Summary Employee will be assigned to the Environmental Health and Safety Section, of the William S. Middleton Veterans Hospital , planning and administering environmental programs. Responsibilities The environmental protection specialist is responsible for GEMS program planning and implementation to assure compliance with environmental laws and regulation. The environmental protection specialist completes permits and leads facility self-assessments, inspections, and other environmental investigations. Duties include, but may not be limited to the following: Administers the Green Environmental Management System (GEMS) program with responsibility for management of GEMS activities and internal reporting activities. Advises senior level management officials within the facility on the status of environmental programs and recommends changes in the design of facility work programs to meet new environmental requirements. Interacts with Federal, state, and local environmental agencies with respect to facility environmental issues. Schedules and leads environmental audits to identify and evaluate program implementation and compliance activities. Trains other employees and lower grade environmental staff, providing instruction on a variety of subjects related to specific and specialized environmental topics; adapts various available media to fit special and unique training requirements; and participates in the development of novel or innovative environmental training and promotion activities. Evaluates, modifies, and implements pollution prevention alternatives to reduce the generation of waste. Conducts or oversees the identification, collection, segregation, packaging, and manifesting of hazardous wastes. Participates on the facility's GEMS committee. Performs other related duties as required. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday 7:30am to 4:00pm Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Position Description/PD#: Environmental Protection Specialist/PD11264O Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Critical Skills Incentive (CSI): Not Approved Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959 You may be required to serve a probationary period Subject to background/security investigation 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 Veterans Health Administration Health Care Personnel (HCP) - See "Additional Information" below for details. Qualifications To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/21/2024. 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 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-9 grade level in the Federal service. Specialized experience includes: planning, implementing, and evaluating environmental protection programs; administering a green environmental management program; leading environmental facility inspections to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations; advising management on environmental program status; preparing reports; and training others on specific environmental topics. 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. 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: Environmental Engineering: Knowledge of the concepts, principles, theories, and methods to protect and improve the quality of the environment and its resources; and to monitor, control, abate, and prevent pollutants. Compliance: Knowledge of procedures for assessing, evaluating, and monitoring programs or projects for compliance with Federal laws, regulations, and guidance. Technical Competence: Uses knowledge that is acquired through formal training or extensive on the job experience to perform one's job; works with, understands, and evaluates technical information related to the job; advises others on technical issues Planning and Evaluating: Determines objectives and strategies; coordinates with other parts of the organization to accomplish goals; monitors and evaluates the progress and outcomes of operational plans; anticipates potential threats or opportunities. Communication: Expresses information (for example, ideas or facts) to individuals or groups effectively, taking into account the audience and nature of the information (for example, technical, sensitive, controversial); makes clear and convincing presentations; listens to others, attends to nonverbal cues, and responds appropriately. Physical Requirements: The work includes frequent audits of waste storage areas and involves a good deal of walking, standing, bending, and climbing. 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/. Additional Information This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. Pursuant to VHA Directive 1193.01, VHA health care personnel (HCP) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 subject to such accommodations as required by law (i.e., medical, religious or pregnancy). VHA HCPs do not include remote workers who only infrequently enter VHA locations. If selected, you will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit documentation of proof of vaccination before your start date. The agency will provide additional information regarding what information or documentation will be needed and how you can request a legally required accommodation from this requirement using the reasonable accommodation process. If you are unable to apply online or need an alternate method to submit documents, please reach out to the Agency Contact listed in this Job Opportunity Announcement. Under the Fair Chance to Compete Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs prohibits requesting an applicant's criminal history prior to accepting a tentative job offer. For more information about the Act and the complaint process, visit Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness (HRA/OSP) at The Fair Chance Act.