The Assistant Chief must be competent in many aspects of managing VHA Healthcare Facility Engineering Programs, including Interdisciplinary Engineering Coordination and Integration; Facility Maintenance and Operations Management; Construction Development, Management, and Oversight; Healthcare Facility Engineering Program Administration; Healthcare Regulatory, Safety, and Accreditation Compliance; Strategic Planning; Technical Personnel Supervision; and VA .

Duties

This position serves as the Deputy (Assistant Chief) of Facilities Management Service at the Washington DC, Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare System as the full alter ego of the Chief with responsibility for the professional Engineering programs such as Maintenance and Repair, Utility Plant Operations, Energy Management and Conservation Program, Safety, Fire Prevention, Industrial Hygiene, Emergency Preparedness, Green Environmental Management, Vehicle Fleet, Grounds, Capital Planning, and Construction Project Management section at a multi-faceted and affiliated VA Medical Center, including outlying Community-Based Outpatient Clinics. The Assistant Chief Engineer is responsible for strengthening and enhancing healthcare facility engineering and operations. The Assistant Chief Engineer is a key managerial advisor reporting directly to the Chief Engineer. This position acts in the full authority and capacity of the Chief in his/her absence and is relied on for authoritative advice on all aspects of engineering matters. This position is a fully participating technical advisor in all or almost all significant management planning, policy, and decision-making actions of the Medical Center, except those of a primarily medical nature. This position is involved with long and short-range planning, establishing policy, and budgeting for the Medical Center, as well as for all Engineering Service programs The Assistant Chief of engineering Service provides management support and technical expert consultation to the Chief Engineer for all issues relative to the areas listed above. This position has significant decision-making authority, responsibility, and accountability on issues affecting all of Engineering Service. This position collaborates with operations and program managers to ensure integrated goals and priorities for Engineering Service are met. This position also works closely with peers in other service lines to meet their needs as internal customers and the needs of external customers as well. The Assistant Chief Engineer facilitates stakeholder understanding of clinic program desires and engineering, technical, facility, and infrastructure requirements and capabilities. The Assistant Chief is knowledgeable of and plays an integral role in the accomplishment of overall VISN and Medical Center goals, missions, and priorities to ensure a positive impact on other programs and resources Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 7:30 am - 4:00 pm Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: May be Authorized for highly qualified applicants. Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

Qualifications

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency. Serving in a direct patient-care capacity must be proficient in spoken and written English. Physical Requirements. See the physical below or See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. Education: 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 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 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. NOTE: 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. Grandfathering Provision. See below under Education. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates: Supervisory Healthcare Engineer (Deputy), GS-13 Experience - Must have one year of experience equivalent to the next lower (GS-12) grade level. GS-12 Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to meeting the experience requirements for this grade level, the candidate must fully demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of mechanical, electrical, structural, civil, and other engineering/architectural principles, practices, and their applications in the healthcare environment. Knowledge of healthcare industry standards and related regulatory agency and organization (including, but not limited to, The Joint Commission (TJC), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA), etc.) regulations, requirements, guides, policies, procedures, directives, standards, and general medical program requirements as they relate to healthcare engineering. Knowledge of construction standards, methods, practices and techniques, materials, and equipment to determine compliance with engineering regulations and standards. Skill in researching and analyzing information, conditions, human factors, and projections to make sound engineering and business recommendations and decisions to proactively identify problems and develop innovative solutions within the context of applicable rules, regulations, and procedures. Ability to plan and execute complex, multi-faceted projects and inspections while prioritizing resources against approved scopes of work, contract documents, and budgets. Ability to organize and lead multi-disciplinary task forces with members from different departments and divisions, as well as design and construction firms. AND GS-13 Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must fully demonstrate ALL the following KSAs. Knowledge of the management of overall healthcare system resources (i.e., finances, space, equipment, supplies, schedules and staffing). Knowledge of mechanical, electrical, structural, civil and other engineering/architectural principles, practices and their applications as related to healthcare facilities. Skill in using effective communication in managing interpersonal relationships with internal and external customers, stakeholders, executive leadership, labor representatives and managers. Skill in balancing priorities, delegating tasks and meeting multiple competing deadlines. Skill in interpreting broad or general national policies and guidelines and adapting/applying them to specific compliant programs at the local healthcare system. Skill in recognizing and assessing evolving scenarios, utilizing initiative, self-direction and assigned resources to affect resolutions. Ability to analyze complex organizational problems and develop and implement effective solutions that result in efficient operations. Ability to anticipate, develop and implement strategies in meeting the healthcare system's short term and long-term strategic goals in a highly fluid environment. Ability to ensure compliance with healthcare industry standards and regulatory agency and organization (including but not limited to TJC, OSHA, NFPA, etc.), regulations, requirements, guides, policies, procedures, directives and general medical program requirements as they relate to healthcare engineering. Ability to interview candidates for positions, recommend appointments, advancements, or when appropriate, disciplinary actions; evaluate performance and identify continuing education and training needs. Preferred Experience: Healthcare experience, experience with managing aging structures and large facilities with remote facilities. References: VA Handbook 5005/150 March 18, 2022 Part II Appendix G72 Work Environment / Physical Requirements: The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, training rooms, and libraries. The work area is adequately lighted, heated, and ventilated. The Chief Engineer must also work outdoors in all types of weather. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites. The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required, e.g., walking, standing, climbing ladders, stooping, kneeling, and carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle. Assignment. For all supervisory assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity, difficulty, range of variety and be performed by the incumbent as a major duty at least 25% of the time. The incumbent must supervise staff for at least 25% of the time, administratively and technically at the full performance grade level or below. This Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, GS-13, position is the deputy to the Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, GS 14, who supervises professional engineers and other support staff. They supervise the engineering service to accomplish its operations. The deputy, as an assistant chief, in this position exercises the full range of supervisory responsibility to include but not limited to development of performance standards and performance evaluations, recommendations for appointment, awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions and identification of continuing training needs. The deputy provides a safe, reliable and precisely controlled operating environment for direct patient care. They educate and advise clinical staff on the safe use of critical building features, utility systems and fire prevention systems as they relate to the environment of care.

Education

IMPORTANT: A transcript must be submitted with your application if you are basing all or part of your qualifications on education.

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.

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 my 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.

Contacts

• Address Washington VA Medical Center 50 Irving Street, Northwest Washington, DC 20422 US
• Name: Carla White
• Phone: 1-832-316-9423
• Email: [email protected]