Clarification from the agency

This job is open to all current employees at the Lexington VA Healthcare System and CBOCs aligned under Duty Station #596.

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Duties include but are not limited to:

Administrative:

• Performs technical, administrative, or professional work involving managing, administering operating or supporting services and programs related to the operation and safety of Federal facilities.
• Planning, organizing, directing, controlling and evaluating the entire program to include budgetary control and assessments.
• Develops and applies a program of management Review appraisal and improvement.
• Provides formal and on-the-job training.
• Develops, coordinates, directs, and manages a hospital housekeeping program that emphasizes the maintenance of environmental sanitation within acceptable levels of bacteriological as well as visual cleanliness.
• Establishes work assignments for front line employees and supervisors.
• Implements, coordinates and controls a comprehensive program with the authority to make necessary changes needed for the benefit of patients, staff and visitors.

Medical Center Sanitation:

• Develops cleaning procedures, frequency of cleaning schedules, and cleaning supply usage instructions designed to maintain high quality visual and bacteriological cleanliness of all medical center floors, walls, ceilings, bathroom fixture3s, furniture, housekeeping equipment, window treatments, cubicle curtains, light fixtures stairwells, waste cans, and other miscellaneous area and items.
• Conducts a extensive in-service Sanitation Inspection Program covering the entire medical center; initiating and closely monitoring bacteriological surveillance being conducted throughout the Medical Center.
• Conducts constant testing programs designed to perfect hospital housekeeping techniques, procedures and products.
• Develops and maintains procedures for waste collection within the medical center and constantly monitoring procedures, methods for waste collection within the medical center and consistently monitoring procedures.

Pest Control:

• Develops specifications, treatment areas, and frequency of treatment schedules, interpret local, state and federal directive and guidelines regarding the type, use and storage of various pesticides and rodenticides and ensure compliance.
• Serves as the Contracting Officer's Representative for the administration of Pest Control Services to include the control of all rodents and pests from the interior of the Medical Center.

Uniforms/Patient Effects:

• Oversees the administration of ordering and distributing uniforms for selected personnel.
• Ensures that appropriate procedures are followed to minimize loss and repair of uniforms.
• Ensures that a system is in place for pick up, cataloging, and reissuing of patient valuables to patients.
• Ensures that employees adhere to privacy and security guidelines with respect to patient valuables.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:00 am - 3:30 pm
Position Description Title/PD#: Assistant Hospital Housekeeping Officer/PD305510
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved.
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized

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
• You may be required to serve a probationary/trial period
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Pre-employment physical required
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/23/2025.

Applicants must meet the Individual Occupational Requirement, specialized experience, and time-in-grade requirement - these are 3 separate requirements.

Individual Occupational Requirement (IOR):

• Education:
  • Undergraduate Education:Major study -- chemistry or biological sciences, sanitary science or administration, institutional sanitation or administration, hospital administration, hotel administration, public administration, business administration, or other fields related to the position. (Transcripts must be submitted with application reflecting coursework, hours and grades earned and degree conferred date.)
  • Graduate Education:Major study -- public health or business administration with emphasis in hospital administration. (Transcripts must be submitted with application reflecting coursework, hours and grades earned and degree conferred date.)

-OR-

• Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Experience in two or more of the following areas, or other work related to the position to be filled: Experience that demonstrated a practical working knowledge of the basic principles of chemistry, biology, and bacteriology as applied to environmental sanitation, infection control, and to the choice and use of antimicrobial agents in the disinfection, sanitization, and/or sterilization of surfaces and equipment. Experience in laundry and linen management. Experience in interior design management. Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of waste management, including the requirements relating to hazardous, toxic, and infectious wastes and provisions for their final disposition. Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of pest management, including alternative methods of control and the selection and application of chemicals.

Other: One year of formalized hospital administrative residency or internship in hospital administration or hospital housekeeping management is equivalent to 1 year of GS-5 level specialized experience.


Specialized Experience:

Applicants must possess one (1) full year of specialized experience at the GS-9 level, that equipped the applicant with the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA's) to successfully perform the duties of the position. This may include, basic principles of chemistry, biology, and bacteriology as applied to environmental sanitation, infection control, and to the choice and use of antimicrobial agents in the disinfection, sanitization, and/or sterilization of surfaces and equipment; experience in laundry and linen management; experience in interior design management; experience that demonstrated a knowledge of waste management, including the requirements relating to hazardous, toxic, and infectious wastes and provisions for their final disposition; experience that demonstrated a knowledge of pest management, including alternative methods of control and the selection and application of chemicals; experience in determining budgetary needs and identifying long and short term goals involving operations of Environmental Management Service.

NOTE: Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment. Dates of employment must include month/year to month/year at a minimum to receive credit.

Time-In-Grade Requirement:

Applicants who are current Federal employees and have held a GS grade any time in the past 52 weeks must also meet time-in-grade requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

• For a GS-11 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-9.

The grade may have been in any occupation, but must have been held in the Federal service. An SF-50 that shows your time-in-grade eligibility must be submitted with your application materials. If the most recent SF-50 has an effective date within the past year, it may not clearly demonstrate you possess one-year time-in-grade, as required by the announcement. In this instance, you must provide an additional SF-50 that clearly demonstrates one-year time-in-grade.

Preferred Experience: Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) certification and EMS experience.


SCREEN-OUT ELEMENT: Your qualifications will first be evaluated against the prescribed screen out element, which usually appears as question 1 in the on-line questionnaire. Those applicants who appear to possess at least the minimal acceptable qualification requirement are considered for further rating; those who do not are rated ineligible and are eliminated. The potential eligibles are then rated against the remainder of the Job Elements:

• Analytical Reasoning
• Budget Administration
• Communications
• Leadership
• Planning and Evaluating
• Quality Management

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.

Note: A full year of work is considered to be 35-40 hours of work per week. Part-time experience will be credited on the basis of time actually spent in appropriate activities. Applicants wishing to receive credit for such experience must indicate clearly the nature of their duties and responsibilities in each position and the number of hours a week spent in such employment.

Physical Requirements: The work is sedentary although there may be some normal walking or standing for short periods or carrying light loads of papers, books, or reports that do not require special physical demands.

For more information on these qualification standards, please visit the United States Office of Personnel Management's website at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/classification-qualifications/general-schedule-qualification-standards/.

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 WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

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.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the 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.