Supervisory Healthcare Engineer - Assistant Chief
What you'd do
This position serves as the Assistant Chief, Engineering Service as the full alter ego of the Chief with responsibility for the professional Engineering programs such as Maintenance and Repair, Utility Plant Operations, Capital Planning, and Construction Project Management section at a multi-faceted and affiliated VA Medical Center, including outlying Community Based Outpatient Clinics in the East Bay Division.
Major duties
Major Duties: 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 Inter-Administration Stakeholder Collaboration. This position is responsible for the planning, organizing, directing, evaluating, and management process for Service Line programs, which include setting qualitative and quantitative standards. This position develops and provides the Executive Leadership Team and the clinical staff information on the methods, techniques, and procedures necessary to integrate the Engineering, Maintenance, Biomedical, Capital Management, and other Engineering programs into the mission of the Medical Center. This position oversees the Joint Commission (T JC) Environment of Care Programs for Utility Systems Management, Safety, Life Safety, and Medical Equipment Management for both this Medical Center and all Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) in the East Bay Division. Assistant Chief collaborates directly with the Chief of Engineering Service, executive leadership, medical staff, nursing staff, and other clinical personnel regarding the design of the environment for medical care. They manage construction projects. They ensure that all hospital design and construction projects comply with a multitude of accreditation and regulatory requirements including, but not limited to, those promulgated by the Joint Commission (T JC), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This position serves as a supervisor within Engineering Service with responsibility for the Engineering and Construction Project Management section in the East Bay Division in the absence of the Chief Engineer, the Assistant Chief has the full authority to act on behalf of the Chief Engineer in the East Bay Division. The VA Medical Center has numerous affiliation agreements with academic institutions across the region. Active medical school affiliations, with the influx of medical students and residents along with consulting and attending physicians who supervise them, create additional problems in personnel and resource management. The rapid turnover of the medical school affiliates, and their unfamiliarity with government hospital operations, make it especially critical for the Assistant Chief engineer to support management's efforts to establish stable and effective management systems to integrate these affiliates into the healthcare organization and its patient care program. Occasional travel is required of this position. Travel will be for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to: national and regional conferences, site visits to other facilities in the VISN (or the VISN offices), face-to-face meetings regarding national and regional projects/assignments, specialized training for certain medical equipment and/or systems, other training opportunities that may improve the Assistant Chief Engineer's ability to better serve the needs of the VA. The work is primarily sedentary, although some physical effort may be required. Work Schedule: M-F, 8:00am-4:30pm Recruitment/Relocation Incentives : Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized Pay: Competitive salary and regular salary increases. When setting pay, a higher step rate of the appropriate grade may be determined after consideration of higher or unique qualifications or special needs of the VA (Above Minimum Rate of the Grade). Paid Time Off: 37-50 days of annual paid time offer per year (13-26 days of annual leave, 13 days of sick leave, 11 paid Federal holidays per year) Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior [work experience] or military service experience. Parental Leave: After 12 months of employment, up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave in connection with the birth, adoption, or foster care placement of a child. Child Care Subsidy: After 60 days of employment, full time employees with a total family income below $144,000 may be eligible for a childcare subsidy up to 25% of total eligible childcare costs for eligible children up to the monthly maximum of $416.66. Retirement: Traditional federal pension (5 years vesting) and federal 401K with up to 5% in contributions by VA. Insurance: Federal health/vision/dental/term life/long-term care (many federal insurance programs can be carried into retirement) Telework: Not Authorized Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 00449-F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized PCS Appraised Value Offer (AVO): Not Authorized
What you need to qualify
Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States (U.S.). Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7407(a). Education: Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture. To be acceptable, the curriculum must be from a school with at least one 3 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. 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: Employees may be reassigned, promoted up to and including the full performance (journey) level or changed to lower grade within the occupation, but may not be promoted beyond the journeyman level or placed in supervisory or managerial positions. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Grade Determinations: In addition to the basic requirements outlined in paragraph 3, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Supervisory Healthcare Engineer, GS-13: Experience: One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs): In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Knowledge of data analysis techniques related to managing workload, quality, performance and productivity within the area of responsibility. Knowledge related to the management of overall department resources, (i.e., finances space, equipment, supplies, schedules and staffing) at the local level. Knowledge of the full range of supervisory duties, which include responsibility for assignment of work, performance evaluations, selection of staff, training and development, recommendation of awards, advancements and disciplinary actions. Skill in using effective communication in managing interpersonal relationships, leading and dealing with employees, team leaders, labor representatives and managers. Ability to balance multiple responsibilities, set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems and develop and implement effective solutions that result in efficient operations. Ability to draft and/or recommend local policies and/or directives related to healthcare engineering management. Ability to recognize and assess evolving scenarios, utilizing initiative, self-direction and assigned resources to affect resolutions. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-13.
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