Clarification from the agency

This position is open current and permanent employees of the VA New Jersey Healthcare System.

Duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

Project Management

• Receives requests for alterations, repairs, limited construction, or maintenance to be accomplished by contractors..
• Identifies and schedules for each job: materials, parts, equipment, manpower, hazardous conditions, protective clothing, specific safety procedures, job hazard analysis, etc.
• Coordinates in-house construction projects with A&MM capital equipment purchases, and coordination with HTM and other services to coordinate high cost/high technology medical equipment.
• Inspects the progress of projects to ensure quality and timeliness. This is done by establishing the Scope of Work, estimating the project timeline and procurement strategies, along with ensuring proper coordination and implementation of associated maintenance and repair, construction, renovation, testing, and equipment installation projects.
• Monitors and tracks, and maintain records for major/minor, maintenance, and repair projects from inception to completion.

Maintenance Planning & Resource Management

• Develops annual and 5-year plan for replacement and/or modernization of facility equipment to enhance maintenance effectiveness and efficiency.
• Identifies and makes economically sound recommendations to the Facility Operations Section concerning maintenance and repair, modernization, or replacement planning of equipment systems.
• Monitors status of funds considering status of procurement bids, coordinate with other team members any need to transfer of available funds to other categories of equipment and minor construction to insure utilization and timely obligation of those funds.
• Analyzes information which affects work scheduling, such as priorities; workload; outstanding or backlogged work; inventory, equipment, machinery, and supply availability; weather conditions, scheduled outages, and environmental issues.
• Maintains an equipment inventory, record of repairs and cost of upkeep of personal property, operating equipment, and nonexpendable property in order to determine cost effectiveness of repairing or replacing systems using cost analysis and equipment history files

Inspections & Compliance

• Performs Infection Control Risk Assessments (ICRA), and Interim Life Safety Measure (ILSM) Requests for In-Housework.
• Track progress and quality of performance and conducts required fire/life safety and OSHA Safety inspections.
• Maintains and updates code compliance tracking and life safety compliance tracking documentation as per Joint Commission, VA, National Electric Code, OSHA and NFPA standards and directives.

Work Schedule: Monday-Friday 7:00 AM-3:30 PM
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Position Description/PD#: Facility Operations Specialist/PD26293-O
Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized

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
• Subject to background/security investigation
• Selected applicants will be required to complete an online onboarding process. Acceptable form(s) of identification will be required to complete pre-employment requirements (https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents). Effective May 7, 2025, driver's licenses or state-issued dentification cards that are not REAL ID compliant cannot be utilized as an acceptable form of identification for employment.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP)

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1-year probationary period or 2-year trial period during which we will evaluate your fitness and whether your continued employment advances the public interest. In determining if your employment advances the public interest, we may consider:

• your performance and conduct;
• the needs and interests of the agency;
• whether your continued employment would advance organizational goals of the agency or the Government; and
• whether your continued employment would advance the efficiency of the Federal service.

Upon completion of your probationary period or trial period, your employment will be terminated unless you receive certification, in writing, that your continued employment advances the public interest.

Qualifications

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 03/03/2026.

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-9. 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.

Individual Occupational Requirements for the GS-9, Facility Operation Specialist

• Education: Undergraduate and Graduate Education: Major study -- engineering, industrial arts, property management, or business administration.

OR

• Experience: Specialized Experience (for positions above GS-5): Examples of qualifying specialized experience include:
• Managing a maintenance program for office or apartment building complexes, hospitals, recreation facilities, military, or other special-purpose installations, including planning maintenance activities, and developing preventive maintenance programs.
• Conducting surveillance activities over construction and maintenance operations performed by a variety of private contractors, including reviewing project plans and specifications for workability, informing contractors of construction and reporting requirements, and supervising operations for conformance with project plans.
• Performing maintenance or construction work, including estimating material and labor costs for a variety of construction or maintenance projects (such as construction or maintenance of brick, frame, structural steel, reinforced concrete, and other type structures ranging from one- or two-story buildings to larger structures), directing actual work operations, and maintaining appropriate contacts with the organization funding the project.

IN ADDITION TO THE INDIVIDUAL OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR FACILITY OPERATIONS GS-1640, APPLICANTS MUST MEET THE MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:

• Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-9 in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Ensures proper coordination and implementation of maintenance, repair, construction, renovation, testing, and equipment installation projects. Estimates the project timeline, and plans procurement strategies. Monitors and maintain records for maintenance and repair projects by preparing reports. Conducts required fire/life safety and OSHA Safety inspections. Applies extensive knowledge of facility/medical equipment maintenance to program computer generated (AEMS/MERS) PM procedures and schedules or newer software version. Maintains and updates code compliance tracking and life safety compliance tracking documentation. Highlights, tracks, and communicates solutions to problematic systems/ building or necessary utility upgrades. Identifies and makes recommendations to the Facility Operations Section concerning maintenance and repair, modernization, or replacement planning of equipment systems.
  OR,
• Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or 3 full years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to such a degree or LL.M., if related in a major study of engineering, industrial arts, property management, or business administration.. OR,
• Combination: Applicants may also combine education and experience to qualify at this level. You must have an combination of specialized experience and education beyond doctoral level education and specialized experience directly related..

You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position:

• Compliance
• Production Support Service
• Requirements Analysis
• Strategic Thinking

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; 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.

Physical Requirements: The work typically involves walking, sitting, and similar situations found in most office settings. It involves continual work on a computer and requires site review of space allocation across the Medical Center. Position requires ability to manage multiple tasks concurrently.

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/.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

IN DESCRIBING YOUR EXPERIENCE, PLEASE BE CLEAR AND SPECIFIC. WE WILL NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE.

Narrative responses are not required at this time. If you are referred for consideration, you may be asked to submit additional job related information, which may include, but not limited to; responses to the knowledge, skills and abilities; completion of a work sample, and/or contact for an interview. Your resume and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect your rating or consideration for employment.

The Department of Veterans Affairs performs pre-employment reference checks as an assessment method used in the hiring process to verify information provided by a candidate (e.g., on resume or during interview or hiring process); gain additional knowledge regarding a candidate's abilities; and assist a hiring manager with making a final selection for a position.

For more information on the "Who may apply" eligibility requirements, please refer to the OHRM Status Candidates and Other Candidate Definitions document.

Placement Policy: The posting of this announcement does not obligate management to fill a vacancy or vacancies by promotion. The position may be filled by reassignment, change to lower grade, transfer, appointment, or reinstatement. Management may use any one or any combination of these methods to fill the position.

It is the policy of the VA to not deny employment to those that have faced financial hardships or periods of unemployment.

Veterans and Transitioning Service Members: Please visit the VA for Vets site for career-search tools for Veterans seeking employment at VA, career development services for our existing Veterans, and coaching and reintegration support for military service members.

To apply for this position, you must provide a complete Application Package which includes:

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please make sure you have included other documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), documentation to support Veterans Preference claims, or ICTAP/CTAP documentation (for displaced Federal employees). You will not be contacted for additional information.

• Cover Letter
• Other (1)
• Resume
• Separation Notice (RIF)
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

SF-50, Notification of Personnel Action (if applicable for Time in Grade and/or Eligibility):

• Most recent SF-50 if you are a current or former Federal employee
• An SF-50 showing 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
• Award 50's do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Examples of appropriate SF-50's include:
  • Within grade increases at the highest grade held; or
  • Promotions with an effective date more than one year old; or
  • SF-50's at the highest grade held with an effective date more than one year old.
  • NOTE: Do not submit Award SF-50s, as they do not provide sufficient information and will not be accepted for the purpose of verifying time-in-grade.
• Failure to submit any of the above required documents applicable to your submission may result in loss of consideration and a rating of ineligible due to an incomplete application package. It is the applicant's responsibility to verify that their application package (resume, supporting documents, and responses to the questionnaire) is complete, accurate, and submitted by the closing date. We will not contact applicants for additional documentation, nor will we accept late or missing documents after the close of the announcement.
  

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference for 5pt (TP), 10pt (CP/CPS/XP), or for Sole Survivor Preference (SSP) in the questionnaire. You must provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) which shows dates and character of service (honorable, general, etc.). If you are currently serving on active duty and expect to be released or discharged within 120 days you must submit documentation related to your active duty service which reflects the dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), and dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veteran Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. Documentation is required to award preference. For more information on Veterans' Preference, please visit Feds Hire Vets - Veterans - Job Seekers - Veterans' Preference.

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