The VHA Office of Emergency Management (OEM) 1ONA1 is within the VHA Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Operations and Management (1ONA). VHA OEM is a national program office with staff strategically placed across the nation. The incumbent is responsible for Emergency Management (EM) work preparing for and carrying out or coordinating emergency functions to prevent, protect from, mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters.

Duties

Duties: Watch Officers Establish and maintain VHA situational awareness and common operating picture in Support VHA senior leadership and VHA's Comprehensive Emergency Management Program (CEMP) to ensure the continuity of medical and hospital services for Veterans, and during a disaster or emergency, to civilians, as appropriate. This includes support to VISNs, VAMCs and associated facilities, and emergency planning and response functions with other federal, regional, state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) partners. The following are the principal duties and responsibilities of this position: Identify, collect, fuse, analyze, and disseminate data and information obtained through various secured and unsecured sources, including open-source reports, social media, and information from federal, state, or local sources, to facilitate VHA leadership situational awareness and decision-making and when required, emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery activities. Develop intelligence and informational products related to threats to VHA operations and security and uses analytics to develop CEMP-related steady-state reports as required. Review and update existing Watch Office emergency preparedness and response plans and procedures in accordance with the NRF and NIMS. When required, issue emergency alerts and notifications consistent with established procedures at various levels of the VHA from senior leadership to OEM Senior Leadership and field staff to initiate emergency response operations. Use existing automated alert systems and rudimentary alert and notification systems such as telephone, email, or other when necessary. Maintain continuous information stream with VHA leadership and other parties as required and establishes emergency reporting and recording functions until replaced by other formal structures such as the EMCC. Provide liaison role between VHA leadership, VHA Healthcare Operations Center (HOC), VHA OEM, VISNs, VAMCs and associated facilities, and other entities as required with the VA IOC. Incumbent possesses a broad background in health care delivery, functions as an advocate for VHA facilities and personnel to effectively and accurately represents their capabilities and requirements in emergency situations. Resolve problems through personal contacts, obtains expedited decisions on urgent matters, and otherwise assists facilities in obtaining responsive action for their requests. Coordinate operational plans and emergency response activities between the EMCC, VA IOC, National Cemetery Administration (NCA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), VA Program Offices, and other Federal, State and local government and support entities as required. Assists in developing, coordinating, and monitoring VHA requirements in support of COOP and Continuity of Government (COG), Crisis Response Team, Emergency Relocation Group (ERG) activations and associated inter/intra agency exercises. The duties, responsibilities, and requirements of the overarching Emergency Management Specialist Position Description applies to the VHA Watch Officer. Provide full spectrum geospatial studies and analysis in support of the VHA senior leadership and VHA's CEMP to ensure the continuity of medical and hospital services for Veterans, and during a disaster or emergency, to civilians, as appropriate. This includes support to VISNs, VAMCs and associated facilities, and emergency planning and response functions with other federal, regional, state, local, tribal, and territorial(SLTT) partners. During steady state operations, the Watch Officer must coordinate the production of GIS products that facilitate trending, predictive analysis, tactical and strategic level programmatic decision making, and overall fusion of information and creation of products that advance VHA emergency preparedness and management and the whole of government emergency program coordination. Develop and or coordinate the employment of information-sharing tools, both secure and unsecured, to disseminate VHA emergency or programmatic emergency preparedness and management information to internal and external communities of interest. Work Schedule: 12 hour Rotating Shifts Telework: VA supports the use of telework as a way to help attract and retain talented individuals in public service, increase worker productivity, and better prepare the agency to operate during emergencies. This position may be authorized for telework. Telework eligibility will be discussed during the interview process. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Emergency Management Specialist (Watch Officer)/PD19029A Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 12/19/2023. 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-13 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-12. 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-12 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: working knowledge of quantitative and qualitative methods and techniques is needed to develop and support complex national emergency preparedness missions; working knowledge of exercise design, development, control and execution on a national level; evaluate the content of the new and or modified legislation for the projected impact on programs and resources; advanced management and organizational principles and practices along with a comprehensive knowledge of planning programming, budgeting regulations, guidelines and processes; and working with direct complex studies requiring application of advanced analytical and statistical methods and techniques. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: 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 during non-emergency situations. However, participation in field exercises and operational support missions may require strenuous physical activity to include carrying persons and equipment, walking long distances over difficult terrain, running, climbing, working long hours in primitive or arduous conditions, long periods of standing, and bending and stooping. 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

There is no educational substitution at this grade level.

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 VSHO - Operations 2402 Wildwood Ave Suite 301 Sherwood, AR 72120 US
• Name: VHA National Recruitment Center
• Phone: (844)456-5208
• Email: [email protected]