***FULL-TIME. DETAIL/TEMPORARY PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY - NTE 1 year, and may be extended without further competition. This detail/temporary promotion could become permanent without further competition.*** HT38 and T38 excepted service employees are not able to be detailed to this competitive service position. Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) agrees to pay authorized travel expenses incurred while on detail-travel to and from TVHS, lodging, meals and incidental expenses (M&IE).

Duties

***FULL-TIME. DETAIL/TEMPORARY PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY - NTE 1 year, and may be extended without further competition. This detail/temporary promotion could become permanent without further competition.*** Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS) agrees to pay authorized travel expenses incurred while on detail-travel to and from TVHS, lodging, meals and incidental expenses (M&IE). HT38 and T38 excepted service employees are not able to be detailed to this competitive service position. ******Supervisory Approval - Supervisory approval must be obtained prior to expressing interest in this opportunity.****** See template in the Required Documents Section below The Hospital Housekeeping Officer (HHO) serves as Chief, Environmental Management Service, VA Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS). The HHO has overall responsibility for planning, direction, and management of a complex multi-site program designed to provide a sanitary and esthetically pleasing environment appropriate to a medical, surgical, clinical, long term care and research facility. The HHO has complete program responsibility for basic functions of environmental management as well as the expanded environmental management operations, such as hazardous waste management, infectious waste, solid waste, sharps management, doormats, restroom restoration, recycling, universal waste, document destruction, pest control, Contracting Officer Representative,(COR) for laundry operations, administration of the Patient Assistance Program (PAP) which provides for the receipt, storage and release of patient clothing, effects and valuables for the TVHS. Serve as consultant to leadership, both orally and in writing, directly or through committees concerning a variety of matters related to the Service in order to provide leadership with the information needed to make effective policy decisions. Ensure all service operations are in compliance with all applicable local, state (e.g., waste management application and disposal of pesticides), Veterans Administration Central Office, Joint Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. Develop strategies in conjunction with system goals and objectives and related current and projected plans, in order to ensure the Service program is current, responsive, and progressive. Plan, direct, and manage a complex multi-site program designed to provide a sanitary and esthetically pleasing environment appropriate to a medical, surgical, clinical, long-term care and research facility. Manage the pest control program maintaining compliance with all local, state, and Federal regulations. Manage contracts and coordinate issuance of contracts with outside agencies and landfill sites, as required, to ensure compliance with all local, state, and Federal regulatory requirements. Monitor the use of allocated resources by establishing adequate controls over their use based upon VA and local regulations, policies, and guides. Develop and maintain an in-service quality assurance program designed to ensure high-level sanitation is practiced through the Medical Center facilities. Provide instruction on blood borne pathogenic virus, public concern, and its control within the patient population and present a multiplicity of management decision making, consultative, technical, applied technology and public relation demands. Maintain knowledge in universal precautions applicable to resistant strains of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus or Tuberculosis microorganisms. Develop and ensure the implementation and day-to-day operation of an effective sanitation inspection program. Evaluate supplies, equipment, and procedures to determine which cost-effective ideas support continuation of a recycling program. Analyze short- and long-range resource needs (budge, staffing, space, equipment, plans for effective Service operations) by reviewing past activities, future objectives, facility plans and objectives, financial trends, and workload projections in order to determine resource requirements and prepare appropriate requests as required by VA policies and regulations. Establish and review project plans, coordinate and provide data on various situations involving construction projects. Establish and ensure the implementation and distribution procedures in order to ensure that an adequate supply of surgical linen is available at all times. Review and evaluate work activities or work products of employees and identify and prioritize training needs.

Requirements

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 08/09/2024 Applicants must meet each of the following requirements: Individual Occupational Requirement, time-in-grade and specialized experience. These are separate requirements. This position has an INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS (IOR) which is a basic requirement and must be met to qualify for entry into this job occupation series, and cannot be waived. To meet the basic requirement for the Hospital Housekeeping Officer series, applicants must possess or demonstrate one of the following. (Your resume must clearly demonstrate your experience) Individual Occupational Requirements 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. Graduate Education: Major study -- public health or business administration with emphasis in hospital administration. 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. In addition to the basic requirements and time-in-grade requirement outlined above, to qualify for this position, you must also meet the following grade requirements and specialized experience below. 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. Promotion Potential: The selectee may be promoted to the full performance level without further competition when all regulatory, qualification, and performance requirements are met. 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 are defined as: Directing a hospital housekeeping management program which includes policy making, planning, and managing all aspects of an environmental management program. Your experience must include experience in two or more of the following areas, or other work directly related to the position to be filled: 1) 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; 2) Experience in laundry and linen management; 3) Experience that demonstrated a knowledge of waste management, including the requirements relating to hazardous, toxic, and infectious wastes and provisions for their final disposition; 4) Experience that demonstrated knowledge of pest management, including alternative methods of control and the selection and application of chemicals. Preferred Experience: Experience supporting Executive Leadership Member in administrative and operational tasks, exemplary communication skills, particularly public speaking and written documentation. 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: This position requires regular and recurring physical exertion related to frequent inspections and surveys of patient areas, laboratories, warehouses, grounds, requiring that the incumbent perform considerable walking, standing, reaching, bending or other similar movements. This may require exposure to the elements as well as to extremes of heat and cold. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Decision MakingHazardous MaterialsInfection ControlPlanning and EvaluatingQuality AssuranceFor 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

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.

There is no educational substitution for specialized experience at the GS-13 level.

Contacts

• Address Tennessee Valley HCS - Nashville 1310 24th Avenue South Nashville, TN 37212 US
• Name: Lisa Purnell
• Phone: 312-569-8095
• Email: [email protected]