Clarification from the agency

Status Candidates (i.e. Current permanent employees of the Department of VA including VA Title 38, Title 38 Hybrid, and Canteen employees covered by the interchange agreement; All federal employees serving on a Career/Career-Conditional appointment; Former competitive civil service employees eligible for reinstatement; Veterans eligible under the VEO Act; 30% Disabled Veterans; VRA; Those eligible under the Employment Program for People with Disabilities; Those eligible under CTAP/ICTAP)

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Duties Include but may not be limited to the following:

• Develop and implement health care system environmental policies, procedures, process improvements, and systems for environmental compliance and environmental management systems, focusing on meeting compliance requirements while reducing generation of wastes and increasing overall sustainability of the health care system
• Review how expansion, modification, closures of existing facilities and infrastructure and new construction of structures and infrastructures will impact the environmental footprint of the health care system. The employee will provide sustainable solutions to minimize impacts to human health and the environment
• Maintains current files of local, state, and federal pollution control regulations and ensures that documentation is maintained to demonstrate compliance with regulations
• Planning, and implementation of program policy and procedures ensuring compliance with environmental laws and regulations, as well as timely tracking of regulatory deadlines, shipping schedules, and hazardous waste locations and volumes
• Develop and implement quality control and quality assurance practices for existing processes as well as for any new processes introduced or modified. The employee will collect, maintain, and evaluate data for significant trends leading to process improvements
• Evaluates the need for additional or improved facilities and personnel development pursuant to applicable local, state, and federal requirements. Analyzes and proposes recommendations concerning capital improvement of expenditures affecting specific programs and service areas
• Functions as the lead and Subject Matter Expert on any new and emerging contaminant and pollution issues and is expected to coordinate all associated activities with reducing, removing, and preventing pollution. The employee will display initiative and originality in the solution of varied, complex, an often obscure problems, as well as apply new scientific development and theories to critical and novel problems
• Provides expertise to ensure that the contractor follows the contract to ensure that the health care system maintains compliance with regulations and requirements
• Makes well informed, effective and timely decisions based on mission and guidelines of organization, demand of customers, and understands how these decisions impact the various reporting levels of the medical center, the Network and VACO, as well as other peer professionals in the VA and the surrounding community
• Advise organizations and services on procedural methods and process improvements, lead sustainability evaluations that cover a wide variety of environmental aspects and impacts and will oversee other environmental investigations and remedial actions
• Communicates orally and in writing with many employees in the health care system including Service Chiefs, Supervisors, Union Officials, Industrial Hygienist, Physicians, Safety and Engineer Specialist in a clear, concise, organized, and convincing manner for the intended audience internal and external to the organization
• Advises senior level management officials within the health care systems on the status of environmental programs and recommends changes in the process to meet new environmental requirements and/or reduce environmental impact
• Responsible for coordinating spill response, responding as needed, and reporting releases to appropriate entities and agencies. Manages the spill prevention and response plan.
• Lead facility self-assessments, conduct significant surveys and inspections to determine compliance with applicable state, local, and federal environmental regulations and evaluate program implementation
• Manages environmental permits, ensuring that permits are written, followed, and modified as needed and completes all required actions to avoid violating permit requirements. Works with other services, including Engineering, to ensure that permits are written, updated, and submitted as required

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:30am-4:00pm
Telework: This position may be authorized for Ad Hoc telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process.
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Environmental Protection Specialist/PD30530-0
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized
Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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
• 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)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period 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 probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/30/2026.

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.

Note: Time-In-Grade requirements also apply to former Federal employees applying for reinstatement as well as current employees applying for Veterans Employment Opportunities Act of 1998 (VEOA) appointment.

You may qualify based on your experience and/or education, as described below:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of Specialized Experience may include, but are not limited to: 1. knowledge of the principles, practices, and methods of program or administrative work relating to environmental protection program 2. knowledge of one or more environmental sciences or related fields (e.g. biology, ecology, chemistry, hydrology, radiation physics, environmental law, real property functions, or statistics) sufficient to assess and correlate environmental data, verify results, and discuss technical aspects of work with scientists, engineers, and other environmental experts 3. knowledge of environmental laws and regulations 4. ability to plan, organize, implement, and evaluate environmental programs 5. knowledge of the policies, organization, operations, work practices, and environmental parameters of regulated industries OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must meet one of the following education requirements:
  • Ph. D. or equivalent doctoral degree
  • 3 full years of progressively higher level graduate work leading to such a degree
  • LL.M. (if related to Environmental Protection). OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond. Combinations of successfully completed post-high school education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements for the grade level, and may be computed by first determining the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level; then determining the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level; and then adding the two percentages. The total percentages must equal at least 100 percent to qualify an applicant for the grade level. Only graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level may be used to qualify applicants for positions at grades GS-9 and GS-11.

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Communications
• Compliance Inspection
• Leadership
• Planning and Evaluating
• Technical Competence

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 includes frequent audits of waste storage areas and many other areas of the health care system, collection and consolidation of wastes across the health care system, and clean-up of hazardous materials and wastes. The work involves walking, standing, bending, hand dexterity, climbing, carrying of items, and driving of government motor vehicles. During audits and inspections, there is regular exposure to all the hazards and discomforts to which workers in the areas are subjected This may include toxic chemicals, biohazards, physical stressors, and safety hazards.

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.

Eligible applicants will be referred in the following order, by Area of Consideration:

1.) Current/Permanent employees at Lexington VA HCS and affiliated CBOCs (Station 596)
2.) Current/Permanent employees for Department of Veterans Affairs
3.) Other Federal Employees
4.) Status Candidates

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.