The Environmental Care Specialist is responsible for the development, preparation, coordination, and ongoing maintenance of the Environment of Care Program (EOC) at the Atlanta VA Health Care System (VAHCS). The incumbent, in close collaboration with the Supervisory Industrial Hygienist, is responsible for coordinating the AV AHCS EOC program including Safety Management, Hazardous Materials, and Emergency Management.

Duties

Major Duties include but are not limited to: Conducts assessments and evaluations to determine the effectiveness of various safety and Environmental Care Specialist related training programs and provides a summary report which includes recommendations to improve the effectiveness. Tracks a variety of inspection reports to ensure the timely completion of action items, including the Annual Workplace Evaluation, Environmental Audit, and Life Safety Code deficiencies. Summary reports are provided to the EOC Council and Governance Board. Tracks Environmental Health & Safety Department action assignments to ensure timely completion of reports and other actions. Conducts critiques of fire drills and emergency exercises and provides a summary report which includes recommendations to improve the effectiveness. Tracks to resolution all employee reports of unsafe or unhealthy working conditions, maintains an official log, and provides reports to the EOC Council. Assists with inspection and management of inspection database, tracking reports, and updates to the system. Determines goals, objectives, and operational plans for the Environment of Care Program. The Incumbent participates in the development and approval of directives, policy matters, and related documents issued by the entire Atlanta VA Health Care System including the main campus in Decatur, GA, and its Offsite facilities. Maintains a working knowledge of all regulatory agency requirements as they pertain to the EOC Program. In addition, the incumbent responds to any requests, directives, reports, and/or inspections conducted by these agencies. Periodic contact is required with agencies included but not limited to TJC, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Committee on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), College of American Pathologists (CAP), and the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). Conducts a variety of collateral duties to support the Environmental Health and Safety Department. including respirator fit testing, new employee orientation, program audits, inspections, ergonomic assessments, compliance audits, and trending reports. Prepares a variety of reports for the EOC Council and Governance Board and provides an oral briefing to summarize results. Maintains the department SharePoint sites with current information, links, and resources. Coordinates the Environment of Care rounds team inspections, documentation of findings. attendance, and tracking action Items until resolved and provides reports to the EOC Council. Conducts training for Medical Center personnel in the various aspects of the EOC Program. The incumbent prepares the medical center's annual evaluation of the Environment of Care program, which Includes a review of the goals, performance, and key indicators for effectiveness. The assessment is reviewed annually and is coordinated through the Environment of Care Board. Serves as subject matter expert in EOC management plans and planning for the Environment of Care Program. Plans must incorporate· TJC requirements and follows VA guidelines. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:30pm; hours may change due to Agency need Compressed/Flexible: Not Authorized Telework: This position authorized for telework (Ad-hoc). Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Environmental Care Specialist/PD107340 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): 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, 05/15/2024. 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-09. 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 s described below: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to The incumbent must be experienced in Safety and Occupational Health or Industrial Hygienist functions, and have experience with Environment of Care rounding and compliance inspections. These functions are critical to managing the Environment of Care program for the Atlanta VA Health Care System. .OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have . OR, Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience.. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Administration and ManagementCommunicationsCompliance InspectionPersonnel Security and SafetyTechnical Competence 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 primarily sedentary. but may involve moderate physical effort including walking, climbing, bending, stooping, and light lifting when at field locations or conducting inspections. On occasion, the work requires the employee to wear personal protective equipment, such as a respirator. 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.

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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/.

Contacts

• Address Atlanta VA Medical Center 1670 Clairmont Road Decatur, GA 30033 US
• Name: Abdul Turay
• Phone: 919-286-0411 X178628
• Email: [email protected]