The employee will serve as an Engineering Technician for the Sioux Falls VA Healthcare System and assist staff members in planning, engineering management, operation, and overall coordination in all matters related to conventional projects. ***Recruitment Incentive may be authorized for highly qualified candidate only determined by hiring officials ***

Duties

This position involves a multi-grade career ladder. The major duties listed below represent the full performance level of GS-9. At the GS-7 and GS-8 grade levels, you will perform assignments of a more limited scope and with less independence. You will progressively acquire the background necessary to perform at the full performance level of GS-9. Promotion is at the discretion of the supervisor and is contingent upon satisfactory performance, availability of higher-level work, and availability of funds. Major duties include but are not limited to: Assist senior staff members in planning, engineering management, operation, and overall coordination; and for providing advice, assistance and information on all matters related to assigned conventional projects of moderate complexity Coordination of project work requirements with other technical and administrative elements within the agency Applies standardized knowledge of engineering principles, methods, techniques, and criteria to projects that are conventional in nature Provides engineering services associated with job order contracting and construction to include evaluating tenant requirements; to establish scope of work; design criteria; and estimates of design time and costs; providing technical assistance to support contract administration; accomplishing study/design requirements; and preparing/coordinating design packages for renovations, repairs and or alterations Serves as a central point-of-contact for status of all engineering work requests of a short-term nature Reviews work requests for feasibility, compliance with restrictions imposed by regulatory and statutory directives and the impact of the planned operation and maintenance of the installation Ensures that work requests are processed in accordance with established operating procedures, that they are checked for duplication, and they are processed in accordance with approved priorities Stays abreast of overall developments to the degree required to achieve desired customer support improvements Inspects, reviews, and analyzes a variety of issues for deficiencies and/or performance issues; identifying corrective action and following through to ensure corrections occur Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. Selection at a lower grade level does not guarantee promotion to the full performance level. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Engineering Technician - Recruitment Incentive/PD23495-A, PD23379-A, and PD23494-A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized for highly qualified candidates only TBD by hiring officials Financial Disclosure Report: Not required Bargaining Unit Position: Yes - AFGE Preferred Experience: Skill reading construction drawings and specifications Skills with Microsoft Office Excel and Word programs Project management Physical Requirements: The work involves moderate physical demands in terms of inspections, investigations, and surveys of facilities. There is commonly some physical exertion such as long periods of standing, walking, stooping, bending, and climbing. Work Environment: The work is performed in a well-lighted, heated, and ventilated space. The space is easily accessible by elevators or stairs. Normal office safety measures prevail. There is a fair amount of discomfort associated with construction sites on a recurring basis. The employee may have to wear safety equipment such as hard hats or safety shoes and be exposed to environmental hazards such as dust, high noise, fumes, and extreme temperatures. The VA Midwest Health Care Network advocates for a Whole Health System of care in each of the Medical Centers. This is an approach to healthcare that empowers and equips people to take charge of their health and well-being and live their lives to the fullest. As an employee operating in a Whole Health System of care, you will operate in a model with three core elements, seeking to create a personalized health plan for each Veteran. This is done in the context of healing relationships and healing environments and a connection back to the Veteran's community. This aligns with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Mission Statement to Honor America's Veterans by providing exceptional health care that improves their health and well-being.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 09/22/2023. 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-07 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-06; for a GS-08 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-07; and for a GS-09 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-08. 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. Individual Occupational Requirement: This series covers technical positions supervising, leading, or performing work involving applying a practical knowledge of the: methods and techniques of engineering or architecture; and construction, application, properties, operations, and limitations of engineering systems, processes, structures, machinery, devices, and materials. Basic Requirements: Examples of qualifying specialized experience include technical work in: drafting, surveying construction estimating, physical science, mathematics, aerospace, architecture, chemicals, electrical or mechanical systems, mining, petroleum, or nuclear systems. Experience in a trade or craft may be credited as specialized experience when the work provided intensive knowledge of engineering principles, techniques, methods, and precedents. Examples are trade positions with substantial developmental, test, or design responsibilities such as: Planner and estimator who analyzed designs for production purposes. Instrument maker or model maker who performed design or development work on devices fabricated. Certification: Engineering technicians may be certified by the National Institute for Certification in Engineering Technologies, an organization sponsored by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Certification by the Institute will be helpful as a measure of the technician's quality of experience. You must qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: Minimum Qualifications - GS-07 (Developmental): Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-06) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include what is stated above, as well as, but not limited to: engineering services associated with job order contracting and construction (such as design criteria and cost estimates); assisting with study/design requirements; and utilizing various software systems, such as AutoCAD (Computer Aided Design) to complete a variety of tasks, i.e., analyzing data and maintaining work files. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one full year of graduate education directly related to the work of the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. Minimum Qualifications - GS-08 (Developmental): Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include what is stated above, as well as, but not limited to: engineering services associated with job order contracting and construction to include evaluating tenant requirements, establishing scope of work, design criteria, and estimates of design time and costs; assisting with study/design requirements; assisting with the preparation/coordination of design packages for renovations, repairs, and/or alterations; and utilizing various software systems, including AutoCAD to complete a variety of tasks, i.e., analyzing data and maintaining work files. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have one- and one-half year of graduate education (27 semester hours) directly related to the work of the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first year of graduate education. Minimum Qualifications - GS-09 (Full Performance): Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-07) in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include what is stated above, as well as, but not limited to: engineering services associated with job order contracting and construction to include evaluating tenant requirements, establishing scope of work, design criteria, and estimates of design time and costs; providing technical assistance to support contract administration; accomplishing study/design requirements; preparing/coordinating design packages for renovations, repairs, and/or alterations; and utilizing various software systems, including AutoCAD to complete a variety of tasks, i.e., analyzing data and maintaining work files. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have two (2) full years of graduate education that is directly related to the work of the position. OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have a combination of specialized experience and education beyond the first year of graduate education. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Building and ConstructionOrganizational AwarenessPlanning and EvaluatingSelf-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. 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/.

Education

A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education. Transcripts must be legible and contain sufficient information (e.g., student name, name of institution, total number of credits completed, etc.) to show you meet the requirements as specified in the announcement.

An academic year of graduate education is considered to be the number of credit hours that the school attended has determined to represent 1 academic year of full-time study. This determination is made based on normal course loads for a full year of study in the graduate program. If that information cannot be obtained from your transcript or other official documentation, 18 semester hours or 27 quarter hours should be considered as satisfying the 1 year of full-time study requirement. Part-time graduate education is creditable in accordance with its relationship to a year of full-time study at the school attended.

When academic credit is expressed in contract months, units, or other terms that differ from conventional semester or quarter hours, it is the responsibility of the applicant to provide an interpretation of such credits from the appropriate institution in order to equate them to the semester or quarter hours specified in the standard.

To credit combinations of education and experience, HR staff will first determine the applicant's total qualifying experience as a percentage of the experience required for the grade level. Next, HR staff determine the applicant's education as a percentage of the education required for the grade level. Finally, HR staff will add the two percentages. The total percentage must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. For example:

• An applicant has 6 months of specialized experience equivalent to GS-8 and 1 year of graduate level education. The applicant meets 50 percent of the required experience but none of the required education since he or she does not have any graduate study beyond one full year of graduate level education. Therefore, the applicant meets only 50 percent of the total requirement and is not qualified for the position. (The applicant's first year of graduate study is not qualifying for GS-9.)

Note: Only education or degrees recognized by the U.S. Department of Education from accredited colleges, universities, schools, or institutions may be used to qualify for Federal employment. You can verify your education here: http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/. If you are using foreign education to meet qualification requirements, you must send a Certificate of Foreign Equivalency with your transcript in order to receive credit for that education. For further information, visit: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Royal C Johnson Veterans Memorial Hospital 2501 West 22nd Street Sioux Falls, SD 57105 US
• Name: Tracy Casady
• Phone: 402-995-4028
• Email: [email protected]