Clarification from the agency

Open to Current, Permanent employees of the James H. Quillen VAMC and associated CBOC's.

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Duties include but are not limited to:

• Performs technical, administrative, or professional work involving managing, administering, operating or supporting services and programs related to the operation and safety of Federal facilities.
• Fully responsible for planning, organizing, directing, controlling and evaluating the entire program to include budgetary control and assessments.
• Implements policies, procedures, standards and goals.
• Develops and applies a program of management review appraisal and improvement.
• Assures the entire program operates at a high level of effectiveness within ceiling and budget constraints.
• 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.
• Develops cleaning procedures, frequency of cleaning schedules, and cleaning supply usage instructions designed to maintain high quality visual and bacteriological cleanliness of all floors, walls, ceilings, bathroom fixtures, furniture, housekeeping equipment, window treatments, cubicle curtains, light fixtures, stairwells, waste cans, and items.
• Maintaining the cleanliness by conducting an extensive in-service Sanitation Inspection Program covering the entire medical center.
• Initiating and closely monitoring bacteriological surveillance being conducted throughout the Medical Center.
• Develops specifications for and coordinate the operations of contract window washing services, as well as any other contracts necessary to fulfill the above responsibilities.
• Serves as the Contracting Officers Representative (COR) for the administration of Pest Control Services to include the control of all rodents and pests from both the interior and exterior of the facility.
• Develops specifications, treatment areas, and frequency of treatment schedules, interpret local, state and Federal directives and guidelines regarding the type, use and storage of various pesticides and rodenticides and ensure compliance.
• Develops new ways to resolve major EMS problems or planning the most significant management aspects of the medical center-wide EMS improvement program; developing administrative guidelines and policy to conduct program operations; and/or developing new criteria for measuring program accomplishments.

Work Schedule: Tuesday- Friday 6:00am- 4:30pm
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Assistant Hospital Housekeeping Officer/PD60604-0
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 identification 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, 07/09/2026.

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

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.

In addition to meeting time-in-grade, applicants must meet the following IOR and specialized experience:

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. OR,
• 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.

In addition to meeting the time-in-grade requirement and Individual Occupational Requirement, applicants must also possess the following specialized experience:

• Specialized Experience: Applicant's 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. Specialized experience is defined as experiencegained in 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.

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

• Clerical
• Conflict Management
• Contracting/Procurement
• Decision Making
• Manages and Organizes Information
• Written Communication

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 nominal 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.