Clarification from the agency

This position is open to current, permanent Department of Veterans Health Administration employees only. First area of consideration is current permanent VISN 10 Department of Veterans Health Administration employees. Second area of consideration is current, permanent Department of Veteran Health Administration employees.

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Major Duties:

• Acts as principle VISN liaison and main point of contact for engineering compliance between VA Central Office, VISN Management, Office of Capital Asset and Management; Office of Healthcare Engineering (OHE); Chief Engineers within the VISN; and other VISN Energy Managers.
• Manages assigned energy programs including but not limited to; capital planning, fiscal planning, project development, project renovation, modernization, and construction work,; safety, industrial hygiene, disaster management, and green environmental management service; energy conservations services; and all maintenance and repair of buildings, grounds, building service equipment and utility systems.
• Provides engineering expertise in relation to healthcare system building systems compliance; energy and water management; conducting and/or providing professional advisory services for building system equipment; boiler and boiler plant operations; and electrical power distribution including generator.
• Considered the expert on engineering technical issues for the assigned programs and will provide direction, guidance and support on all types of conservation measures as all VISN locations related to program compliance and monitoring.
• May be deployed throughout the VISN to assess and provide solutions for complex engineering problems, assist in the development of action plans and measure compliance with all VA/VHA directives and design guidelines.
• Serves as the VISN engineer for all activities related to the assigned engineering programs requiring knowledge of program operations, compliance, maintenance and capital planning to include program budget approval, funding allocation, and activation.
• Coordinates national or VISN capital investment submissions and provide guidance on investment categories, strategies, financial planning and budgeting.
• Oversees program process reviews and overall program performance levels to identify slippage, cost overruns and other issues, and provide direction and lead a collaborative approach with facility engineering and contracting to bring about solutions to issues impacting project performance.
• Ensures compliance with VHA policies, standards, procedures, VA Specifications and Design Guides.
• Provides a system of communication and training for facility-level engineering staff.
• Review, evaluate, and provide professional oversight to programs to ensure compliance with VA/VHA directives, accreditation standards, national codes, and other regulatory requirements.
• Ensure value engineering theories and principle are implemented to assure the most economical methods of operations and construction or construction materials are utilized and to achieve cost efficiency for the Federal Government.
• In absence of the Deputy Capital Asset Manager(DCAM), the VISN Energy Manager may be assigned with the authority to act on behalf of the DCAM.
• May perform other duties as needed.

Work Schedule: Monday thru Friday, tour of duty hours: 8:00am-4:30pm
Compressed/Flexible:May be available at supervisory discretion
Remote: The selected candidate will work primarily from their home, within a reasonable commuting distance from one of the VISN 10 medical centers in Ohio, Michigan, or Indiana. Travel within VISN 10 will be required.
Functional Statement #: 91328-S
Financial Disclosure Report: Required

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• You may be required to serve a probationary period.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details.

Qualifications

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.
• English Language Proficiency Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education Requirement:
  • (1) Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture. To be acceptable, the curriculum must be from a school with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Engineering Accreditation Commission (excludes engineering technology) or National Council of Architectural Registration Boards curriculum. Examples of acceptable engineering and architectural degrees include, but are not limited to: Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Architecture and Architectural Engineering. Titles may vary from educational institutions and change over time; OR
  • (2) Evidence of passing the Fundamentals of Engineering Examination with a bachelor's degree. Evidence can be in the form of an Engineering in Training certificate issued from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico, or test results from the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) identifying a passing score; OR
  • (3) Evidence of current professional registration or licensure as a Professional Engineer or Architect. Evidence of current professional registration or licensure can be from any State, the District of Columbia, Guam or Puerto Rico.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, engineering, architecture or related education completed outside the U.S. must be submitted to a private organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials and such education must have been deemed at least equivalent to a Bachelor's degree.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Specialized experience:
Grade Determinations: Healthcare Engineer, GS-14. In addition to the basic requirements outlined above the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-13 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: providing engineering expertise in relation to healthcare system buildings compliance; expert on engineering technical issues for assigned programs; and managing assigned energy programs (i.e. capital planning, fiscal planning, project development, project renovation, modernization, and construction work).
AND
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following KSAs: (a) Knowledge of current and evolving concepts and principles of general engineering to resolve novel or obscure problems; extend and modify techniques; develop new approaches that guide other engineers who solve a variety of technical problems; and/or apply new, innovative or experimental advanced engineering theories, developments or practices to problems or studies not susceptible to treatment by acceptable methods.
(b) Skill in construction, capital planning and multiple healthcare system portfolio management, inclusive of budget development and tracking.
(c) Skill in collaborating with persons having diverse viewpoints, goals or objectives to achieve a common understanding of the problem and a satisfactory solution of sometimes controversial and far-reaching matters through active participation in conferences, meetings or presentations.
(d) Ability to interpret broad guidelines and exercise considerable judgment and ingenuity in interpreting and adapting existing guides; in developing new and improved hypotheses, concepts or approaches not previously tested or reported; and/or in developing new policies that advance the organization.
(e) Ability to coordinate and interact with regional facilities, national and Department-level staff for the implementation and coordination of policies and program plans to apply prioritization methodologies that align facilities' capital asset requests and develop infrastructure options that result in the efficacious use of a regional healthcare organization capital strategic plan.
(f) Ability to adapt and apply trends in healthcare delivery systems that impact long-term capital assets (such as aging equipment and physical plants) for regionally integrated healthcare systems.
(g) Ability to consult and collaborate with all organizational levels in a national healthcare organization, outside organizations and businesses regarding both strategic and financial activities of a regional healthcare organization.

Preferred Experience: (1) In addition to meeting experience requirements, the candidate can demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities listed above to perform the job. (2) Knowledge and ability to implement and/or sustain a capital asses and construction program that meets healthcare facility related standards, codes, policies, and regulation inclusive of state and local codes.

References: VA Handbook 5005/150, Part II Appendix G72, Healthcare Engineer Qualification Standard.

The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-14.

Physical Requirements: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomfort that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, boiler rooms, mechanical rooms and facility maintenance shop areas. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The incumbent must also work outdoors in all types of weather. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in accessing boiler plants, chiller plants, cooling towers, roofs, mechanical rooms, basements, pipe chases, and sub-basement crawl spaces. The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required, e.g., walking, standing, climbing ladders, stooping, kneeling, and carrying light items such as manuals, drawing rolls, briefcases, test and balancing equipment, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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; religions; 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.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.