care settings, or for staff in related areas of research, academia, and healthcare.
Lead and conduct occupational health and safety reviews for IACUC protocols with hazardous materials and for Biological Use Authorization Applications.
Develop and implement programmatic and risk assessment tools for IACUC and IBC protocol reviews (e.g., protocol-specific occupational health reports).
Develop, maintain, and deliver training, outreach and communications for the areas of responsibility.
Engage with and/or serve as a member or alternate of the IACUC.
Attend Institutional Biosafety Committee Meetings (IBC) and provide occupational health support.
Work with biological safety officers and employee health to identify the need for and develop medical management plans for biological use authorization (BUA) approvals.
Serve as the EH&S primary point of contact for animal research safety and compliance.
Coordinate monthly EH&S, Department of Comparative Medicine, and Primate Center meetings including preparing the agenda, facilitating the meetings, provide minutes and follow up.
Conduct facility inspections for vivariums in support of IACUC, AAALAC or other agency inspections.
Coordinate projects which contribute to the Occupational Health of workers in research.
Coordinate with Employee Health Center staff on medical management plans and other clinic protocols or outreach related research occupational health.
Coordinate with the EH&S Biosafety unit, to support administration and implementation of Institutional Bloodborne Pathogens (BBP) Program for all University work settings where there is a potential for exposure to human blood other potentially infectious materials.
Assist Biosafety (the lead program) to maintain all written policies, program documents, training content, website content, and communications.
Evaluate Bloodborne Pathogens Program compliance and effectiveness by providing initial and routine compliance review of departmental programs throughout the UW systems.
Assist University units with the development and maintenance of their BBP programs including review of non-research site-specific exposure control plans for BBP and compliance monitoring.
Assist with incident, accidents, or investigations involving BBP.
Collaborate with Biosafety to review and analyze incident data and trends and identify preventative measures to reduce exposure.
Coordinate with partners to provide outreach and communication on BBP to include newsletter articles, trainings, and consultative services.
Conduct Incident follow-up investigations for incidents in research, including animal care and use settings. This may also include clinical and non-clinical bloodborne pathogen exposures.
Develop and maintain procedures for incident follow-up and prevention for employees in these environments
Coordinate with Employee Health Centers for the development of medical occupational health procedures and follow-up care after exposure incidents
Provide root cause investigations and reports
Review and evaluate data from accident reporting system.
Communicate trends and prevention measures, and recommend actions to prevent incidents with EH&S partners, Unit leadership.
Support the client-based model for delivery of occupational health and safety services.
Participate in EH&S departmental and team meetings, work on special projects, other duties/projects as assigned.
Incorporate strategic planning initiatives from the EH&S Strategic plan into routine work.
Support data gathering for metrics and performance monitoring of programs to ensure organizational efficiencies and desired outcomes are met and program goals are reached.
Contribute to an atmosphere of mutual support and back-up.
Serve as rotating after-hours staff on call (approximately 3 weeks per year).
Other duties as assigned.