Environmental Protection Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by the closing date of this announcement, 10/28/2024. 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. For a GS-12 position you must have served 52 weeks at the GS-11.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 as described below: GS-11: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-09 for the GS-11 grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited too: Planning, implementing, and evaluating environmental protection programs, ensuring compliance with federal, state, and local regulations governing air emissions, hazardous materials, non-hazardous and hazardous waste, oil spills, water quality, and the storage of regulated substances (e.g., petroleum products, chemicals, and wastes). OR EDUCATION: Successful completion of a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree or three (3) full years of progressively higher-level graduate education with courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. This education must have been obtained at an accredited college or university. Transcripts Required. OR COMBINATION: Equivalent combinations of successfully completed progressively higher-level graduate education (beyond the second year) and specialized experience, as described above, which meet the total experience requirements for this grade level. The education portion must include graduate courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Transcripts Required. GS-12: Specialized Experience: You must have one year of specialized experience equivalent to at least the next lower grade GS-11 for the GS-12 grade level in the normal line of progression for the occupation in the organization. Examples of specialized experience would typically include, but are not limited to: Developing medical center facility environmental policies, programs, and procedural documentation that meets federal, state, and local laws and regulations, documentation and reporting requirements. Developing agency options for a regulatory framework, or new program, drafting complex rulemaking notices and securing concurrence of affected offices, or evaluating regulatory implementation. Establishing and implementing practices and procedures to resolve problems of major significance to regional environmental programs. Creating guidelines governing environmental operations for all facilities within the region, analyzing major programs, or advising agency officials and personnel at all levels on various aspects of environmental program management. NOTE: Your experience must be fully documented in your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Contracting/Procurement Education and Training Environmental Engineering Partnering Standards 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 may require some physical effort (e.g. walking, standing, carrying light items such as manuals or briefcases, or driving or traveling by motor vehicle. The work environment involves everyday risks or discomforts that require normal safety precautions typical of such places as offices, training rooms, and libraries. The work area is adequately lighted heated, and ventilated. There may be occasional exposure to moderate risks or discomforts in storage areas or hazardous waste sites. 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/.
The position is located within the Safety and Emergency Management Service at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Reno, NV.