Clarification from the agency

Area of Consideration: Eligible applications will be reviewed and referred in the following order: 1. Current permanent VA employees of the Bob Stump VA Medical Center. 2. All other VA employees 3. Current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. 4. All other applicants NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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Supervisory Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing) - Assistant Chief is responsible for monitoring quality assurance to manage, direct and adapt work to accomplish program goals and objectives, and meet new and changing program requirements.

The major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Ensures national sterile processing standards are adhered to by staff and that staff are competent for reprocessing Reusable Medical Equipment (RME).
• Evaluates new products and equipment, develops options, and makes recommendations.
• Responsible for biological monitoring, recall procedures for internally sterilized materials, and other process controls relating to sterility assurance conducted within this section.
• Maintains an ongoing training program.
• Ensure that all employees meet the annual required Continuing Education Units (CEU) to maintain the National SPS Level One Certification.
• Sets deadlines, priorities, develops operating instructions, performance standards, identifies equipment requirements, and recommends methods to improve the quality and productivity of SPS.
• Manages, interprets, and presents fiscal data, forecasts resource and equipment need, and administers an allocation budget.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. but work schedule may be adjusted to meet the needs of the service.
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): May be authorized for highly qualified candidate at service discretion.
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized.
Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade).
Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year)
Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience.
Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child.
Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66.
Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA
Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement)
Telework: Not Available.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized.

Conditions of employment

• You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job.
• All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA.
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• Subject to background/security investigation.
• 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).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Qualifications

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.
• Experience and/or Education.
  1. Experience. Six months of experience that demonstrates the applicant's ability to perform the work or provides an understanding of the work; or
  2. Education. One year above high school that included at least 6 semester hours in health care related courses such as sterile processing, nursing assistant, hospital corpsman, and operating room and surgical technician courses or other courses related to the position; or
  3. Experience/Education Combination. Equivalent combination of experience and education are qualifying for entry level for which both education and experience are acceptable.
• Certification. None.
• Grandfathering Provision. All MSTs that are employed in VHA in this occupation on the effective date of this qualification standard are considered to have met all qualification requirements for the title, series and grade held, that are part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements required in this standard, but who met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to it, the following provisions apply:
  1. Employees grandfathered into the GS-622 occupational series as MSTs may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journeyman) level, or changed to lower grade within the occupation.
  2. MSTs who are appointed on a temporary basis prior to the effective date of the qualification standard may not have their temporary appointment extended or be reappointed, on a temporary or permanent basis until they fully meet the basic requirements of the standard.
  3. MSTs who are converted to title 38 hybrid status under this provision and subsequently leave the occupation lose protected status and must meet the full VA qualification standard requirements in effect at the time of reentry to the occupation.
• Foreign Education. To be creditable, education completed outside the U.S. must have been 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 that gained in conventional U. S. programs.

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).

GS-09 Supervisory Medical Supply Technician (Sterile Processing)-Assistant Chief Grade Determination:

• Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-08)
• Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
  1. Ability to plan and project staffing needs and requirements.
  2. Ability to manage, interact and deal with individuals of varying backgrounds.
  3. Ability to manage, direct and adapt work to accomplish program goals and objectives, and meet new and changing program requirements.
  4. Ability to develop and recommend new or revised policies that are consistent with organizational goals and objectives.
  5. Ability to perform a full range of supervisory duties, including assigning, planning and evaluating work, recommending awards, approving leave, identifying training needs, and resolving staff issues.
  6. Ability to evaluate new products and equipment, develop options, and make recommendations.
  7. Ability to manage, interpret, and present fiscal data (i.e. fund controls, contracts and equipment expenditures), forecast resource and equipment needs and administer an allocated budget.

Preferred Experience: The ideal candidate would have supervisory experience including writing evaluations/appraisals in a surgical, clinical, and/or sterile processing environment.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: This work involves both administrative and physical demands and is performed in various settings: decontamination, scope reprocessing, preparation, clean sterile supply, and in other services and departments throughout the medical facility and campus including clinical / administrative office spaces. The incumbent may be required to work in areas that are hot, cold, drafty and poorly lit. The employee is subject to the
possibility of falls, scrapes, cuts, bruises, needle sticks, and other injuries from handling equipment. The work requires standing and walking during the entire workday and frequent bending and lifting of sterile products and packages (occasionally weighing as much as 50 pounds). The work requires dexterity and visual acuity for manipulating, disassembly and assembly of instrumentation. On a regular and recurring basis, the employee alternates between a contaminated environment and a carefully controlled clean environment. The employee wears special clothing, hair and shoe covers, and personal protective equipment (PPE) that can be uncomfortably warm. The employee uses insulated gloves to remove carts from sterilizers. The employee is subject to burns from accidentally touching hot items. The hazards of working around minute quantities of sterilizing gases are unknown. The employee often works around body fluids, mucous, excretions and bits of tissue, some of which may be foul smelling. Strong, unpleasant odors are encountered while decontaminating bloody or grossly contaminated instrumentation or reusable medical equipment. The work area is noisy due to the clatter of metal instruments, rumbling of carts and operation of pre-sterilizing equipment.

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.