L&I DOSH Occupational Safety

Bring your sensational operational and historical knowledge and expertise in the field of regulatory occupational safety and health and join the Division of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH) as our Acting Standards Program Manager!

Directly support the agency mission of “Keeping Washington Safe and Working” and two agency goals – Make workplaces safe (goal #1) and Make it easy to do business with L&I (goal #3) by setting the strategic direction of Washington’s occupational safety and health rules. You can expect to have a dynamic experience whether it is in our Tumwater L&I location, teleworking from home, or to traveling to every region in the state to attend public meetings.

As a fundamental member of DOSH as the Acting Standards Program Manager, you will get called upon to advise and provide recommendations to the division’s Assistant Director and Department Director on critical issues. Most of your decisions are strategic in nature and guided by advanced legal and occupational safety and health education, training, and background. An example would be when a rule is controversial in nature and insight needs to be provided to assist in final decision making when there is difficulty in bringing compromise between significant stakeholder groups. You provide similar advice and recommendations when Washington State is adopting a unique rule that will set precedence for regulatory practices that impact the public, employers and employees in Washington State, across the United States, and internationally!

Just as importantly, you will also be a true Leader of a team consisting of 7 full-time employees assisting you in overseeing development, promulgation, and updating of all new and revised occupational safety and health and public safety related rules in response to mandates from OSHA and the Washington State legislature, petitions from the public, or through internal state-initiated proposals. This includes the DOSH Standards, Worker and Community Right to Know, and DOSH Standards Publications programs that apply to the public and over 200,000 employers and 2.6 million employees statewide for many safety rules involving explosives safety, asbestos removal, and confined space just to name a few.

You are also responsible for making sure that all occupational safety and health and public safety rules and policies produced by staff have completed the 37-step rulemaking process required by Chapter 34.05 RCW, Administrative Procedures Act and Chapter 19.85 RCW, Regulatory Fairness Act and that all adopted rules will be “at least as effective as” OSHA, as required by the agencies state plan agreement with OSHA.

Our ideal candidate will be a highly experienced and occupational safety and health leader with excellent leadership, personnel management, and decision-making skills to successfully manage the occupational safety and health and public safety Rule writing section and Rule publications section.

This position is located at the Labor and Industries (L&I) headquarters building in Tumwater.

See all of our current L&I DOSH position openings here: Current L&I DOSH open positions

Some of what you’ll do:

• Ensure that staff are setting realistic milestones to accomplish rulemaking achievements.
• Make sure multiple high profile rulemaking projects remain on schedule and help staff overcome project roadblocks that may arise when working with both internal and external stakeholders throughout the state of WA.
• Develop recommendations and strategies for rulemaking activities and coordinates with the Senior Program Manager for the DOSH Standards, Technical & Laboratory Services Program and other DOSH senior managers as necessary for final decisions.
• Supervise and facilitate public hearings and public rulemaking meetings.
• Strategize and develop methods to gain stakeholder support and consensus in the rulemaking process.
• Coordinate with the agency Legislative Office and Rules Coordinator.
• Provide open and honest stakeholder engagement so that all participants feel that they are heard, that their opinions matter, and that their contributions to the process are recognized and acknowledged.
• Coordinate regularly with internal and external stakeholders to interpret and implement program policies.
• Participate in establishing program standards and manage program improvement.
• Develop all new and revised occupational safety and health and public safety rules that apply to the public and over 200,000 employers and 2.6 million employees statewide.
• Develop, implement, and administer the DOSH Standards Program, the Worker and Community Right to Know Program, and DOSH Standards Publications.
• Impact the public, employers, and employees in Washington State, across the United States and internationally by making impactful and influential decisions regarding safety and health regulatory practices.
• Make decisions that are strategic in nature and guided by advanced legal and occupational safety and health education, training, and background.

REQUIRED:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Public Administration, Communications, Computer Science, Statistics, Economics, Public Safety or Health, or related field.
• Three (3) years of experience in writing, evaluating, and implementing occupational safety and public safety rules, policies and regulations.
• A valid unrestricted driver’s license may not have convictions for driving under the influence or driving offenses that endangered or harmed others within the past 7 years.

In addition to the above, almost more importantly, the ideal candidate will also possess the following qualities:

• Effectively demonstrate public speaking and communication skills.
• Thinks like the people we serve; is empathetic.
• Demonstrates customer focus with empathy, gratitude, and sincerity.
• Treats others with respect and courtesy by consistently treating everyone with respect and courtesy even when the other person is discourteous or unreasonable.
• Asks how he/she could be of further assistance.
• Actively seeks feedback from customers and others in which they interact on the quality of service provided.
• Demonstrates an ability to place themselves in the position of our customers.
• Listens fully and is respectful of and understands others’ needs, concerns, and opinions.
• Consistently treats everyone with respect and courtesy, even when the other person is discourteous or seems unreasonable.
• Demonstrates judgement and problem solving by making ethical and unbiased decisions, such that public service interests are valued.
• The ability to influence others through building trust, being credible, and having ethical standards of personal conduct.
• Demonstrates the ability and desire to build effective relationships and partnerships with a wide variety of individuals, both inside and outside of the agency.
• Negotiates collaborative solutions with customers and stakeholders, while maintaining integrity and avoiding undermining others.
• Seeks opportunities to find common ground and join others.
• Attempts to make ethical and unbiased decisions, such that public service interests are valued.
• Models ethical behavior as a steward of the public’s trust.
• Influences others through own credibility and ethical standards of personal conduct.

Things You Need To Know
State employees who meet the qualifications will become eligible for a generous retirement package at the end of the employee’s career. Click on the “Benefits” tab to learn more.

At L&I, your voice matters. In addition, L&I is a diverse state agency dedicated to the safety and health and security of Washington’s 3.3 million workers. Take a look at this brief video and learn more about why L&I is an employer of choice.

Per Governor Inslee’s Directive 22-13.1, state employees must be fully vaccinated effective November 4, 2022. Providing proof of being fully vaccinated is a condition of employment and your vaccine status will be verified by Human Resources prior to your first day of employment. Please contact Lori Hensin (she/her/hers) at lori.hensin@lni.wa.gov if you need information on medical or religious accommodation.

For this position, telework is permitted on occasion. The assigned duty station for this position is Tumwater, Washington.

For positions where in-office work is necessary, the frequency of telework will be discussed with the supervisor of the position at the time of offer.

Application process
We will contact the top candidates directly to interview for this position. Because we base the selection on information provided by you, it is in your best interest to identify the knowledge, skills, and abilities that address the mandatory and desirable qualifications described in the announcement.

The following documents MUST be included with your application:

• A cover letter describing specific qualifications.
• A current resume detailing applicable experience and education.
• A list of at least three professional references with current telephone numbers.

Please DO NOT attach or place any medical information (vaccination status included), including listing the governor’s mandate as a reason for leaving employment, within the application, resume, or cover letter. If you do, we will have to reject your application to safeguard others from receiving your confidential information. You will have to remove the confidential information before you can apply again.

Other information

• A job offer is contingent upon completion of a background check that includes a criminal record review.
• For positions requiring travel, you must have a valid unrestricted driver’s license and have insurance if driving a privately owned vehicle on state business.
• This position is represented by the Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE).
• Candidates who are offered a job with L&I must possess work authorization that does not require sponsorship by the employer for a visa now or in the future.
• The Department of Labor & Industries complies with the employment eligibility verification requirements of the federal employment eligibility verification form, I-9. The selected candidate must be able to provide proof of identity and eligibility to work in the United States consistent with the requirements of that form on the first day of employment.
• Please note: L&I may use this announcement to fill multiple permanent and/or non-permanent positions.