Summary The Supervisory Biomedical Engineer (Assistant Chief) position is located within the Healthcare Technology Management Department (HTM) of the Columbia VA Health Care System. Columbia is a complexity level 1b, tertiary care and university-affiliated facility. The Incumbent will assist the Chief HTM Service with oversight of projects and processes in the HTM program to ensure their high functionality. Responsibilities Major duties include, but are not limited to: The incumbent provides management support and technical expertise to Executive Leadership for all relative issues. He/she has decision-making authority, responsibility and accountability on issues affecting Healthcare Technology Management Service. The incumbent has administrative and managerial responsibilities for planning, staffing, budgeting, developing, and effectively managing the total Healthcare Technology Management Program. Incumbent is knowledgeable of overall VACO, VISN and Medical Center goals, missions, and priorities to assure a positive impact on other programs and resources. The incumbent assists with the determination of organizational changes in key positions within the service; ensures internal personnel-related programs are dealt with in a timely and efficient manner; communicates agency and local policies and priorities to all employees within the Service; delegates to each section supervisor the authority and responsibility to carry out assigned tasks; follows progress of each and recommends improvement to be made where warranted; and ensures labor/management relations are maintained in accordance with Medical Center policy and procedures and that other requirements such as effective use of performance standards, EEO policies, and other personnel-related rules and regulations are effectively enforced. Acts as a consultant to the Chief of HTM and the Medical Center regarding Healthcare Technology Management. Incumbent uses leadership to draft new policies and procedures to guide activities. Incumbent develops new innovative strategies to complete assignments as required. Incumbent develops new methods or proposes new policies as required for other professional engineers at the facility and/or professional engineers in the VISN. He/she serves on standing committees of the facility as assigned by the Leadership team. The incumbent assists in the development long-range plans for new and complex programs; works with top management to develop long-range management plans, for the efficient and effective operation of Healthcare Technology Management Service; makes best use of present resources, plans for future needs and implementation of new resources; assists with the coordination of all requests for additional resources, working closely with others to pull together comprehensive short-range and long-range plans. The incumbent assists in the planning and/or accomplishes special projects; manages special projects for major office or program issues of broad impact; conceives and implements new initiatives and projects to strengthen, facilitate, and integrate programs. The incumbent undertakes or participates in special projects, ongoing analyses, investigations, and initiatives that have high priority for high-level management. This may involve producing complex analyses and written reports; organizing special committees, workshops, and other gatherings; initiating program reviews; and developing or fostering cross-agency activities. Assists with an equipment management program that meets current requirements from The Joint Commission (TJC) and NFPA, including planning, selection, consultation, installation, application, and maintenance. Incumbent's work affects the wellbeing of all patients, employees and visitors to the Medical Center. The incumbent work also impacts the Medical Center's projects and programs involving Healthcare Technology Management. Assists with management of a recall and safety alert program for equipment, including medical device incident investigations to ensure compliance with patient safety goals, SMDA, and TJC requirements. Assists the Chief in the coordination of purchase, planning, construction, installation, and in-service training stages of major Healthcare Technology Management. This coordination can span several years, when major or minor construction is involved. Additional tasks as assigned by management. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday | 0800-1630 Recruitment Incentive: Not Authorized. Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized. Telework: Not Available. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 544-54472F Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized. Financial Disclosure Report: Not Required. Requirements Conditions of Employment You must be a U.S. Citizen to apply for this job. All applicants tentatively selected for VA employment in a testing designated position are subject to urinalysis to screen for illegal drug use prior to appointment. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment with VA. Selective Service Registration is required for males born after 12/31/1959. Must be proficient in written and spoken English. 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. Must pass pre-employment physical evaluation. 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 Basic Requirements: Citizenship. Must be a citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Handbook 5005, Part II, chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3.g.b Education and/or Experience. The individual must meet either item (1) or (2) below to meet this requirement: (1) Bachelor's Degree or Higher in Engineering. To be creditable, the curriculum must be from a school of engineering with at least one curriculum accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), as a professional engineering curriculum. Examples of acceptable engineering degrees include: Biomedical Engineering, Clinical Engineering, Bioengineering, Biomechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Biochemical Engineering. Titles may vary from educational institutions and change over time. OR (2) Certification as a Certified Clinical Engineer (CCE) and a bachelor's degree not listed in item 3.b.(1) above. English Language Proficiency. Biomedical Engineers must be proficient in spoken and written English Supervisory Biomedical Engineer (Clinical), GS-13 (a) Experience. Applicants must posses one 1 year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade (GS-12). (b) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate all of the following KSAs: Knowledge of the management of overall department resources, i.e., finances, space, equipment, supplies, and staffing at the local level. Ability to draft and/or recommend local policies and/or directives related to healthcare technology management. Ability to balance multiple responsibilities, set priorities, delegate tasks, meet multiple deadlines, analyze organizational problems, and develop and implement effective solutions. Ability to analyze organizational and operational problems to develop and implement solutions that result in efficient operations, and use data effectively to manage workload, quality, performance, and productivity within the area of responsibility. Skill in interpersonal relationships in leading and dealing with employees, team leaders, and managers, both within and outside the biomedical engineering program, to include conflict management, dispute resolution, mediation, or reasonable accommodations. Assignment. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. At this level, employees are supervisors and are at the facility level. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for the professional and administrative management of a facility biomedical engineering program. Such individuals have responsibility supervising technical staff, including lower level engineers, biomedical engineering technicians, and other staff. The range of supervisory responsibility includes development of performance standards and performance evaluations; recommendations for appointments, awards, advancements, and when appropriate, disciplinary actions; and identification of continuing training needs etc. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for financial management of budget resources allocated to support quality assurance and maintenance activities necessary to assure the facility's medical equipment is available for patient care activities. The supervisory biomedical engineer (clinical) is responsible for compliance and reporting of medical device cyber security and isolation for facilities under their management oversight. References: VA Handbook 5005/104 Preference: 3 years or more of VA hospital experience as a Biomedical Engineer Proficient in Maximo 3 years or more medical networking experience Current COR Certification 3 years or more of biomedical program management experience 3 years or more contract management experience 2 years or more experience for medium/major construction and clinical activations Current CCE licensure or eligible for CCE licensure Standard operating procedure/policy writing experience for hospital engineering programs and services Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service. 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: https://sites.ed.gov/international/recognition-of-foreign-qualifications/. Additional Information Receiving Service Credit or Earning Annual (Vacation) Leave: Federal Employees earn annual leave at a rate (4, 6 or 8 hours per pay period) which is based on the number of years they have served as a Federal employee. Selected applicants may qualify for credit toward annual leave accrual, based on prior work experience or military service experience. This credited service can be used in determining the rate at which they earn annual leave. Such credit must be requested and approved prior to the appointment date and is not guaranteed. During the application process you may have an option to opt-in to make your resume available to hiring managers in the agency who have similar positions. Opting in does not impact your application for this announcement, nor does it guarantee further consideration for additional positions. This job opportunity announcement may be used to fill additional vacancies. This position is in the Excepted Service and does not confer competitive status. VA encourages persons with disabilities to apply. The health-related positions in VA are covered by Title 38, and are not covered by the Schedule A excepted appointment authority. 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.