Clarification from the agency

Open to employees of the agency. NOTE: The 2-page Resume requirement does not apply to this occupational series. For more information, refer to Required Documents below.

Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional
Healthcare Engineer: vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Total-Rewards-of-a-General-Engineer-Career-Flyer.pdf

The Chief Engineer is a key managerial advisor reporting directly to top Medical Center management. This position is a responsible leader and a member of the Medical Center top management team and is relied on for authoritative advice on all aspects of engineering matters. This position is a fully participating technical advisor in all or almost all significant management planning, policy, and decision-making actions of the Medical Center except those of a primarily medical nature. This position is involved with long and short-range planning, establishing policy, and budgeting for the Medical Center, as well as for all Facilities Management Service programs. Duties include but are not limited to:

• Provides for the budgeting and financial management for Facilities Management Service.
• Identifies functional requirements for current and future programs inclusive of life-cycle costs.
• Provides advice to management and program personnel on budgetary and finance issues.
• Researches and/or analyzes problems, issues, or program requirements related to all areas of the facility and all facets of Facilities Management Service.
• Provides expert analysis and advice on complex program issues. Based on operations and changing program requirements,
• 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.
• Undertakes or participates in special projects, ongoing analyses, investigations, and initiatives that have high priority for high-level management.
• Identifies and determines training priorities, conducts and administers training programs, and develops and improves training guidance. May conduct classroom or other group-setting instruction.
• Serves as the Chief Engineer within a medical center/VISN/VACO hierarchy. In this capacity he meets regularly with other Engineers from across the country and VA Leadership from the Office of Capital Asset Management and Engineering Support (OCAMES).
• Responsible for development and implementation of the Medical Center's capital improvement program.
• The Chief Engineer maintains constant surveillance of the entire facility's compliance with standards of Joint Commission and other accrediting and regulatory agencies related to Environment of Care.
• The Chief Engineer maintains close liaison with other service chiefs and with discipline-specific leadership.
• Conducts and directs special studies and analyses of complex problems relating to personnel requirements, space, equipment utilization, organizational alignment, and other areas of concern to Senior Leadership.
• The Chief Engineer develops solutions and resolves service problems, following the overall policies and regulations of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Work Schedule: Monday - Friday; 8 hours shift; may be required to cover during weekend and Holidays.
Compressed/Flexible:Not Available
Recruitment Incentive (Sign-on Bonus): Not Authorized
Permanent Change of Station (Relocation Assistance): Not Authorized
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: Available, Ad hoc
Virtual: This is not a virtual position.
Functional Statement #: 61113F
Permanent Change of Station (PCS): 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.
• Must be proficient in written and spoken English.
• 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.
• Must pass pre-employment physical examination.
• Participation in the seasonal influenza vaccination program is a requirement for all Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care Personnel (HCP).
• Complete all application requirements detailed in the "Required Documents" section of this announcement.

As a condition of employment for accepting this position, you will be required to serve a 1 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 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 appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following:

• 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).
• English Language Proficiency - English Language Proficiency. Healthcare Engineer candidates must be proficient in spoken and written English in accordance with 38 U.S.C. § 7403(f).
• Education:
  • Bachelor's degree or higher in Engineering or Architecture. To be acceptable, the curriculum must be from a school with at least one 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.

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-14)

1. Experience. One year of experience equivalent to the next lower grade.
2. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSAs). In addition to the experience or education above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
   1. Knowledge of mechanical, electrical, structural, civil and other engineering/architectural principles, practices and their applications as related to healthcare facilities.
   2. Knowledge related to the management of overall healthcare system resources, (i.e., finances, space, equipment, supplies, schedules and staffing).
   3. Skill in using effective communication in managing interpersonal relationships with internal and external customers, stakeholders, executive leadership, labor representatives and managers.
   4. Skill in balancing multiple responsibilities, setting priorities, delegating tasks and projects, meeting multiple deadlines, analyzing complex organizational problems and developing and implementing effective solutions that result in efficient operations.
   5. Skill in applying considerable independent judgment to interpret broad or general national policies and guidelines and adapt/apply them to specific compliant programs at the local healthcare system.
   6. Skill in recognizing and assessing evolving scenarios, utilizing initiative, and self-directing and assigning resources to affect resolutions.
   7. Skill in complying with national internal and outside regulatory agency and organization (including, but not limited to TJC, OSHA, NFPA, etc.) regulations, requirements, guides, policies, procedures, directives, standards and general medical program requirements as they relate to healthcare engineering.
   8. Ability to anticipate, develop and implement strategies in meeting the healthcare system's short-term and long-term strategic goals in a highly fluid environment.
   9. Ability to interview candidates for positions, recommend appointments, advancements, or when appropriate, disciplinary actions; evaluate performance and identify continuing education and training needs.

Preferred Experience: 3 years of supervision and 3 years of experience in Project Management.

Selective Placement Factor: Must be bilingual, speak and write in both English and Spanish.

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-14. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-14.

Physical Requirements: This work requires some physical exertion such as prolonged periods of standing, bending, reaching, crouching, stooping, stretching, and lifting moderately heavy items such as manuals, record boxes, equipment or assisting patients.

See https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/OCHCO/SitePages/D5019.aspx VA Directive and Handbook 5019, Employee Occupational Health Service for requirements.

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 MAY NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS REGARDING YOUR EXPERIENCE. Your application, resume, C.V., and/or supporting documentation will be verified. Please follow all instructions carefully. Errors or omissions may affect consideration for employment.

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.

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.

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
• Transcript

Special Note for Applications: To complete your application, please use the following link https://vacareers.va.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/Resume.docx to download the standard Clinical Resume Document. This one-page document does not need to be modified and must be uploaded into the two-page restricted 'Resume' document upload field.

Your full resume/CV may be uploaded without page limitation into the 'Other' document upload field.

The following documents are accepted, and may be required if applicable to your eligibility and/or qualifications for this position. Please ensure you have included all documents required for your application, such as a copy of your transcript (if using education to qualify), SF-50's (current/former Federal employees), etc.

• Resume
• SF-50/ Notification of Personnel Action
• Transcript

Next steps