This position supports implementation of VA's Green Environmental Management Systems (GEMS) and serves as GEMS Program Manager within the Safety & Occupational Health service at the Birmingham Veterans Affairs Health Care System (BVAHCS).

Duties

Major duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Advises the service and organization on the status of environmental programs and recommends changes to meet environmental requirements. Leads assessments, surveys, audits, and inspections to identify and evaluate programs implementation and compliance activities. Tracks regulatory deadlines, shipping, transportation, locations, and hazardous materials and waste volumes. Maintains 100% accountability of waste manifests. Manages environmental permits, ensuring permits are written, followed, and modified to avoid violations. Develops reporting and remedial actions to track and close out non-compliance findings. Analyzes and proposes recommendations for capital improvements and expenditures affecting programs and service areas. Acts as contracting officer's representative (COR) on environmental project and administrative contracts. Reviews construction projects and existing infrastructure to determine the impact on the healthcare system's environmental footprint and human health. Serves as subject matter expert on regional and national committees to address emerging environmental issues that may impact VA facilities. Performs other related duties as assigned. Work Schedule: Mon-Fri, 7:30am - 4:00pm. Work schedule subject to change based on agency needs. Telework: Ad-hoc Virtual: This is not a virtual position Position Description Title/PD#: Environmental Protection Specialist - GEMS Program Manager/PD113680 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not authorized Financial Disclosure Report: Not required

Requirements

• You must be a U.S. citizen to apply for this job
• Subject to a background/suitability investigation
• May serve a probationary period
• Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959
• A complete application package (i.e., resume, transcripts, etc.)
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)
• Participation in the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Personnel

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 01/08/2025. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below: SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE: Applicants must possess one (1) year of specialized experience that equipped them with the particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully the duties of this position, and that is typically in or related to the work of this position. To be creditable, this specialized experience must have been equivalent to at least the GS-09 grade level in the federal service. Specialized experience includes expertise in environmental sciences or related fields (e.g., biology, ecology, chemistry, hydrology, radiation physics, environmental law, real property functions, or statistics) sufficient to: assess and correlate environmental data, verify results, and discuss technical aspects of work with scientists, engineers, and other environmental experts; monitor environmental programs or projects for compliance with federal laws, regulations, and guidance; and protect and improve the quality of the environment and its resources. OR SUBSTITUTION OF EDUCATION FOR EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Applicants must possess a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree, or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree, orLL.M., if related. This education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. OR COMBINING EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE (TRANSCRIPT REQUIRED) - Combination of successfully completed graduate education and experience may be used to meet total qualification requirements. You will be rated on the following Competencies as part of the assessment questionnaire for this position: Communications, Compliance, Environmental Engineering, Planning and Evaluating, and Technical 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, and 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. 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 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 additional SF-50s that clearly demonstrates your 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. Physical Requirements and work conditions: Work includes frequent audits of waste storage areas and involves a good deal of walking, standing, bending, hand dexterity, climbing, carrying items, and driving a government motor vehicle. Exposure to toxic chemicals, biohazards, physical stressors, and other safety hazards may occur. Must be comfortable using various protective equipment, clothing, or gear. All positions involving Federal motor vehicle operation carry the additional medical requirements specified in 5 CFR 930 and the "General Policies and Instructions" section. 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: http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ous/international/usnei/us/edlite-visitus-forrecog.html.

Contacts

• Address Birmingham VA Medical Center 700 South 19th Street Birmingham, AL 35233 US
• Name: Yvonne Fessehaye
• Phone: (202) 717-3936
• Email: [email protected]