Environmental Protection Specialist

To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements by 30 days from the closing date of this announcement, 11/07/2024. 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-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. You may qualify based on your experience and/or education as described below:GS-11 Qualifications: 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: knowledge of the principles, practices, and methods of program or administrative work relating to environmental protection program, one or more program or functional areas of environmental protection work, but does not require full professional competence in environmental engineering or science. This knowledge entails: (1) an understanding of environmental laws and regulations, (2) knowledge of how to plan, organize, implement, and evaluate of environmental programs, (3) practical knowledge of environmental sciences and related disciplines, and the relationship between environmental factors and human health and well-being; and (5) practical knowledge of important historic and natural resources and the relationship between the preservation and management of these resources and environmental protection, knowledge and understanding of program principles and procedures, applying the knowledge, and solving complex problems to a range of duties in one or more program or functional areas pertaining to environmental protection and knowledge of statutes, regulations, and precedent decisions governing environmental operations sufficient to plan, implement, or monitor environmental programs and services. . NOTE: Experience must be fully documented on your resume and must include job title, duties, month and year start/end dates AND hours worked per week. OR, Education: Applicants may substitute education for the required experience. To qualify based on education for this grade level you must have three (3) years of progressively higher-level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, LL.M., or equivalent doctoral degree in the related field of the position to be filled. The education portion must include courses that demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work of this position. Education must have been obtained in an accredited college, or university.. 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 a Master’s degree. You will be rated on the following Competencies for this position: Customer Service Decision Making Planning and Evaluating Safety Engineering 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 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/.
This position is in the Safety Section at VA Puget Sound Health Care System (VAPSHCS), Seattle (Seattle Division), WA and Tacoma, WA (American Lake Division). The incumbent works at both American Lake and Seattle Divisions according to workload/program requirements, and outlying facilities as needed. This is a full time position at 40 hours per week.