Clarification from the agency

Open to all US Citizens and current permanent Federal employees of other agencies. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this position. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

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The Supervisory Projects Engineer manage construction projects. They ensure that all hospital design and construction projects comply with a multitude of accreditation and regulatory requirements including, but not limited to the Joint Commission (TJC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In summary, Supervisory Project Engineers apply engineering concepts and methodologies to enhance the delivery of healthcare by providing a technologically advanced, safe, and reliable healthcare environment through design and construction.

Major Duties Include but not limited to:

• Makes recommendations to the Chief of Engineering for final approval, and has responsibility and accountability for all aspects of the Medical Center Design and Construction program and oversight.
• Collaborates with operations and program managers to ensure integrated goals and priorities for all projects are met.
• Works closely with peers in other service lines to meet their project needs as internal customers and the needs of external customers as well.
• Planning, organizing, directing, evaluating and management processes for the Engineering Service Project Section that includes setting qualitative and quantitative standards.
• Provides professional and technical guidance and direction and review of assigned programs, including professional engineering work in serval disciplines such as: architecture, civil engineering, energy engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, structural engineering, environmental engineering, fire safety and safety engineering.
• Manages Human Resources functions such as hiring, performance, training and development. Ensures internal personnel-related programs are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner. Communicates agency and local policies and priorities to all employees within the projects section; delegates to subordinates the authority and responsibility to carry out assigned tasks; follows progress of each and recommends improvement; ensures labor/management relations are maintained in accordance with medical center policy and procedures; and that other requirements such as effective use of performance standards, EEO policies, and other personnel-related rules and regulations are enforced.
• Provides technical advice on a wide range of engineering issues, including the Strategic Capital Investment Plan, Capital Asset Inventory, Capital Asset Resource Survey, Deferred Maintenance, and a myriad of engineering related topics.
• Mentor newer engineers and help them as they learn the things they need to know to successfully perform in Projects Section.
• Participate on station, VISN, and national committees and work groups.
• Participates in discussion of proposed capital projects for the station and makes preliminary designs of major alterations, improvements, and additions to implement the Medical Center programs.
• Provide professional engineering direction to ensure compliance with legislative and accrediting requirements at the Medical Center for all design and construction projects. These requirements include Federal (e.g., OSHA, EPA, Food and Drug Administration, etc.), state, and local authorities having specific jurisdiction concerning protection and quality of life and environment, as well as accrediting bodies (e.g., Joint Commission, College of American Pathologists, etc.).
• Responsible for the implementation of the Medical Center's capital improvement program.
• Develops technical data regarding materials, sizes, dimensions, quantities, and costs to be incorporated in formal specifications. Conducts site visits. Ensures construction is conducted in accordance with established specifications including but not limited to VA Construction and Facilities Management (CFM) Standards, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Facility Guidelines Institute (FGI), American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards, US Pharmacopeia (USP) 797/800 Standards.
• Provides for the financial management of the project section.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm
Functional Statement #: Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, 460-06501-F
Compressed/Flexible: Not Available
Telework: Ad Hoc
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.
• 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.

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:

a. Citizenship. Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a).

b. Education.

(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.

c. Grandfathering Provision. All individuals employed in VHA in this occupational series or in another occupational series performing the duties as described in the qualification standard on the effective date of this qualification standard, are considered to have met all the qualification requirements for the grade held including positive education that is part of the basic requirements of the occupation. For employees who do not meet all the basic requirements of this standard, but met the qualifications applicable to the position at the time they were appointed to the position, the following provisions apply:
(1) Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions.
(2) Employees in an occupation that requires a licensure/certification/registration only at higher grade levels must meet the licensure/certification/registration requirement before they can be promoted to those higher grade levels.
(3) Employees 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.
(4) Employees 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.
(5) Employees initially grandfathered into this occupation, who subsequently obtain additional education and/or licensure/registration that meet all the basic requirements of this qualification standard must maintain the required credentials as a condition of employment in the occupation.

d. 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 as outlined in paragraph 3.b. of this appendix.

e. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

f. English Language Proficiency. Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).

Grade Determinations:

Experience Requirement:

In addition to meeting the basic requirements, do you possess one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level (GS-12)

Examples of specialized experience include:

• Demonstrate intimate grasp of high order healthcare engineering and capital subject matter.
• Serve as institutional resources for healthcare delivery processes and systems, working extensively with clinical stakeholders, acquisition staff, contractors and executive leadership by leading healthcare engineering programs, technology assessments, integration planning and implementation of both current and emerging technologies.
• Contribute to the education of clinical staff, planners and leadership to ensure safe and efficient healthcare delivery.
• Plan, execute and document highly complex, multi-faceted healthcare facility construction projects and inspections while prioritizing resources against approved scopes of work, contract documents and budgets.
• Identify problems and develop innovative solutions within the context of applicable rules, regulations and procedures, as it relates to the healthcare environment.

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 data analysis techniques related to managing workload, quality, performance and productivity within the area of responsibility.
(b) Knowledge related to the management of overall department resources, (i.e., finances space, equipment, supplies, schedules and staffing) at the local level.
(c) Knowledge of the full range of supervisory duties, which include responsibility for assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, training and development, recommendation of awards, advancements and disciplinary actions.
(d) Skill in using effective communication in managing interpersonal relationships, leading and dealing with employees, team leaders, labor representatives and managers.
(e) Ability to balance multiple responsibilities, set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems and develop and implement effective solutions that result in efficient operations.
(f) Ability to draft and/or recommend local policies and/or directives related to healthcare engineering management.
(g) Ability to recognize and assess evolving scenarios, utilizing initiative, self-direction and assigned resources to affect resolutions.

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

Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination.

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.